AUDIENCE  Empathy

Speeches are like babies – easy to conceive but hard to deliver.

          Try to establish a bond with your audience before you start making a presentation. Next focus on a simple, clear, interesting message.

Five of the best tips to establish a rapport with an audience

* At the start

          Compose yourself, pause, smile and tell a story or an anecdote. Try to relate it to your audience. “Did you know I once played football for your local club?”

* Look for common ground

          Talk about local experiences, associations or environmental issues.

          Bait your message to hook your listeners.

          Refer to familiar places and quote people the audience respect. “Your chairman and I went to school together.”

*  Focus on the audience’s concerns

          Agree with some of their hopes, beliefs, attitudes and values.

          People like new information, so make your message fresh, exciting and stimulating.

          If you make new recommendations explain the benefits and advantages.

* Be polite and respectful at all times

          Keep calm even if you have a hostile audience. Let the chairperson deal with any interjectors. Ignore them unless you can put them down with a smart one-liner.

* Share your feelings and emotions

          Tell them how you feel about things. Be honest, modest and sincere.

          Your first and last statements are the most important. Look your audience in the eye and punch your messages out.

–Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“Be brief, be sincere, enthusiastic and seated.”

SOURCE: For more details on this topic read,  “Persuasive Ways” published by Moss Associates Ltd, New Zealand,  or the Chinese language version by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House and in Hungarian by Bagolyvar Konyvkiado, Budapest.  It’s also published as “Secrets of Persuasion” by Cengage Learning Asia and available as an e-book from Amazon.com.