Attention! Attention! Get Your Audience to Pay Attention!
Lecture and Selected Online Readings
by Jeffrey Bingham Mead, Kapiolani Community College
No matter whether your speech or presentation is educational, informative or entertaining a good speaker does not have much time to attract the attention of an audience. In our daily lives its common for people to trust their first impressions. That means your introduction needs to be effective. That also means you need to use effective strategies to get your audience to pay attention to you right away.
I have often found among busy and smart professionals that they have an easy time talking to people about the details of their businesses and projects. That’s because this is very familiar to them. Therefore, they feel confident and comfortable. But because they do not know how to open meetings or presentations getting started is a challenge, often making them feel nervous and anxious about speaking to an audience.
One of my good friends is a restaurant chef, and she says, “A good introduction to an audience is like a good appetizer. It makes your audience enthusiastic about what follows.” First impressions are important, and you only have one chance to make a good one.
Attention getters are effective in helping you make your audience feel enthusiastic and interested in your speech or presentation. Click this link to learn more.
Please note that there are a number of ways you can attract an audience. This same link has sub-links to the following strategies, so be sure to click and read these pages, too:
Shocking Statistic
I would also like you to click this link and read this article: Become a Public Speaking Genius: Where to Begin: Attention Getters, by David Norelius.
Also, please click this web link to a page on questions to ask about your audience and your situation. This is one originally written for faculty at Illinois State University, but there is much here that students like you can use to make your speeches and presentations effective and successful.
Now that you have become familiar with how you can successfully attract and keep an audience’s attention now I want to briefly mention what you should never do. My source is a wonderful book entitled How to Say It: Persuasive Presentations, by Jeffrey Jacobi.
Ready? Here we go!
Never begin a presentation without a proper introduction.
Never begin a presentation without structuring your thoughts well.
Do not rely too much on written notes; eye contact from the very beginning is important.
Do not start your presentation or speech with low energy and a lack of enthusiasm. If you look and feel tired and bored your audience will feel the same way.
Having little or no interaction with your audience is not good.
Using stiff body language is also not good for you or your audience. Don’t slouch!
Do not speak too fast.
Do not use too many “uhs” and “ums.”
With a little imagination and creativity you can also differentiate yourself from boring public speakers and presenters. It’s up to you to excite and engage your audience. The power to be interesting is yours! Good luck! See you in class!
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