Audiences Want to Connect with Real People

Misuse of technology can turn speakers into mere caption readers for slides and personal communication is lost. If your listeners could experience your presentation without you, why are you there? My colleague, Sims Wyeth author of of The Essentials of Persuasive Public Speaking, offers this excellent suggestion for speakers:

Turn Off The Projector
by Sims Wyeth

Turn off the projector now and then.  Turn off the light and hum of the fan, the white noise and the rectangular slab of glare.  Turn off the headline and the text.

Step away from the corner of the room and stand up, front and center.  Talk to your audience.  Just talk for a while, the old-fashioned way, without slides.  Push the “B for Black” button on your computer and see what happens.

The room will morph from predictably corporate to surprisingly intimate, and in that moment, you will gain access to the personal space of your listeners. Turn off the projector.  You are the most important visual.

To watch fast, fun “Tip Clips” on “How to look confident when speaking,” “How to gesture while speaking,” and “How to slow down while speaking,” visit the Sims Wyeth & Co. bookstore.

Sims Wyeth is the president of Sims Wyeth & Co., an executive development firm in Montclair, NJ devoted to the art and science of speaking persuasively.

Thank you Sims!

Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of using technology as a substitute for communicating directly with audience members. Audiences want to connect with real people. These Fripp.com articles offer more advice on how to use media to support your message: “Do You Know How to Correctly Use Visual Aids in Your Presentation?” and “8 Mistakes Made when Presenting with PowerPoint® and How to Correct Them.”

Sign up for a complimentary trial and discover how Fripp Virtual Training can transform you and your team. Improve the quality of your training and lower your investment. FrippVT delivers high-caliber comprehensive presentation and sales presentations skills training with built-in accountability. http://frippvt.com

Executive Speech Coach and Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker Patricia Fripp works with individuals and companies who realize that powerful, persuasive presentation skills give them a competitive edge.