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 Over the years, several people have written to describe how the principles they learned in class had made it possible for them to speak of a loved one at a funeral service. One woman wrote, "I realized that if I worried about me, I wouldn’t be able to share with them just how wonderful Gram was. And that’s what got me through." It’s a fine balance to visualize and describe experiences you remember sharing with that person without crossing the line into your emotional involvement. What that woman wrote about not getting in the way of the audience’s appreciation of her grandmother might help keep you on the right side of that line. In addition to focusing on the individual’s life rather than on yourself, you might use humor, tell stories, or share a life lesson you learned from your love one. Humor is usually a natural outcome of telling shared experiences and it helps keep everyone focused on the purpose of the gathering: to celebrate this person’s life. Sharing something he or she once said to you that was funny, or some silly thing you did or observed together and laughed about contribute to that celebration. Telling stories also underscores that sense of celebration, stories that paint a picture by describing the situation and the characters. You bring warmth and assurance to your listeners as you recreate an experience you shared. And if you have some life lesson you learned from them be sure to share that. As you think about what to say, remember that whatever it is should make people think, "Yes, that’s Matilda, all right." Whatever speaking you’re called on to do, when you apply the principles you learned in class you will give your audience what they need — and they’ll support you, too. Dawn Stone, Manager Financial Services, Alcon Labs: "I used some of what you went over in class today when I taught an in-house version of ‘Finance for non-financial people’ for Technical Service group. I actually didn’t get nervous at all and may have made them understand what I was saying. And you know what a big deal that is for me considering how I felt about speaking when I arrived at your class last week. "I am sure that I will be able to use other things from the class as well." "How do you keep people awake and interested during highly technical presentations?" It’s easier if they’re all eagerly awaiting the information, but unless it’s a very small audience that doesn’t apply to everyone. Technical information shouldn’t inherently be boring even though there are endless possibilities for making it so. It helps to start with the mind set that it doesn’t have to be boring. Then, you must refuse to be bored. Avoid this sad state of affairs for everyone. If someone wants to know something, you’ve got them hooked. So, take the time to discover why they might want to know anything about your presentation and design your message around that. Now you’ve made it about them so of course they’ll listen. Technical presentations tell a story; think about what the story is, what the outcome will be, how it accomplishes a goal, where it intersects with your audience’s interests and needs. If the audience is mixed as to their interest, that raises other issues. And if any of you want help with that, send me an e-mail. Returning to the original question — awake and interested. If they’re interested, they’ll stay awake. So, refuse to be bored, search out why the audience should care about the information, and develop a story line that makes it easy for them to engage. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” —Helen Keller “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson “Family, friends, and freedom a rich man makes, while fools think money is all it takes.” —Mike Redden “Keep a fair-sized cemetery in your back yard, in which to bury the faults of your friends.” —Henry Ward Beecher “Do not pray for dreams equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your dreams.” —Anonymous “Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson “The most thoroughly wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.” —Chamfort For more great quotes, check out these websites: Think gifts. Someone you know is going to be giving more
presentations soon. Give them a practical gift that will make those
presentations easier and more effective. Learn more or
Order Online. Book Audiotape or CD ROM Booklets by Barbara Rocha: Speeches on Tape: Video Learn more **How to Overcome the Stress of Public Speaking We have two public seminars each year: May and October/November. If
you have several people who could use this training, contact us
regarding an in-house seminar. As a refresher, workshop graduates (from any of our 3-day
workshops) may attend for half price at any time. People tell us
they get as much or more out of the workshop the second time
around. Visit our seminars section for details or call (888) 800-2001 For more information, contact: Barbara Rocha and Associates PO Box 60521, Pasadena, California 91116 (626) 792-8075 or toll free at (888) 800-2001 |
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