Who Is Your Audience?

from Able Leader, September 2004

by Steve Kaye

Leaders succeed by giving effective presentations. They use speaking opportunities to convey ideas, win support, and inspire others. This applies in daily meetings, with small groups, and in conferences, with hundreds.

On the other hand, a poorly delivered presentation can produce disastrous results.

Perhaps you have heard a speaker deliver a presentation that disappointed or upset the audience. Perhaps you have sat through a presentation feeling sympathy for the speaker. Perhaps you know someone whose presentation damaged the organization and the person's career.

A presentation's effectiveness depends upon how the speaker answers the question: "Who is your audience?"

There are three answers to that question, and each relates to a different degree of effectiveness. They are:

1) You (the speaker)

That's right, some people deliver presentations to themselves. They talk about themselves, brag about themselves, and describe themselves. Sometimes they're so focused on themselves that everyone else could leave.

Unfortunately, that really happens. The audience disconnects mentally from the speaker. They use the time to think about other things while they wait for the speech to end.

You can easily identify a self-serving speech because it often begins with the word "I." Then the rest of the speech is filled with the words "me," "my," "mine," and "myself."

For example, some people begin their presentation by saying, "I am glad to be here." (Actually, who cares.) Then the speaker will deliver an autobiography. (Again, who cares.) And finally, the speaker will talk about personal goals, feelings, and activities. (Possibly interesting but not very inspiring.)

2) A Thing

In this case, the speaker focuses on a thing. Such presentations are often more interesting, especially if people need to know about the thing, which could be a plan, a product, or a project.

These presentations, however, can fail miserably when the speaker drones on with a tedious encyclopedia of facts. In this case everyone goes to sleep, because they know they can read the report (or book) later.

3) Them

This is the most effective form of presentation because the speaker talks to the audience about Them. Since everybody likes to be the center of attention, these presentations are always more interesting and inspiring.

As you might expect, presentations delivered to Them make frequent use of the word "you."

Here are ways to make the audience a central part of your next presentation.

Describe Them
Tell the audience about their history, their demographics, and their role in the organization. Although they most likely know these things, they always appreciate a review. And you can impress Them by conveying new information, such as little-known trivia or unexpected interpretations of statistics, events, or activities. Some speakers begin their presentation by describing the business or personal situation that challenges the audience.

Praise Them
Tell Them about good things that people in the audience have done. Talk about how their efforts have produced commendable results. Compliment Them for their hard work and diligent effort. Praise their creativity, dedication, and persistence. Thank Them for the good things they have done. In general, use the presentation to reward the people in your audience.

Acknowledge Them
Acknowledge the feelings, concerns, and dreams held by the audience. For example, if you want to inspire people, talk about their hopes. Then show how these can be achieved by working with you. If you want to gain cooperation during a time of change, acknowledge their feelings of uncertainty. Then show how these concerns can be offset by the benefits of the change. In general, show that you understand how they feel.

Include Them
Tell stories about Them. Describe how they overcame obstacles or achieved goals. Then show how the lessons in these stories apply to everyone. If you want to tell stories about your experiences (or about people outside of the organization), put the audience in the stories. For example, you can ask questions such as, "How would you feel if you were . . ." or you can say, "Imagine that you are . . ."

Impress Them
In this case, impress the audience with themselves. That is, make the audience the star of your presentation. Invite members of the audience to join you on the stage so that they can receive awards, describe their achievements, or share wisdom. During your presentation, ask questions that people can answer. Or, say things that set people up to be funny, clever, or wise.

Talking about Them is powerful. For example, notice that this article is about you and what you can do, not about me. That approach characterizes all of my work.

Key Point: Make others the star in your presentations.

Much success,

Steve Kaye
714-528-1300