15 minutes till showtime. Most of the 35 business professionals were shuffling their notes, glancing at their cell phones, or looking ahead in bored silence. Though I was not expected to speak till the top of the hour, I dived into the crowd and started mingling. Starting with a person on the front row, I engaged in mini conversations with different individuals.

Using techniques from my book Conversation Magic, I connected with about 8 different people. In part 2, we’ll look at how I do this. In this article we’ll look at 5 reasons why I mingle with the audience.

Reason #1: Mingling Increases my Connection with the Audience

My friend took a young lady out for coffee. Was it a fun evening? Nope. The conversation dragged and it felt like a piano and a guitar playing different music. Their was no connection. He cut the evening short and took her to a movie so he would not have to talk to her!

An audience who feels connected with the speaker listens attentively and the room is filled with energy. If there is weak or little connection, bother speaker and audience may wish they were at the movies!

By mingling with the audience, they will see you as a normal person and it will easier to connect on stage. Leave a great impression before and it will make it much easier to leave a great impression from the stage.

Reason #2: Mingling Increases my Comfort Level and Reduces Anxiety

I rarely experience public speaking fear due to using the principles in Speak with Confidence. However, mingling puts me even more at ease.

A quick way to reduce public speaking fear is to spend time greeting the audience. I coach clients to stand at the door or go around greeting people. They report back how much it helps reduce anxiety and boost confidence.

Reason #3: Mingling Increases my Likeability

A year ago, I spent 10 minutes mingling with a crowd before a training workshop. Later I glanced at the reviews and several individuals mentioned, “He’s a likeable guy.”

If people like you as a person, they are much more apt to enjoy your message and ask you back. Spending time interacting before your speech will greatly increase your likeability.

Reason #4:Mingling Increases my Ability to use Customized Humor and Content.

Audiences love a customized presentation. One of my friends gets paid $5,000 a speech. He’ll mingle with the audience before the event or even the day prior so he can pick up info on what’s going on. If someone mentions the hotel rooms are small, he’ll work that aspect into the speech.

It’s like toppings on ice-cream. A small amount greatly enhances the experience of the audience.

Reason #5:Mingling Allows Me to use People’s Names in the Presentation

Use a person’s name in a positive way and they will enjoy the attention and everyone else will immediately pay attention. Work in people’s names. If they ask a question, refer back to them by name. Your status will quickly rise as a speaker.

Mingling is a powerful public speaking tip. It can be the difference between a good speaking experience and a great speaking experience.

All these reasons benefit me. However, they also benefit the audience even more so they get more out of my presentation.

Watch for part 2 on how to mingle with the audience.

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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When I was 18, I learned the Rule of 72. It is mainly applied when making investing decisions, but it has broad implications for speakers and general self improvement.

The Rule of 72 states:

Divide 72 by your interest rate and that will tell you how many years it takes for your money to double.

72 / 6% = Your money will double every 12 years

I know this is a speaking blog, but hang with me.

If you an I improve in an area of our life by just 2.5% a day, we will be twice as good in 29 days. (72 / 2.5% = 29)

Today, could you be:

• 2.5% more positive?
• 2.5% more efficient?
• 2.5% more loving?
• 2.5% more disciplined?
• Watch 2.5% less TV?
• Spend 2.5% more time with your family?

Sure you can. Grow by 2.5% every day and in 29 days you will have improved by 100%

Same applies to public speaking.

With every speech if we are just:

• 5% better with our vocal variety
• 5% better with our pauses
• 5% better with making eye contact
• etc…

Then after 15 speaking engagements we will be twice as good as we are now. We will have improved our public speaking skills by 100%

Have some fun with the rule of 72.

Small changes done consistently over time create massive results. Learn more about this concept in  The Compound Effect (aff Link)

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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Study the famous speakers of the past and present and you'll find most use an important public speaking tip. They speak with enthusiasm and passion. Great speakers care about their topic and influencing the audience. We can learn from them and put some fire and passion into our presentation.

Here are three ways to help us speak with passion and enthusiasm

1. Choose topics you care about.

2. Think about how your message will impact the audience.

3. Act enthusiastic. Control your body and the feelings will follow.

You captivate the audience when you deliver your speech. Use this important public speaking tip and speak with passion and enthusiasm.

