How to Become Friendly Toward the Audience in Public Speaking

How to Become Friendly Toward the Audience in Public Speaking

by Angela Wills

When you see experienced public speakers, sometimes it seems they cast a spell on an audience. As an audience member you know what it’s like to feel entrenched in a great speech. One of the first evidences that this public speaker was going to keep this audience in the palm of his hand is that from the instant they open their mouth you feel like they’ve made friends with YOU.

The interesting thing about that “spell” is that once you genuinely like this speaker, you naturally are open to his presentation, you listen more attentively and you are more open to suggestion if the speaker is driving to a point.

So as you prepare to begin doing some public speaking, its natural to want to know how to make that spell work for you. We all have a natural feeling of insecurity or inferiority and we worry that the audience will not like us and our presentation will go badly. So you wonder if that speaker just naturally more likeable than you or did he use some public speaking magic to make the audience like him.

The answer is twofold.

First, no, that public speaker is not more likeable than you. That is just your insecurity talking to you and you need to tell that insecurity to take a hike because it is not going to do you a bit of good becoming a better public speaker.

Secondly, yes there is something that public speaker knows to make his or her audience like them but no, it isn’t magic at all. It is something anyone who stands in front of a crowd can use and it will work every time.

The secret really isn’t very complicated at all. You just have to learn to like the audience. That may seem simple but buried in that idea is a powerful principle of psychology. When you step in front of a crowd and you have trained yourself to like them, it comes out in every aspect of your posture and the way you behave. You will smile more, make eye contact and actually find yourself wanting to interact with them during the course of your presentation.

Now don’t be concerned if your speech or presentation is not interactive in a dialog sort of way. But if you have spoken to a small group before, you know that there is a lot of interaction going on even during a one way speech. That speaker who charmed you that day with that “magic” knows that interaction goes on all the time. As you speak, you get feedback in the form of body language and facial expressions that let you know how you are doing. And by starting out with a fundamental warmth and affectionate relationship with an audience, that feedback is warm and affectionate as well and that only makes the presentation more of a success.

The trick to learning to like your audience lies in looking for good reasons to like them. We use the word “trick” for a good reason.’ Any reason to like them will do. You don’t have to like every individual in the audience. You might like the clothing they are wearing or the faces of individuals in the audience. You might like certain ones you know or a few you met and found a chemistry with early on. You can even like a crowd just because you find a few in that group attractive. By focusing on the ones you like, your warmth toward them will spread to the rest of the audience as you speak. Before long you will have that crowd in the palm of your hand and using that magic spell to make your presentation a success. Then you will remember this little “trick”. And you will use it often for public speaking success every time.

How to Use Social Networking For Business

Using Traditional, Internet and Social Networking for Business

by Angela Wills

Ready to improve your speaker business networking skills?

Networking is the lifeblood of any speaking business. You have to get out there, network and get known so when the time is right and the opportunity arises, you are the speaker they think of.

In any service-based business networking is an absolutely essential business practice. Many people won’t hire you simply by finding your website, they want to hear from someone they know and trust that you are a great speaker!

Just remember that networking is NOT about pushing your business on other people. You need to give and add value wherever you go. Think of it like this – give until it hurts, be different when possible, be interesting whenever you can and be find-able when people DO want to hire you. Don’t shove your business in their face but don’t make it hard to find you when they’re ready.

Here are some ways to network that I’ve personally found very effective:

Offline:
Conferences & Seminars- Of course the traditional networking through conferences and seminars is still very effect. The belly to belly connection of looking someone in the eyes just can’t be beat. When you can get to conferences and seminars don’t miss the opportunity to connect with people, collect their business cards and FOLLOW UP.

Family & Friends – We can’t forget our family and friends. They care about our success and want us to succeed (most of the time) so make sure your family understands what you do or at least knows a great tagline for you. For example – My aunt inspires people to greater business success as a motivational speaker.

Online:
Membership Site Forums – When someone is willing to pay to be part of a membership site then it really shows they are serious about their business. I’ve found it to be very effective to network on the forums that these membership sites offer. Remember, though, that networking is about giving just as much (or more) then you get so don’t expect to go in and get tons of business straight away.

Blogs – We already know that people who post comments on our blogs are already interested in what we have to say. Why not send them a personalized reply saying thank you for the comment? This may open up a conversation with them or it might just lay the foundation for later.

Online Networking - There are many sites out there that host webinars specifically for networking. These are great places to go to get to know other business owners. One I know of and attend fairly regularly is the Business and Learning Tuesday night networking. When you visit these type of rooms put your first and last name so that you will be recognized.

Social Networking - Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and many many more. These are Social Networks. Using social networks to build your business has been the source of many debates. Some say it’s a waste of time, some say it’s a serious marketing tool. How do you know if it works for you? Test it. Don’t spend tons of time and resources on social networking until you see if it’s a great fit for your target market and your business. If you’re not getting the results (ie. great business contacts) then it may not be the networking method for you.

Of course there are other ways to network online as well, you just need to be creative and always make sure you are bringing value to the table. The important thing is that you’re getting yourself and your business recognized and building a solid reputation.

Want to network? Meet me over at Twitter or Mom Masterminds – two places I spent a lot of time networking.

10 Blog Traffic Tips

Ten Blog Traffic Tips

You’ve got your blog and now you’re ready for some traffic. Feeling stuck as to what to do next? Here are ten solid tips to get your more traffic coming and coming back to read your posts and interact on your blog.

1. Post Regularly - Not all blogs will require you to post daily but keeping your blogging to consistent and regular posting is very important to keep your visitors interested. Read more