So you’re an expert in your field. You shower your audience with knowledge; what you know is great information that will help them tremendously. But instead of being greeted with applause, you hear crickets in the room.
So what next? Wondering what went wrong? While there may be several factors that led to the lack of response from the audience, today we’ll focus on just one: having a clear line of intention for your presentation. Recently I had an interesting conversation with a public speaking client.
We’ll call her Ginny for the purpose of this case study. In talking to Ginny she shared with me that she’s an expert in financial aid for college. She described the process as a stressful one, in fact, she even went as far as to say that it was the second most stressful event in most people’s lives in the U.S. There are a lot of forms to fill, and the process of getting the financial aid you need for your child to attend college can be very tedious. She also described the information as being dry.
Herein lies the problem. While Ginny described the problem in detail, even though she knows that she could help her audience, because she regarded the information she was sharing as dry, how do you think the audience perceived it? And while she talked about the services she offers and she could help the audience, she failed to make an emotional connection with the audience.
In digging a little deeper, Ginny shared with me the benefits of what she offered: freedom from worry about getting financial aid, or about what forms to fill — her team walks each parent through every step of the process, and also ensures that their children get the largest possible amount of financial aid. When she shared this, you could hear the excitement in her voice.
When I mentioned this, to her, then it clicked: what she does is give people freedom and peace of mind, knowing that their children will be able to attend college and that they’ll receive the largest financial aid package possible. Now, doesn’t that feel light and exciting? You see, when you can transfer that excitement into what you’re sharing, when you give that clear intention to everything you say, then your message becomes about something more than just giving information: it becomes about serving people, making their lives easier. And when you infuse your message with that power to the right audience, that’s when you’ll strike gold. For you and for the people you serve.
What’s been your experience? Your comments are welcome!
If you’d like to gain clarity and confidence every time you speak so that people can clearly hear every word you utter, I invite you to download my complimentary audio course, “Voice It With Confidence!” at: www.powerupyourvoice.net.
Until next time, may “The Voice” Be With You and thanks for spreading the word!