4 Mistakes that Make You Lose Your Audience

4 Mistakes that Make You Lose Your Audience
by Craig Valentine

Mistake #1: They Tell the audience about themselves

Have you ever heard a speaker say something like, “We all have problems and challenges that we need to overcome.”? What’s wrong with that statement? Here it is. Your audience members do not want to be told about themselves. A statement like that makes them think, “You don’t know me! How are you going to tell me I have a problem or a challenge? Speak for yourself.” This is how you lose them.
Now here’s the key. Of course they have problems and challenges but that’s not the point. The point is you shouldn’t tell them about themselves. The solution is to follow this creed:

Ask, don’t tell

So instead of saying, “We all have problems and challenges that we need to overcome,” say, “Have you ever had a problem or challenge that was difficult to overcome?” Or say, “Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a problem or challenge that was difficult to overcome.” Then, once their hands go up, you’ve just qualified them and now you can move on with your message by saying something like, “Me too. In fact, in 1999…” Don’t tell;ask.

Mistake #2: Taking too long to get to the story

Another reason we lose our audience is by rambling on too much before we get to our stories. Make no mistake about it, stories are the hooks to our speeches. If you don’t get to the stories within the first few minutes of your presentation, you will lose your audience. In fact, the very best way to begin a presentation is to jump right into a story that sets up the rest of your talk. The sooner you get to the story, the quicker you’ll connect with your audience.

Mistake #3: Taking to long to get to the conflict

What if the Titanic never hit the iceberg? I’ll tell you what, that would have been a boring movie! Why? People are wired to want to see how a conflict is overcome and what tools and strategies are used. Perhaps we can use these tools for our own conflicts in life. Just as stories are the hooks for your speeches, conflict is the hook for your stories. The problem with many speeches is the speakers do not get to the conflict early enough. Instead they go on and on setting up characters and situations when they should already be at the conflict.

As soon as you introduce your characters, make sure to immediately throw them into a conflict. If you’ve been telling a story for more than 60 seconds and you haven’t reached the conflict yet, chances are you’re losing your audience one by one. Write this down: Establish your conflict early.

Mistake #4: They Don’t Tease

Finally, another reason for losing the audience is they don’t tease. To be an effective speaker, you must be a great tease. For example, instead of simply moving from point to point in your speech, it’s important to make your audience thirst for what’s coming next. This is done through effective transitions. For example, here’s what I say in one of my speeches:

“If you get this next idea and put it to use in your life, you’ll find yourself moving towards your goals, dreams, and aspirations even while you’re asleep.”

Another tease I give is towards the end of one of my speeches called the 4 Rs to Remarkable Results. I say,

“There is actually one final R. This R is the most important thing I’ve ever done for my own success and I can all but guarantee it will become the most important for yours as well. And it’s only one word. Ready? Okay…”

Now let me ask you, do you think I give them the final R immediately after saying that? Of course not. Instead, I invite them into my final story and let them uncover the R while they’re in it. The key is that they really want to know what that R is! And every time I get to it, I see their pens hit the paper and a look of satisfaction come across their faces. This is partly because they got good information and partly because they’re happy to have solved the mystery.

3 Staging Strategies to Help Your Audience Really SEE Your Speech

3 Staging Strategies to Help Your Audience Really SEE Your Speech
by Craig Valentine
http://www.craigvalentine.com/blog/

1. Let the action prompt your movements

The action in your story prompts your movement on stage. Let the action drive. If you’re telling a story about standing in line, guess what? You shouldn’t move much. In the video,  I let the action drive. When I said, “You should have been with my wife and me 7 years ago as we took our 6 month old daughter Tori to her doctor’s appointment,” you saw me physically walking into the doctor’s office. When I talked about me walking over the scale to step on it, you saw me physically walk over the where the scale was represented on stage and you saw me stand on it. It’s not enough to say it, I also had to show it.

2. Let Time Prompt your Movement on Stage

All stories involve the element of time, which means you can use the imaginary timeline on stage for greater impact. In North America we read a timeline from the left to the right. Therefore, imagine how I might move when giving this part of my speech:

Now fast-forward 10 years to today…2010. My re-hire rate has now reached above 93%.

When I say the phrase “Fast forward 10 years to today,” I physically walk from my audience’s left up the timeline to my audience’s right to symbolize the difference between the year 2000 and the year 2010. Why is this important? Two reasons:
1. It makes the scene more clear for my audience
2. It allows me to eventually do a visual AND verbal call back to places on the timeline.
For example, later in this message I say, “I’ll tell you what made the difference between my failure in 2000 and my success today. [I walk back down the timeline to my audience’s left where the year 2000 is represented]. After my embarrassment in the year 2000, I re-dedicated myself to the art of public speaking…” Then, as I explain what I did in between 2000 and 2010 (i.e. coaching, re-dedication, etc.), I slowly and subtly walk back up the timeline until I get to 2010. Make sense?
This call back is visual, verbal, emotional, and clear for my audience members all because I set the stage up as a timeline and walked it.

