When I
hear a speaker, I listen with two body parts: I fine tune my heart, to
hear what God is saying that might change my life. And I listen with my brain,
so I can assess what works and what doesn't as a speaker interacts with her
audience. Because I am also a speaker, I want to learn from others what works
and what doesn't.
At a recent women's conference, I made these notes to myself:
At a recent women's conference, I made these notes to myself:
- DO smile a lot, to engage your
audience. Genuine smiles cover a multitude of mistakes.
- Transparency endears you to your
audience. "I have a confession to make" piques my curiosity, but
DON'T give too many gory details, or I want to run out screaming.
- DO engage your audience on a
personal level. Ask questions, have them give 30-second shoulder rubs to
each other, and address a few by name.
- DON'T draw attention to your
actions that don't fit with your message. "Oops--my microphone is
slipping, I need to fix it," or, "I'm going to get a drink of
water here," etc. Just take care of it, and trust your audience to
understand.
- If you chose a short dress, DO wear pantyhose. Bare legs look unprofessional for a speaker at a larger venue than someone's back yard.
- Even a funny, engaging story needs
to be concise and to the point. DON'T ramble and repeat, or we lose
interest.
- DO show us how you put the
principles into practice in your own life, to convince us you know what
you are talking about.
When you hear a speaker, read a book, or watch a movie, do you
listen with more than one body part? How does what bugs or excites you reveal
about your heart, or the speaker/author/actress?P. S. For a list of my speaking gigs, please see my Speaking Schedule Page on this site.
