In part one I showed you how Joe should prepare as if only one person was in the room. This same concept should apply when speaking.

Speak to one person at a time.
 
Craig Valentine says, “Speak to one, but look to all.”
 
You and I should be having 5-10 second conversations with people in the room. We’ll deliver a couple sentences or one thought to the dark haired individual in the front row. Then we deliver the next few lines to the individual in the back row. We keep to doing this with audience members around the room.
 
What will happen? Members of the audience will feel like we are speaking right to them. Every speaking book and course hammers home the idea of making eye contact for around 5 seconds.
 
This tip goes well beyond that. You are not just making eye contact, you are having a conversation with that individual.
 
Do this and you and I will connect with the audience and stand out from most speakers. A lot of speakers will just talk to the room. Have you seen it? They speak to one side of the room and then the other, but their eyes never lock on an individual.
 
You can be different. Speak to one person at a time and you will connect and create a positive audience experience.
 
(C) Arlen Busenitz
 

 

 

Arlen Busenitz

Arlen Busenitz is an experienced speaker with over 650 presentations. He is Author of several books, CD's,and creator of Become a Better Speaker in One Evening™

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