Keynote Speakers: Engage Your Audience
What captivating content are you sharing with the masses through your public speaking engagements? Do you have a message the world should hear? Or are you just sharing the latest company update? Either way, if your audience isn’t listening, you’re wasting your time…
Captivate the audience first –
Some speakers will tell a joke or pump up the audience by talking about some notorious event that happened along the way to speak to them… But there are times when you really don’t have time for the EXTRA stuff that speeches are made of. what do you do then?
Sales Coach, Hugh LiddleHe wears a red cap. A stark contrast to the rest of the world, his red cap and winter scarf transport the listener to another place in time. She keeps the listener entertained throughout her training with colorful and to the point commentary.
When Retail Sales Representative and Team Leader, Bo Mackey he picks up a stool and sits in front of his team, chances are they’ll notice the tattoo on his shoulder (even in winter this guy wears black sleeveless shirts) and wonder who the biker guy is and why he’s sitting across from them . As he leaves the training room, he removes his skull and crossbones bandana to reveal a shiny bald head and dons his gray tweed jacket for the professional look they recognise.
Both men effectively capture the attention of their audience. Appearance first. You don’t have to do weird things to captivate your audience, but those two options work well.
MaKenna Turley, Sales Representative and TrainerHe drops his briefcase to the floor with a thud and kicks the tag open. Like a jack-in-the-box, his podium appears with his papers neatly arranged on top. The first time I saw her do this, I almost fell out of the meat. The rest of his show was at least that corny, but his audience left with new insights and some great ideas for making his marketing plans profitable.
It’s a trick. The tricks work. Tricks draw attention. What can you do to captivate your audience and compel your attendees to LISTEN to what you say?
I know speakers who work their way through a presentation, and speakers who DRONE, but their audience listens. Whatever you choose to do, it needs to fit your personal style and be engaging to hold your audience’s attention. The point is, be original. Be unique. Be different. Goal BE YOURSELF.
