Show, don't tell
Today I took part in the volunteer activities of "Day of Caring" at American Red Cross in Farmington, CT. I forgot my camera and berated myself for not being able to take video podcasts of the event. Oh Well!! These things happen. I hope to get photos of the event from some colleagues who were smart enough to bring cameras.
Our day started out with a presentation of the American Red Cross, mission and activities. I observed a common mistake that many presenters make. Novices and experienced speakers alike sometimes tell the audience how great something will be, and don't allow the audience to find out for themselves.
As I have explained before in this blog, when the introduction is a page long, and tells us all about how dynamic the speaker is, then my first thought is "He must be very boring if he has to tell the audience repeatedly that he is a dynamic speaker. I guess we would not have seen the dynamism if he did not tell us about it first. Or else he is insulting my intelligence by assuming that he has to tell me, since I am unable to identify a dynamic speaker when I see one." (Personally, I think that a speaker who needs to introduce himself as "dynamic" needs a therapist, not an audience.) I have yet to see a person introduce himself as "dynamic" and then live up to the promise.
Today's presenter introduced a video clip as "Very emotional". We watched the clip and I wasn't moved at all. Now what does that mean? I have no emotions? I looked around the audience who were also politely paying attention, but I did not witness any emotions.
I recommend that you do not set up your stories and video clips with introductions such as "This is a funny story" or "This is an emotional video". Just get right into it, and let your audience decide for themselves.
Have a look at your introductions. Are you telling your audiences how great you are? If so, then stop. Make your introduction "you focused" and show your audience that you are a dynamic, humorous and exciting speaker. This does not insult your audience and also saves you from looking like a fool when you don't deliver on what your introduction billed you to be.
All in all, this was a very productive day and a great volunteer event. I also purchased an emergency FM/AM radio with a hand-powered generator to use in case the power goes out. This is a fascinating invention and brings out the engineer in me.
Our day started out with a presentation of the American Red Cross, mission and activities. I observed a common mistake that many presenters make. Novices and experienced speakers alike sometimes tell the audience how great something will be, and don't allow the audience to find out for themselves.
As I have explained before in this blog, when the introduction is a page long, and tells us all about how dynamic the speaker is, then my first thought is "He must be very boring if he has to tell the audience repeatedly that he is a dynamic speaker. I guess we would not have seen the dynamism if he did not tell us about it first. Or else he is insulting my intelligence by assuming that he has to tell me, since I am unable to identify a dynamic speaker when I see one." (Personally, I think that a speaker who needs to introduce himself as "dynamic" needs a therapist, not an audience.) I have yet to see a person introduce himself as "dynamic" and then live up to the promise.
Today's presenter introduced a video clip as "Very emotional". We watched the clip and I wasn't moved at all. Now what does that mean? I have no emotions? I looked around the audience who were also politely paying attention, but I did not witness any emotions.
I recommend that you do not set up your stories and video clips with introductions such as "This is a funny story" or "This is an emotional video". Just get right into it, and let your audience decide for themselves.
Have a look at your introductions. Are you telling your audiences how great you are? If so, then stop. Make your introduction "you focused" and show your audience that you are a dynamic, humorous and exciting speaker. This does not insult your audience and also saves you from looking like a fool when you don't deliver on what your introduction billed you to be.
All in all, this was a very productive day and a great volunteer event. I also purchased an emergency FM/AM radio with a hand-powered generator to use in case the power goes out. This is a fascinating invention and brings out the engineer in me.
Labels: Presentation Tips
posted by Wayne Botha @ 9:03 PM
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