3. Remember where you placed everybody and everything on stage

In the video, it’s clear where my wife is represented on stage and where the scale is represented on stage. You should plan this all out ahead of time. Otherwise, you might have a situation I witnessed years ago.
Darren LaCroix (2001 World Champion of Public Speaking) and I were giving a speaking bootcamp in Vegas and we had one of our attendees rise up to make a speech. His story was very emotional and, in it, his uncle passed away. They held the funeral and had the casket on a particular spot on the stage. Later on in the story, this speaker went to that same exact spot on the stage to have lunch!  Darren and I looked at him and said, “Do you realize you’re having lunch on your uncle?!” Please know ahead of time where everything will be represented on your stage.

4. Step up to your point

After I gave my story about the scale, you saw me step forward slightly and look directly at my audience as I started asking questions and driving home my point. This subtle step forward (and the direct eye-contact with my audience) lets my audience know I’m now out of my story and into a conversation with them. Occassionally step forward to make your point. Sometimes it even helps to step out into the audience.

Final thoughts on Staging

Does staging really make that much of a difference in your speech? Yes. Here are three reasons why:

1. Good staging provides clarity to your story and your message. For example, when I have 3 points in my keynote speech, many times I’ll have each point be represented by a section on the stage. Then I can do visual/verbal call backs.
2. If you use staging correctly (i.e. visually and verbally calling back to spots and situations on the stage) it can bring forth emotions from your audience because they’ll still be able to remember what happened earlier in those spaces and scenes
3. Patricia Fripp told me (I’m paraphrasing here) that people won’t remember what you say as much as they’ll remember what they see when you say it. In other words, you have to make your speech very visual. Staging helps with this in a tremendously impactful way.

 Oh, one last thought. Everything you do staging-wise should be subtle. It should look natural and not forced. But keep this in mind, looking natural is on the far side of preparation…not the near side. When you prepare effectively, you won’t have to think about what you’re doing. It will become second-nature. In other words, it will be natural.

 Everything in speaking is about subtlety. If you’re being obvious about what you’re doing, it will break your connection with your audience. Therefore, when you move, make it subtle. I’ve seen some speakers move the entire length of the stage for their timeline. That’s not necessary. A few steps in one direction should suffice when moving to the future or back to the past. The same goes for characters in dialogue. Don’t travel so far between characters. A subtle head turn should suffice to allow us audience members to know which character is talking. Be subtle.

Stand Completely Still when Delivering Your MOST Important Phrases

However, when you get to your most important phrase (often your Foundational Phrase) it creates quite an impact when you stand  completely still, look directly at one individual in your audience, and hold his/her gaze for your entire Foundational Phrase.
For example, I scan the audience until I get to the phrase where I say, “Your dream is not for sale” and that’s when I look at one person and hold his/her gaze. Then, once I finish the phrase, I go back to scanning the room and moving if appropriate.  In other words, hold their gaze for your entire phrase.

3. Creating High-Impact, Memorable Presentations

Creating High Impact/ Memorable Presentations
http://www.douglaskruger.co.za/press_details.php?id=16

Use Metaphors and Similies to Create Visual Images
Using stories and metaphors is actually quite easy. It is simply the act of saying, “It’s like...”, and then creating a small series of mental pictures.
It’s certainly not a new idea. But it is a wonderfully effective way of taking a complex, abstract idea and turning it into something that people can ‘see,’ that they can ‘get’ quickly.
It’s the difference between saying,

“We’re a small company competing against big brand names,” ***
versus:
“We’re that four foot nothing martial artist that takes on the six foot boxers... and flattens them all!”*****

An American professional speaker describing what it’s like to speak for the Youth market:
“You have to smuggle your messages in-between stories. You have to be like a motivational ninja!” 

The Chief Financial Officer of an investment firm, after the Recession:
“This time last year, you were lost in the forest and you were afraid, and you turned to me for guidance. What you didn’t know was that I was equally scared. But that wasn’t good enough. So we dug deep, and pulled on a hundred years of experience, and sought real answers. We found a glimmer of light in one direction and led you that way. We are proud to say that we are now emerging from the forest, and the choice we made for you was borne out as the right one.”

2. Store Your 'Intro' and 'Outro' Online so you can Access them Anywhere

The following excerpts are from the article:
 
2. Just When You Think You're Prepared - By Lisa Braithwaite
http://coachlisab.blogspot.com/2010/10/just-when-you-think-youre-prepared.html

The biggest annoyance of all: Forgot my introduction.

I have recently developed an introduction that is way better than the boring bio that is usually read by the person introducing me. It's funny, it's silly, it's totally me... and I have misplaced it or forgotten to bring it with me three times in the last six months.

So today, I am going to do two things. I'm going to print out yet another copy of my introduction and place it in my file box. I'm also going to paste it into Google Docs and Google Notebook so I can always access it, no matter where I am (already done!).
 

