Show More Courtesy for the Audience

Imagine that you’re attending a conference, arrived in the room early, sitting in your chair, waiting for the presentation to begin. How would you feel while watching the pre-presentation slide show and one of the slides read…

That’s like a restaurant posting a sign stating “As a courtesy to our chefs please be sure to eat everything on your plate”.

I found that slide and the arrogance behind it ironic for three reasons:

1. The onus is on the speaker to keep it interesting. I would stay as long as I believe it was in my best interest to stay. I would leave when I want to leave.

2. The speaker was already discourteous by starting late and loudly blaming “the person who was supposed to bring my presentation”.  Why didn’t the speaker have a copy of his slides with him? When he started, he seemed to rush through the presentation and still went late. I’m not sure what his key message was. I walked away remembering nothing from his presentation. Perhaps I should have left before he started as a courtesy to me.

3. The event organizers were discourteous to the attendees in several ways. That included the 15-minute late start for the opening program; the lack of directions to the main stage, and hiding the coffee room - among other transgressions.

Hmm, imagine what courtesies the attendees might request from the organizers and speakers.

Event Organizer, as a courtesy to your attendees:

Post directions and/or maps to the different rooms especially the main stage.

Start on time.

End on time.

Don’t place the exhibit booths on the other side of the curtain in the same room as the keynote presentations because it’s too noisy for everyone.

 Arrange proper lighting for the main stage. The dimmed chandeliers might be appropriate for a wedding reception but not for a business event.

If the speaker is not using slides, blank the projector. Don’t flash your promotional slides during the speaker’s talk. That’s distracting and discourteous to the speaker as well as the audience.

The promotional slides that you show between speakers can be effective if the audience can read them. There’s no point in listing all 30 exhibitors on one slide. Consider splitting that list across three slides.

Clarify the start and end times of the presentation with the speaker and MC including speaking time and question period. Allow the speaker to manage how they use that time.

MC, as a courtesy to your audience:

Prepare your transition phrases. Avoid the overuse of these meaningless words:  “so” “I just wanna” “as was mentioned”…

Silence the room before introducing a speaker.

When conveying instructions for a networking activity state the directions clearly and indicate how you will signal the end of the activity.

Confirm the ending time with the speaker before the presentation starts.

Speaker, as a courtesy to your audience:

 

Be in the room with all your materials well before it’s time to speak.

Prepare and rehearse your opening.

Prepare and rehearse your closing.

Prepare and rehearse your presentation so you don’t need to read it from sheets of paper or your slides.

Use slides if they help illustrate your message. If they don’t, then don’t use them. If you plan to use the slides for your notes, see previous point.

 

Courtesy to the Audience

The audience should never feel trapped. They’re attending the program for an enjoyable experience and/or to learn insights and capture useful ideas. Telling them to stay in their seats like compliant kindergartners doesn’t enhance the experience or the learning. Naturally, the need to deliver rules like that suggests that the organizers believe that the speakers aren’t good enough to hold their audience.

In my experience as a professional speaker over the past 20 years I’ve learned that the audience can vote with their feet or mobile devices. Often I openly invite people to leave the room whenever they want. I’d like them to attend but only if they want to be there. For that reason I ask the organizer to keep at least one door open so people can easily leave or enter the room while minimizing any disruption. That seems courteous to everyone.

PS: You might be surprised to learn that all of these observations were gathered at one conference that I attended.

What discourteous practices have you experience?



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Disastrous Opening to the Conference

It started 20 minutes late

A full day conference will likely get behind schedule at some point during the day. It starts with a three minute delay, then a presentation that’s five minutes too long, a break extends an extra 12 minutes,  unexpected announcements steal seven minutes, a sponsor drones on forever… Surprise, surprise – by late afternoon your conference is running 20 to 40 minutes behind schedule.

Imagine starting the day 20 minutes behind schedule. When the program finally started at 9:20am there was neither explanation nor an apology. That didn’t feel like a good start to the day. The audience could only wonder when the day might end.

“How are you guys?”

That was the opening statement from the conference chair at 9:20 am. That’s a ridiculous question at any time because no one can answer that question. No one can speak on behalf of the group. That question is usually posed to satisfy the speaker. The speaker will assume that everyone is happy simply because there is no answer and no one feels qualified to answer on behalf of the group.

