Presenting a speech so that it is engaging for the audience is part of topic
Learning how to keep an audience engaged is one of the most important parts of public speaking. We all know what it feels like to sit through a boring speech but making sure our own presentations are dynamic and engaging can be a challenge. Show
To make sure that you can project yourself, your ideas and your enthusiasm to listeners in an engaging way, we’ve got five handy tips:
If you take these tips on board, you’ll be well on the way to crafting an engaging speech and making sure that every member of the audience hears what you have to say.
1) Know your audienceThis is the most important tip of all for keeping an audience engaged because everything else leads on from it. We constantly change what we say and how we say it depending on who we are speaking to, and the same goes for every aspect of a speech or presentation. With this in mind, it’s helpful to ask yourself the following questions about your audience:
No one speech is the same, and no one audience is the same either. Know your audience and tailor both the content and the delivery to them. 2) Make eye contactEye contact is vital for interacting with others, whether that’s in a one-on-one conversation or when presenting to a large audience. When giving a speech, eye contact has numerous benefits. It creates a connection between the speaker and audience. It involves the audience in the speech and makes them feel like they are being spoken to directly, creating greater engagement. For the person giving the speech, making eye contact can also help to calm nerves and give a sense of focus and direction during a presentation. It also enables you to see how well your message is being received, allowing you to adjust your presentation style accordingly. Inc.com has a great article on why eye contact is everything in public speaking. When you’re giving a speech:
Eye contact is a simple but incredibly effective way to keep your audience engaged – use it!
3) Use visual aidsWhen thinking about how to engage an audience, you should also never forget that visual aids can do some of the work for you. While nothing can replace strong content and an engaging speaking style, visual aids provide the icing on the cake. These visual aids can come in many different forms, such as:
Ways to deploy these techniques are covered in depth in EtonX’s Public Speaking Course. Choosing which visual aids to use or deciding if they’re even appropriate always depends on the nature of your speech. 4) Make it personalWe’ve already talked about how important a human connection with your audience is in terms of eye contact, but there are also other ways in which you can make your speech more personal and therefore more engaging. For example, you could try the following:
Some speeches are inevitably more serious than others. It goes without saying that humour or personal anecdotes are not always appropriate, but if you know your audience then you will be able to make the right judgement. It is also helpful to watch skilled public speakers and study how they use personalisation to keep their audience engaged – Tim Urban’s TED Talk on procrastination is a good place to start.
5) Learn how to deal with questionsAfter many speeches and presentations, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions. How you handle this is important. Often question sections can fall flat, but you need to make sure that the audience stays engaged. If you feel your audience may be reluctant to start asking questions, it may be helpful to have a friend in the audience who is primed with a question to ask if nobody else has one. This can “break the ice” and lead to further questions. Usually, there will be a period during which to ask questions at the end of your speech – if this is the case, make sure you tell your audience so at the beginning. When taking questions: • Know which type of question you’re being asked. There are many different types of question, from genuine questions to attention-seeking or hostile questions, and each requires a different approach. However, you should always remain polite and thank the person for their question. Of course, you may still face interruptions from the audience even if they know that there will be questions at the end. If this happens, deal with the situation politely and make a judgement as to whether you should address the question then and there or ask them to wait. Although delivering a knockout public speech may seem like a daunting challenge, if you follow the advice above then you will be well on the way to giving a dynamic presentation which keeps your audience engaged from beginning to end. If you want to enhance your skills further, the EtonX Public Speaking Course is a great place to start, allowing you to hone your skills in an interactive environment and giving you the chance to practise giving speeches in front of others. Which part of the speech that you will introduce your topic and get your audience attention as well?The introduction gives the audience a reason to listen to the remainder of the speech. A good introduction needs to get the audience's attention, state the topic, make the topic relatable, establish credibility, and preview the main points.
What part of speech is the audience the purpose of speech?The introduction is the place where the main claim or idea should be stated very clearly to give the audience a sense of the purpose of the speech. Speakers need to orient the audience and make connections between what they know or are already interested in and the speech topic.
What is a speech presentation called?Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience.
What are the 4 ways to present speeches?There are four basic methods (sometimes called styles) of presenting a speech: manuscript, memorized, extemporaneous, and impromptu. Each has a variety of uses in various forums of communication.
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