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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Yesterday, you learned the power of speaking to one person. Another powerful delivery tip is to use the word “you”

Compare these two questions:

“How many have been to New York City?”

“Have you visited New York City?”

The second question is much more personal and the audience member will feel like you are speaking to them. After asking this, you would pause to let people mentally answer yes or no.

Presentation Tip #9: Use the word “You” frequently and reword general questions and statements.

Skim through your presentation and insert the word you when appropriate. When you get to a general statement or question, ask, “How would I word this if I was visiting with someone in the hallway.” Craig Valentine calls this the hall way test.

We would never say to someone in the hallway, “Who here has vacationed in Mexico?”

Instead we would say, “Have you vacationed in Mexico?”

Notice the difference?

Also watch out for what Darren Lacroix calls the “You / I ratio”. We should be using the word “You” much more than the word “I”.

Use the word “You” frequently and it’ll help you connect with and impact the audience.

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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Eye contact and Peanut butter? Yes, those two are related. Let me explain.

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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Has the audience ever been bored during your presentation? Unfortunately, there have been many times I have lost the attention of the audience and bored them. Why? Is it the subject, the delivery, the structure, the lack of stories?

Presentation Tip #3: If the Audience is bored, the problem is not the subject. It may be you.

Ouch! A good speaker can make any subject interesting. Sure, some subjects are more interesting that others, but you can hold the audience's attention with any subject. Use effective story-telling techniques. Speak with passion. Speak to one person. Apply other speaking tips.

Do this and you will wake'm up and your message will hit home.

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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When was the last time you listened to a speaker who actually held your attention for almost the entire presentation?

Just five hours ago, I was listening to a speaker who grabbed my attention and held it. Yes, he was good, but it was not because he was using a lot of slick or advanced public speaking tips.

He was using one of the most powerful public speaking formulas a speaker has in his/hers arsenal.

Tell a Story and Make a point.

Hour after hour, this speaker would tell stories and make points. Sure, he took time to define his content, use quotes, and make some humorous comments. However, He probably had a different story every 5 minutes or so.

After telling a story using effective story telling techniques, he would pause and drive home his point. Next, he would pause to let the point sink in.

Did it work? Yes.

Why is this public speaking tip powerful? Stories automatically hold people’s attention, especially if we use some good story telling techniques. All we have to do as speakers is weave our point into the story or bring it home at the end in a powerful way.

However, we must be careful not to make the mistake that many advertisements make. Do you remember the commercial about cowboys herding cats? How about a more recent one that features a white duck? Here is the million dollar question: what are those stories/scenes representing or selling? I must confess I have no clue about the herding cats commercial and just recently remember what the duck stood for.

We must tie the story and point together so well that if the audience remembers the story, they’ll for sure remember the point.

How can we apply this tip?

• Use stories throughout our presentations.
• Tie the story and point together so people remember both.
• Use effective story telling techniques to help our stories hit home.

(C) Arlen Busenitz – 2011

http://www.SpeakingInfo.com

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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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.

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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Recently, my wife and I were taking a stroll through the local mall. I pulled her over to a certain cell phone company’s kiosk (a small sales booth).

The tall, dark haired salesman greeted us and proceeded to erode our trust and slam the door on us ever buying from that location.

Here is the gist of what happened.

Me: “How much for internet access for a laptop with no cell phone plan?”

Salesman: “We are cheaper than XYZ and ABC…”

My thoughts: Thanks for mentioning which companies have this service. I’ll check them out.

Me: “I am concerned whether there is coverage in our area. I have had your company before and we would celebrate if we even got one bar in our house.”

Salesman: “Look at this map. If it shows coverage for your area, then you’ll have coverage.”

Me: “I have had your company and it clearly showed coverage but half the time my cell phone was only good for a paper weight.” (No, I did not say that last part, but wished I had thought of it. )

Salesman: “If the map shows coverage, then you have coverage.”

Me: “That has not been my experience.”

Salesman: “You can try it for 14 days and bring the laptop card back and receive a full refund. It won’t cost you anything.”

