Good public speaking should use attention
gaining devices. Here is one that works every time: Virtually every
speaking presentation I do, I find some excuse to get someone on stage
with me. When an audience member is on stage, the rest of the audience
is glued to the action for the following reasons:
1. They want to see what is going to happen to
one of their own.
2. They are priming themselves to be up there.
3. They are worrying to death that they may be
asked to be up there.
Reasons 1 and 2 are good and reason 3 is not so
good. For 1 and 2 the mindset of the observing audience member is that,
"I want to watch to see what my colleague or other audience member will
do when they are on stage. No matter how exciting you are as a
presenter, you cannot compete with the excitement generated by someone
who is on stage who is not "supposed" to be on stage.
The other mindset is, "I BETTER watch what is
going on in case I am asked to go up there." This mindset is good too,
because it forces the audience member to actually think about the point
you are trying to make.
For number 3, you want to keep shy or sensitive
audience members from withdrawing from your program altogether because
of the fear that they may be asked to stand up in front of everyone.
This chance of withdrawal is easily eliminated by the following
statement:
In a moment I'm going to ask for some / a
volunteer to come on stage with me. Don't worry. No one will have to
come up if they don't want to.
If you have a high percentage of shy audience
members, you will almost feel the breeze as they breath a sigh of
relief.
Now we will take a look at what things you can
do with them once you get them on stage. According to a study done at
the University of Wichita, public recognition is one of the top
motivators of people. If you claim to be a "motivational" public speaker
of some sort, it might be a good idea for you to use your highly public
profile while you are speaking to give out public recognition. I find
out the good things that particular audience members have done during my
extensive pre-program research.
Here are some ways to use the information you
learn:
Recognize a single audience member for a
particular achievement, or for a period of high performance.
Recognize a group of audience members for a
particular achievement, or period of high performance.
While they are on-stage make a custom visual
highlighting their achievement, or performance (If you use an overhead
you can give it to the audience member or team after you show it. Do not
forget to include your company name at the bottom of the visual. Many
times these will be hung on the wall in the organization which will give
you free publicity).
Another reason to get an audience member or
group on stage is for some sort of demonstration. I do one where I'm
demonstrating personal space across cultures. The person helping me gets
a good laugh from the audience as we interact.
Try to have preplanned "ad-libs" ready to go for
many of the comments or questions you anticipate from the people on
stage. You can also have someone on stage to assist you in writing on
the flip chart, changing overheads, or to blow a horn when someone in
the audience asks a good question. Use your imagination.
Whenever, someone is up there to assist you,
make sure you give them some kind of prize. One of your products is
usually good because it gives you a chance to mention it without using a
hard sell. And just about always lead the audience in a round of
applause for the helper as they return to their seat.