Tips for Mastering Audience Connection Techniques

I have a confession to make. I have been guilty of putting people to sleep during my presentations. Unfortunately, not once, but many times. I could blame it on the complexities of tech topics or the dryness of the subject. I could always console myself by saying that at least it's not as sleep-inducing as financial presentations (sorry, my friends in Finance). Deep down, though, I knew that even the most complicated and dry topics could come alive. As with anything, it's a skill and can be improved upon. Thus, I turned to my friend Christopher Chin, Communication Coach for Tech Professionals, for some much-needed advice. He shared these 5 presentation tips guaranteed to leave a lasting impression: 1/ Speak to Their Needs, Not Your Wants Don’t just say what you like talking about or what your audience wants to hear. Say what your audience needs to hear based on their current priorities and pain points: that sets your presentation up to be maximally engaging 2/ Slides Support, You Lead Slides are not the presentation. You are the presentation. Your slides should support your story and act as visual reinforcement rather than as the main star of the show.  Consider holding off on making slides until you have your story clear. That way, you don’t end up making more slides than you need or making slides more verbose than you need 3/ Start with a Bang, Not a Whisper The beginning of a presentation is one of the most nerve-wracking parts for you as the speaker and one of the most attention-critical parts for your audience. If you don’t nail the beginning, there’s a good chance you lose the majority of people. Consider starting with something that intrigues your audience, surprises them, concerns them, or makes them want to learn more. 4/ Think Conversation, Not Presentation One-way presentations where the speaker just talks “at” the audience lead to dips in attention and poorer reception of the material. Consider integrating interactive elements like polls and Q&A throughout a presentation (rather than just at the very end) to make it feel more like a conversation. 5/ Finish Strong with a Clear CTA We go through all the effort of preparing, creating, and delivering a presentation to cause some change in behavior. End with a powerful call to action that reminds your audience why they were in attendance and what they should do as soon as they leave the room. By integrating these, you won't just present; you'll captivate. Say goodbye to snoozing attendees and hello to a gripped audience. 😴 Repost if you've ever accidentally put someone to sleep with a presentation. We've all been there!

I don’t consider myself to be a speaker so much as a learning facilitator. I really appreciate a well crafted presentation where you can tell how much the person has prepared to serve their audience. Here are some of my lessons I’ve learned along the way to becoming a more effective public speaker that might not seem as obvious. 1. Storytelling - the AUDIENCE is the protagonist of the story (not you). A good story isn’t just about being “entertaining” or “charming”. Winning over an audience isn’t about making them think “gosh, he’s really great.” It’s about being able to serve their needs by providing insight into their journey that they might’ve missed on their own. The best compliment a person can give me after is “you really made me think.” 2. Don’t worry about the people who are ignoring you. It can really derail you to start focusing on why a person isn’t paying attention, or why they’re not laughing at your jokes, or why they seem upset. You have NO idea what’s going on in their heads. Move past it, and find the people who are engaging and stick to them! You don’t need 100% of the audience to engage. You need the engaged members of the audience to get 100%. 3. The master storytellers do most of their work in the editing room. Cut slides, cut words, cut superfluous stories, and cut, cut, cut until you have distilled the most essential parts of your story. It takes COURAGE to purposefully not connect all the dots but rather give enough context so your audience can connect the dots. (They’re part of the story, this way.) 4. Ruffle a few feathers. We worry so much about being likeable that we end up playing it too safe to ever hope to be remembered. Attack ideas but never people. Challenge ingrained thinking by putting the audience in the position of the potential change maker. 5. Humor is a secret weapon. It can bring people back in when you’re sidetracked. Self-deprecating humor can help build rapport or trust. It relaxes people just enough to keep their interest. But remember you’re not just there to entertain. Jokes have to drive the bigger point. Study comedy - in particular the rules of improv. There are basic comedic structures (just google them). Don’t repeat tired old, stale jokes the entire industry uses. Use relevant and appropriate humor to drive the story forward. Even if you don’t plan on being on stage or in front of your industry’s peers, you are likely presenting to people in some way pretty frequently. A microphone isn’t about amplifying your voice. A microphone is about helping your audience to better hear. A lot people won’t get what I mean by that, but I’ll tell you what. That epiphany TRANSFORMED the way I approach speaking gigs, content writing, leading meetings, and much of my communication mindset. 🎤 💜

