Dreading that meeting on Monday? Or maybe it’s a presentation you have to deliver or a webinar you'll need to lead. Either way, grabbing your audience’s attention can be nerve-wrecking and tedious. So how do you keep all eyes on you? Below are some tips from Melinda Thomas, a copywriter and presentation coach who helps executives and entrepreneurs be their best wherever they are.
With over 25 years as a professional actress Melinda learned the hard way how to engage an audience and grab their attention. She started Melinda Thomas Creative to help others share their message clearly whether in print, on video or live. Melinda will either help her clients create content so they can deliver it effectively or take their content and work with them 1-on-1 to deliver it effectively through various mediums such as vlogs, webinars and live speaking. “My training as an actress prepared me for working on camera and on stage, delivering other people’s words” Melinda says, “ but when I quit acting I decided to do something really scary: stand up comedy. Doing stand up you - don’t have a famous playwright’s words to lean on, you - all you have is a mic and your words and you have to grab people’s attention and take them on a journey with your writing and delivery.” The experience taught Melinda how to be herself in front of people, exude authenticity and engage people through her own message and words. Something, she is passionate about teaching her clients.
Melinda’s Top 3 Tips On Engaging Your Audience With Your Message:
1. Stop Talking! Speech is suppose to be dynamic but when you feel you are losing your ground it’s best to never try and shout over the crowd. Inserting a pause will not only emphasize a point , it will also force those talking over you to be quiet. “Silence is louder than words.” Melinda observes, “If you stop talking while others are taking over you they will quickly realize that everyone is waiting for them and they will quiet down.” Similar to what we’ve all experience in elementary school, this tactic is very effective for getting people’s attention if you feel the room is escaping you. Just stop talking and wait for others to look up at you and see what is going on.
2. Inflections. It’s a fact, monotone voices will disengage your audience and put them to sleep. Be conscious of your tone and add inflections and pauses (this can be accompanied with actual physical motion as well). The challenge, Melinda says, comes when we start reading our presentation notes or speaking points. “When we read we see a period at the end of a sentence, so we end the sentence with a downward inflection.” Melinda says “that’s not the way we speak. As an audience, we hear downward inflections at the end of every few words and it sounds unnatural and it’s boring.” To avoid this trap, try this when you practice: read through your speech carefully and then sum it up in 1-2 sentences. Keeping those sentences in mind as you deliver your speech will help keep you connected to the main message and the passion behind it, which will drive your natural inflections.
3. Practice in your shoes. As an actress, Melinda will tell you that the first part of stepping into any role is trying on the shoes. Well, no surprise that the same goes for speaking. “Do not practice sitting down unless you’re sitting down for the actual presentation.” Advises Melinda, “ But, regardless, you are going to be wearing shoes. Your shoes inform you of where you are. If you have flip-flops on you are going to feel more casual but if you are wearing stilettos then that’s a different feeling. You wouldn’t wear stilettos on the beach!” Shoes are a very powerful way to ground yourself and empower you. Try wearing shoes even when you film your next video or webinar and see the way in which it affects your speech.
For more info: www.melindathomascreative.com
