If You Think You Are There to Educate An Audience -You're Wrong
The number one most boring speakers are those who think they are teaching us something. They drone on with points, information, graph filled slides and zero thought to the audiences emotional journey.
In acting, there is something called, "The Moment Before". This is a question you ask your self regarding your character the moment they before they come on the stage.
If the character enters the stage and has a line, "Hey, are you in here?" the line can read VERY differently I regards to what happened the moment before.
Here are some examples:
*They just woke up from falling asleep on the lounge chair outside.
*They just ran 10 miles to get home after their car was stolen.
*They just won the lottery.
What happens the moment before makes the same line mean VERY different things.
I like to use this analogy, because your audience has a "moment before" you walk on the stage. They way they are feeling, or what they are thinking is VERY different which means your talk will go VERY different if you don't adapt.
Here are some REAL examples of "moment before's" I've face before taking the stage:
*A new boss came in and reamed them telling them what lousy employees they are and now that they were the new boss - things were going to change.
*It's 8 am opening keynote and the freeway was closed due to an accident so everyone was stressed and late.
*They were just told the owners of the company were retiring and rather than sell the company, they were giving it to the employees.
*They had a gold tournament all day in the hot sun, drank heavily, followed by a heavy cocktail hour, followed by dinner with their significant others and me. They shut the bar down....(Snooze fest was an understatement...)
*Last Keynote on the last morning when everyone drank heavily and partied until 3 am and I was on at 8.
If I give the same talk the same way to all these different environments, I am not taking in to consideration where my audience is emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or physically. I need to recognize where they are that - ADAPT TO MEET THEM THERE - in order to get them to go where I want them to go.
This is a skill. Skills start with awareness that it is something you need. Then it takes work to hone it.
If you are NOT taking into consideration where our audience is right before you take the stage, you are missing out on being a memorable and effective speaker.
The above video and this is taken from my on-line course, "How to Add Creativity, Humor, and Audience, Engagement to Your Speech. It's only $167, which I consider cheap considering the value it can add to your speaking fee.
You can check it out here: https://www.boringtosoaringspeeches.com/store
Kindly, Stacy P.
PS. For some of you experienced speakers, I'd love to hear a few of your moment before's. BOY have I had some DOOZIES!!
