How To Persuade An Audience

The big nine year old boy -- the tallest in his class -- steps on to the stage alone. He is a little nervous, but not afraid. He has been on a stage before, but usually with others in a play or recital. Two hundred sympathetic eyes are upon him. Friends, teachers, classmates, family. The applause has died down from the previous contestant. The room is quiet. This is a public speaking contest, after all, but the boy is prepared. He has thoroughly memorized his selected poem, The Adventures of Isabele by Ogden Nash, and he could deliver it backwards if required.

It is over in a flash. It is an amusing poem, so there was some laughter. And nice applause finished it all off. Not a hitch. It was perfectly natural.

The boy, of course, was me. I came in second that day, with an honorable mention. The boy who came in first went on to a great career as an actor on TV and movies, so I really cannot complain about my standing! Interestingly, I have always been just as comfortable speaking before an audience as I was that day.

Many of us are not so naturally comfortable, yet we are all asked to speak before groups from time to time -- to tell a story, to ask for help, to deliver a message or to enroll others. This applies to both business situations and volunteer organizations.

In fact, even the most experienced public speakers get butterflies before presenting, but these tips will make it easier for you and help assure that your presentation is both effective and persuasive.

The approach to public speaking I recommend is called "MY ACE", which focuses on:

Message must be clear,
Yourself is who to be,
Audience participation,
Communication with words/pictures/actions, and
Express your request!

MESSAGE MUST BE CLEAR!

Always prepare a presentation with ONE key message in mind, and know that you will have to repeat that message several times in several ways for your audience to really absorb it. Example: "More Phys Ed in schools is one answer to child obesity."

You will usually have two or three major support points, but that should be all. For example, "Since 1980 the proportion of overweight children has TRIPLED to 15%; this is leading to billions of wasted healthcare dollars and needless disease and death for hundreds of thousands of people; more Phys Ed in school offers a host of other benefits and is a good investment in the future."

That's it. If you can drive home your key message using stories and examples related to your support points, then you have hit a home run. Audiences cannot absorb too much information and also sort out what's important.

It is important to know your audience in advance and to make educated guesses about how you can tie your key message to things that they already care about. In this example, if you are talking to parents you focus on the future of their children, if you are talking to policy makers you focus on how the benefits outweigh the costs.

Think through your talk, prepare notes, and practice in advance. A presentation in your natural voice from your own notes is much more effective than reading a prepared text.

YOURSELF IS WHO TO BE!

Yes, it sounds like something Yoda would say, and it's true. You are perfectly equipped to be a public speaker. All you have to do is be yourself, talk WITH your audience (not AT them) and be natural. If "natural" means that you are unaccustomed to public speaking, then tell your audience about that right up front. They will be more forgiving than you think. All they want is a sincere message and a heartfelt or interesting story from a real person.

Think of it as a conversation where you do most of the talking. Look people in the eye, smile, be sincere, vary your tone and pace.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ROCKS!

If you can get the audience involved, do so. With a small audience, ask questions and use the answers to guide the conversation. For example, ask "What do you think are the other benefits of Phys Ed in school?" or "Have you ever had an experience that relates to this?" With a large audience, you can accomplish the same thing asking for people to raise their hands or applaud in response to a question. "How many of you have kids in grade school?"

COMMUNICATE WITH WORDS & PICTURES & ACTIONS!

Without going into all the psychology, neurology and behavioral science, allow me to simply say that different people process information differently. Some are best with words and hearing, others are best with pictures and visualizing, others are best with touching and working. All three types are in your audience, so an effective communicator will try to work all three types of communication into the presentation: Words and word pictures for the "auditories"; charts, diagrams and illustrations for the "visuals"; and props and interaction for the "kinesthetics".

On a related subject, remember that people visualize what you describe for them, and the part of the brain that creates these visualizations is well connected to the parts of the brain that influence behavior and response. Therefore, it's best to paint POSITIVE word pictures of the outcomes you desire. For example, saying, "we cannot allow our children to be fat and lazy" is much less effective than saying "we must enable our children to be healthy and active". Always paint positive pictures of your outcomes.

EXPRESS YOUR REQUEST!

Speaking of outcomes, what would you like members of your audience to do as a result of your speech? Vote a certain way? Make a contribution? Donate their time? Call their congressman? Whatever it is, be sure to ASK FOR IT! And get a response or a commitment at the conclusion of your talk. "May I have a show of hands of everyone who will write their school board to support more Phys Ed?"

Finally, allow plenty of time for questions. Every question gives you another opportunity to state your message, be yourself, interact with the audience, communicate effectively, and ask for support.