The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”

How will I know what my audience will remember?

Your Marketing Officer: “Just give them as much information as possible. That way if they don’t remember anything in particular, they are at least likely to leave with the impression that you are smart and competent.”

Your College Speech Coach: “They will remember anything, as long as you tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.”

You: “It just depends on luck and the whims of the audience that day. This is completely beyond my control!”

Your Audience: “We audiences are pretty predictable. We remember interesting and relevant stories, examples and anecdotes. If you can make your points with an occasional surprise, unpredictability or humor, then we will be retelling your message to others for the next 5 years. The one thing we can absolutely guarantee you is that we will not remember a straightforward data dump.”

The following comes from TJ Walker’s upcoming book “The Wisdom of Your Audience”

How should I ask to be introduced to my audience?

What the experts say:

Your in-house communications expert: “Just print your standard 2-page bio and let your introducer read it.”

Your PR Representative: “Be sure to remind people of every media appearance you have made in the last 5 years.”

You: “I’m feeling a little insecure, so I better convince them of my credibility with credentials. Of course they will want to know that I made the honor society all four years in high school and they need to know about every single career accomplishment. Otherwise they won’t listen to me.”

*******

Your Audience: “For crying out loud, don’t let your introduction go longer than 30-45 seconds. Tell us the one or two things that make you an expert on the subject you are about to address. Tell us what you have donet that directly has an impact on what we do. We really don’t care about where you went to school, your children, your dog or where you like to vacation. Please be selective in what you have your introducer tell us about you. We know you wrote your own intro, so don’t make the it longer than your speech.”

Here is a recent podcast I did with PowerUp English, an Asian public speaking blog. The focus is on making presentations more memorable.

http://www.powerupenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=7

As promised, I am going to point out blunders and mistakes I make when giving speeches, in the hopes that you can learn and not have to make the same blunders. Here I am giving a recent speech in the