Post date: Oct 30, 2010 6:48:18 PM
This is it! You have landed your first public speaking
engagement. You've prepared and rehearsed. You are all ready
to give your best presentation ever.
As you start to begin you have exactly 3 minutes of your
presentation to grab the audience attention and build
rapport to ensure that they buy in to what you have to say.
In the first 3 minutes of your presentations, your audienceis sizing you up. They are deciding whether they like youand whether are you worth listening to. If you lose youraudience in the first 3 minutes you will be playing catch upfor the rest of the presentation.Why is the first 3 minutes of your public speakingengagement the most important period of your presentation?This is the time where the attention of the audience isnaturally high and focused. Here is where the audiencedecides to hear you out or not. First Impression counts andyou have only one chance at it.In this crucial period you need to build rapport with youraudience. Rapport is a prerequisite for effectivecommunication. Before presenting any material you must buildrapport with your audience.
When people are like each other, they like each other. When
you have enough rapport with your audience, they will feel
acknowledge and engage with you in your presentation.
You can build rapport with your audience by;
- Using the words they use. Use their Jargon's and preferred
terms.
- Use the same tonality and say it like they do
- Use the same gestures and postures.
People create bonds with each others by finding shared
experiences. Tell a story to your audience which relays to
them that you are exactly like them. Meet as many of your
audience before the presentation and build rapport with them
individually.
Right from the start let your audience define their own
expectation and do your best to meet those expectations.
Experiment with different types of openers to see which
builds more rapport for you and with your audience. Be
flexible, use as many different openers and evaluate your
results. The openers which build more rapport with your
audience for you will be the best ones. The types of openers
that you can look into are;
- Current Events
- Humorous
- Pictorial
- Anecdotal
- Pertinent Quote
- Real-World Situation
- Rhetorical
- Musical
If you have built enough rapport with your audience in the
first 3 minutes of your presentation the rest of your
presentation will move smoothly. You will have an engaging
audience and you will be able to have fun with them and be
yourself on stage.
About the Author:
go here for further assistance ==>
TARKITIM lives on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Rising up in the world, making a difference to peoples
lives.