I was tempted to shout out “I’m annoyed that you’re starting late without an apology and explanation. I’m also insulted that you posed such a ridiculous question. When you ask, ‘How are you?’ Do you really want the truth?” But I restricted that to my inside voice.

Naturally, there was no reply to his stupid question. He probably didn’t care or even realize that we might feel annoyed with the delayed opening.

The second annoying thing about his question was the phrase “You guys” because that’s trailer trash talk. The major portion of the audience was university students who expected to enter employment in the business world. If they hope to earn respect they will need to clean up their use of colloquial language. When speaking to a group the correct term is “you”.

The smaller portion of the audience was representatives from business.  To the students these people might become advisors, mentors, recruiters and future employers. They might already be judging the students based on first impressions.

20 Members of the Team Introduced Themselves

The conference chair then called upon each of his conference team to introduce themselves to the group. Perhaps he thought that portrayed him as a team player. Instead, it was an agonizing waste of time. I appreciate that they were volunteers and deserved recognition but this wasn’t the time or best way to recognize them. I believe this choice demonstrated poor leadership and decision making skills.

“Welcome Everyone”

After the lengthy round of self-introductions this was the next phrase from the conference chair.

If he wanted to welcome us then his first words should have been “Welcome”. That would have been more effective than “How are you guys?”

“We Worked Really Hard”

Instead of stating the benefits of attending the conference he delivered this lame claim of effort. That phrase is either an excuse or a plea for appreciation. Who cares how hard you worked? That’s not important.  What can you deliver? How will we benefit? What’s in it for us?

Hello

Finally, the opening keynote speaker was introduced. His opening slide was the word “Hello”. What a thoughtless opening slide! Perhaps this speaker had never delivered a keynote speech. Why was he the keynote speaker? Apparently he was the CEO of a successful advertising agency. During his presentation he chronicled his rise in the advertising industry through several agencies before launching his own company. He offered important insights about connecting with your market and delivering your message. He didn’t demonstrate that in his presentation.

“So, what I’m gonna try to do…”

After the Hello slide, this was his opening line. How terrible! The opening line of your presentation, especially a keynote speech must engage the audience and create anticipation to hear your message.

Would that line grab your attention? Would you immediately sit up in your seat and be poised to listen to the rest of the story?

There are several mistakes with that line.

It’s trash talk – starting with the word “so” and using the slang “gonna”.

It’s vague and a waste of seven words.

“Try” sounds apologetic and uncertain. Do you remember Yoda’s thoughts on the word Try?

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

Yoda

The speaker’s opening line was about himself and his efforts – not about the audience. You’d think that an advertising expert would know the importance of talking about your audience.

What do you do when you’re bored in a meeting? Perhaps you check the time or your messages. I glanced at my watch noticed that we were 58 minutes into the program. My consoling thought was “Good thing I wasn’t planning to stay all day”.

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SP Tip 76: Transform Boring Into Exciting

 

How to transform boring material into an exciting presentation

My topic is boring so I can’t help but be boring. Have you heard a speaker utter that excuse? Have you used it?

The evening before his presentation to a conference of entrepreneurs a speaker confessed to me that his presentation would be boring because it was a boring topic. He sighed that it wasn’t his fault.

So I asked him, “What benefit can they hope to gain or what pain might they avoid by listening to your presentation?”

“They’ll learn how to take advantage of some free business development programs that have demonstrated a track record of success.”

“Wow! How could that be boring?”

“Well, there are a lot of details that relate to the application process.”

“What’s the purpose of your presentation?”

“We want people to express their interest in the program so we can help them apply.”

“So why bore them with the details about the process? Instead tell them about the benefits of the program. Offer a success story from a previous applicant. Remind them that’s its free to participate. Deal with the details later – after they’ve expressed their interest and are ready for the details.”

He looked at me with that ah-ha look on his face. Then a small smile followed by a slight grimace as he stated, “I have to revise my presentation tonight.”

After his presentation the next day he beamed as he announced to me that he had obtained sign-ups from more than 80% of the audience. That response was more than double his expectations.

He told me that he was up late the night before completely overhauling his presentation.  Speaking to the interests of the audience made him feel more comfortable and more excited about his presentation.

His presentation wasn’t boring and it was successful because he spoke to the interests of the audience. He didn’t waste time trying to cover all the information.

People don’t care about the details until they’re convinced that they want the product or service.

The next public seminar on How to Deliver Superior Presentations is June 24 in Burlington, Ont. Register now for the early booking discount. Click here to sign up.

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