1. Get more marketing mileage out of presentations - Douglas Kruger

The following is interesting excerpts from an article by Douglas Kruger.
http://www.douglaskruger.co.za/press_details.php?id=20

How to Position Yourself for Success Before and After a Presentation

1. Get someone else to do your Intro and ‘Outtro’

An introduction is a marketing opportunity in itself. It’s also an opportunity to use humour, create rapport and get your audience to like you before you even step on stage, but let’s just focus on the marketing aspect for now. Scripting a good introduction is an opportunity to have another person effectively endorse you, but you can do more. Script an ‘outtro’ as well. Make it shorter, but include a call-to-action, such as, ‘If you enjoyed his presentation, don’t forget to:
- Sign up for his course
- Buy his books or CD’s
- Read his articles in a publication
- Visit his website

2. Record your talk

Get a video recording, if you can arrange it. But don’t forget that audio is good too, and easy enough to do with a mini digital recorder. Edit out a strong clip of, say, one minute, and use it on your website or in your marketing materials.
You can even turn the entire talk into a saleable product. Professional speakers do this as a matter of course, and can often make large margins on back-of-room sales of CD’s and DVD’s. But you don’t have to be a motivational speaker to use this idea; you could do it even do it with educational topic matter, such as a talk on financial trends, and have it endorsed and duplicated by your company.

3. Record live testimonials directly afterwards 

Would you like some truly enthusiastic endorsements? Get them on video directly after your talk. Your audiences, and the movers and shakers who may populate them, will generally be more willing to give you an incidental, on-the-fly endorsement than they would be to take the time and trouble to write them out. Also, the ‘fire’ has usually faded a little in the days following a talk, so catch them while the coals are hot!
Bear in mind that you don’t have to use these testimonials in video format either (although it is very powerful), but you can transcribe them into text and use them on documents too.

4. Use interesting leave-behind materials

Don’t give hand-outs to an audience at the beginning of your presentation. Don’t do it during, either; they distract from your performance; but certainly do make them available at the end. And make them memorable too; none of this bullet-point nonsense! When I use hand-outs after my keynote motivational talk, ‘Escape the Hamster Wheel,’ I use a visual of a little hamster with thought bubbles. Each thought bubble contains one of the ‘Rules of Hamster Thinking.’
People will keep an entertaining but useful and informative flier, especially one with great visuals and possibly a smattering of humour. And if they keep your flier, they keep the means to stay in touch with you.

Why No One Will Every Buy Your Product or Idea...

Here's a very important sales tip:

People will never buy your product or idea because...

People don't want to buy your product.
They want to buy the product of your product.

People don't buy your product because of the product itself. They buy it because of what benefits it will give them. Your product is simply a medium for them to get what they want.

People don't buy paint, they buy beautiful walls.

What does this mean for public speaking and persuasion?
It means, don't sell the features of your product...sell the benefits!  

Therefore, when pitching business ideas to your boss, selling yourself in an interview or selling a product, show people exactly how they will benefit:

Now, take the following quiz to find out how well you can sell*:
 
QUIZ


In the following multiple choice questions, pick the best answer to question:

1. If you were pitching your idea to your boss, which statement would do the best job of persuading him?
(A). This is a revolutionary idea
(B). By implementing this idea, you will be able to increase employee morale and hence increase your employee productivity and company profits.

The AXE deodorant advert sells the BENEFIT for men: Women will chase after you if you use it

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. If you were selling a product (e.g. house), which sales pitch would persuade the customer to buy?
(A) The house is large, which means that there will be plenty of space for your two teenage daughters to have their own bedrooms. For you, this means that you'll be able to have visitors over without having to worry about not having enough room to host them all.
(B) The house occupies over 2000 acres of land

3. If you were selling yourself in an interview, which one would do a better job of getting you the job? Let's say the interviewer has just asked you, "Where have you worked before?"
(A) I've worked in Company ABC
(B) I've worked with Company ABC on their Technology-Implementation Project. This means that I have experience in implementing new technologies, and therefore can help your company implement the new software that has been proposed.

4. You are talking to your friend. Which one is more likely to convince your friend to come shopping with you?
(A) I'm so bored. You want to go shopping tomorrow?
(B) Hey, if we go shopping tomorrow, you can buy the shirt you've been talking about all week and I can buy my...


ANSWERS:
1. B
2. A
3. B
4. B

People don't buy paint, they buy beautiful walls. Don't sell the features, sell the benefits...


*P.S. Did you notice how I sold you the benefit of taking the quiz? ("Take the quiz and Find out how well you can sell")

What to Do When They Say "NO"

Try 8 times and behind the No you'll find a YES

Most people are so negative that they will say 'No' seven times before they say 'Yes'. Don't take rejections personally...Just walk right in the next day and give the organization another reason as to why they should adopt your plan.

Next time your business ideas and proposals get rejected, keep in mind the Rule of Seven:

The Rule of Seven states that you will get rejected seven times before you get a YES...Therefore, realize that every "No" serves to get you one step closer to a "YES". 

You really want something? Don't give up until you've tried at least 8 times...