The Second Salesman: (Standing close by) “Actually, there will be a $14.95 restocking fee.”

Salesman: (Says nothing as he grabs the laptop card from the case.)

Salesman: If you buy today, I’ll wave the normal $50 signup fee. This deal is good only for today.

My mind: I see no signs talking about this special. This must be a classic sales ploy.

Me: Sorry. Not interested. (We walk away.)

I chuckled to my wife and said, “I know for a fact he was not honest several times. I wonder how truthful he was with everything else he said.”

There is a good lesson here for public speakers and communicators. This guy made three mistakes.

3 Public Speaking Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: He distracted us from the message.

By starting off talking about his competitors, he took attention away from his product. When speaking there are many great jokes and stories we can use. However, some may be distraction and not help us reach our communication goal.

Mistake #2: He sought to convice me without proof.

He wanted me to believe we had service with his map. That map had as much credibility to me as a forwarded email.

Do you have good sources of proof to back up your points?

Mistake #3: He was dishonest.

He lied to us about there not being a fee for returning the laptop card. To create urgency he insisted that this deal was only good today. Due to their being a lack of an official sale, this was likely not true.

Because of these known untruths, I was not sure what else to believe from him

Same thing happens to us as speakers.

One afternoon I heard an excellent speaker with compelling content share a humorous story that he said happened to him. It was great and really drove the point home.

Problem? I have seen that story several times on email and joke boards. He took a story and said it happened to him when it was just a generic joke.

After that I kept wondering which of his stories were really true. Be honest and it will boost your credibility.

The salesman forever lost our business and completely shot his credibility. We can learn from his mistakes.

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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The room was filling up fast. As I mentioned in Part 1, I spent about 15 minutes mingling with the audience. I engaged in mini conversations with various people in the room. From experience, people connect better with a speaker who has spent time working the room.

Here some effective networking tips I use when working a room. (Detailed in Conversation Magic). These are effective in social situations and when working an audience before you speak.

Sometimes I use these as I stand in front of the audience. Other times I float around the room.

Networking Tip #1: Smile with your face and your body.

Smiling is powerful. Studies show it will put us in a good mood and it makes us more likable. A smile makes your voice sound warm and friendly. Practice smiling in front of the mirror so you can create a genuine smile at will and not a cheesy, plastic one.

Can a person frown with their body?

At one event I saw a guy standing in the corner with his arms folded and slumped shoulders. His whole body was shouting, “I am in a grumpy mood. Stay away!”

Uncross your arms. Let them hang by your side. Stand or sit up straight. This will make you feel more confident and be more approachable.

Networking Tip #2: Approach people

Many people are shy. At most events they do not mind being approached by a friendly person, especially if it is the keynote speaker.  My network of business contacts is filled with people because I took the initiative to start a conversation.

“What if I feel nervous or shy?”

Do it anyways. When’s the last time you felt like getting out of bed when the alarm went off? For me, about 1 time out of 20.

After getting up and getting ready for your day, are you glad you got up? Usually

In the same way take control of your fear and approach people. Walk up with a smile. Stop at a comfortable distance.

Then apply this next networking tip on working a room.

Networking Tip #3: Use a comment or a question

A year ago I was standing in front of a packed out room preparing for a workshop on conversation skills. As people continued to file in, I applied the first two networking tips.

I stepped towards a lady on the front row, got her attention, and asked, “How are you enjoying the conference so far?”

That started the conversation and we conversed for about thirty seconds and I found out her name.

While we were talking, the 10 people sitting around her were paying close attention. I was building the connection with them.

Here are some conversation starter questions and comments you can use to start a conversation.

Conversation Starter Questions

• How are you enjoying this event?
• How’s (name) doing?
• What’s new with you?

Comments for Conversations

• Hi! I’m Arlen.
• An observation. The Weather is sure nice.
• A praise. That’s a nice (notebook, ear ring, car,etc) you have.

This will get the conversation rolling and you will be able to effectivly network.

Networking is vital to business success to helping a speaker connect with the audience. Apply these three networking tips and you’ll take your speaking and conversation skills to a new level.

Check out my books and CD’s on Amazon for more conversation & networking tips. Now with free shipping

(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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