I talk on a lot of different stages to a lot of very different groups of people. Over the years, I've adopted three practices that I think are fundamental to making a keynote memorable. 1️⃣ Do Your Homework. Before every talk, I study up on the event and its audience. I ask a lot of questions of the planners about their theme and goals. I get detailed information about the audience - who will be attending, their backgrounds, where they are in their careers, what issues are top of mind for them. And I read up on the organization itself, learning the names of key players and adjusting my slides and talking points to speak to industry trends. This ensures my keynotes feel personalized, relevant, and valuable to the people listening. 2️⃣ Keep It Personal and Punchy. Most of my talks start with a personal story. I think audiences need to feel connected to a speaker first, before they can connect to that speaker's content. Then, throughout my presentation, I make sure my slides are punchy, visually bold, light on text, and big on impact. I share key points in easy-to-digest bites, peppering in compelling quotes, fascinating case studies or research statistics, simple tips or lists, and emotive video clips. These tactics help to keep the energy high throughout the hour. 3️⃣ Share a Moment of Magic. My presentations always include something unexpected—a surprising activity, a sleight of hand, or an interactive exercise. I call these "moments of magic" that break the audience out of the mundane, repetitive, talking head experiences of a typical conference day. And I invest a lot of time in conceiving new ways to add that magic element. These moments make your presentation refreshing and memorable. I have met many people years after they saw me speak, and they will tell me how much they remember a specific quote or activity that I did with the audience. I believe these three practices can turn keynotes from just "a speech" into an impactful experience. And a great experience will leave a lasting impression long after an event is over. #KeynoteSpeaker #Events #ThoughtLeadership #PersonalConnection #AudienceConnection #KeynoteSpeakerEvents #Connections #KeynoteLearnings #Lessons #Growth #ProfessionalDevelopment #Events

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Building an extraordinary relationship with your audience is vital for the success of your presentation. This relationship hinges on two crucial elements: intellectual and emotional connections. While logic engages your audience’s thinking, it is emotion that motivates them to take action. The intellectual connection stems from the content you present and the logical reasoning you employ to make your case. When you utilize charts, statistics, and survey results, you establish an intellectual bond with your audience. To establish an emotional connection, on the other hand, is relatively easier. The most effective way to achieve this is by using “you-focused” language, creating a balanced “I-You ratio.” Pay attention to how frequently you say “I” compared to “you” or “us.” “You” is your ultimate advantage—a single word that can work Wonders. To enhance your presentations, eliminate certain phrases such as: “I am going to talk about...” “What I would like to talk about...” “What I am going to do first is...” Instead, replace them with more captivating and engaging alternatives like: “Great news! You are about to learn ten techniques guaranteed to make your presentations memorable.” Compile a list of you-focused phrases that resonate with your presentations. Here are a few examples that I personally use to kick-start interactions. Feel free to incorporate them if they suit your style: “In your experience...” “If I were to ask you...” “You can feel confident...” “How often have you felt, seen, experienced...” “When was the first/last time you...” “It might interest/surprise/amaze you to know/learn/discover...” “Do you remember a time when...” “What advice did your dad/parents/mother/first boss give you?” “Think back to when you... frustrated/upset/happy/enthusiastic/disappointed?” Allow me to share a success story to emphasize the impact of a you-focused approach. Recently, I assisted a sales executive from a renowned hotel with a concise presentation aiming to secure a $500,000 convention in San Francisco. With two other cities competing fiercely, a compelling presentation was crucial. I recommended an opening that focused on the audience. “In the next 8 minutes, you will decide that the best decision you can make for your association and your members is to bring your convention to San Francisco and the Fairmont Hotel.” In this statement, I used “you” or “yours” five times and “Fairmont” once. This created a potent emotional connection. This was not the only element to successfully secure the sale. However, together we creative a compelling message that combined intellectual and emotional connection. Best of luck in forging strong connections with your audiences. If you require any assistance, I’m here to help. Let’s have a conversation. #presentationskillsexpert #keynotespeaker #publicspeaking #frippvt #patriciafripp