By Steve Adubato, PhD
Great communicators know how to read their audience. They know when their audience is with them and when they are beginning to lose that connection. It doesn’t matter whether you are communicating in a one on one situation or to a large group; the ability to connect and understand what your audience is feeling is a critical skill for any professional who needs to persuade others. Some questions on reading your audience.
Q: What are some of the most significant signs that you are starting to lose that audience connection?
A: It’s usually in their body language. Are they making eye contact with you or looking around the room? In a group situation are they talking to others or playing with their Blackberry? Are they shuffling through papers or worse, are they slumped over in their chair about to conk out. There are so many ways to read your audience, but if you are not looking for them, you will play through your presentation oblivious to the fact that your audience isn’t with you.
Q: If you are losing your audience what are some concrete ways of pulling them back in?
A: In a group presentation, you can move closer to them or raise your voice. One of the most effective tools is to get yourself more engaged and passionate, which will automatically produce greater vocal variety and cause your facial expressions to be more animated and interesting. This will encourage many to pay greater attention to you and your message. You can also proactively pull your audience into your presentation by asking a question that requires their participation.
If you are losing a prospective client in a one on one sales meeting, ask him; “Joe, let me ask you, what is the biggest challenge your company is facing in the next quarter?” Or, “How has the sub-prime situation impacted your business?” The key is to get them talking and engaged, which will pull them back. They can’t be bored if they are actively participating. The same thing is true in a larger audience. You not only could ask a question, but break them up into smaller groups to deal with a particular issue or challenge and then have them report back to the larger group. The key is to get a disengaged audience involved, which will put your presentation back on the right track.
Q: Why do most communicators miss the signs that they are losing their audience?
A: The biggest reason is that we’ve never been trained to read our audience. Most professionals present in such a one-way lecture-driven mode. As long as they hear the sound of their own voice, they figure everything is fine when this couldn’t be further from the truth. Think about how often someone tells you a story or is droning on about a particular topic while you are bored to tears. Do they stop and check back in with you? Do they ask if you are bored? Do they get your feedback? Rarely. They just keep on going, caught up with their own communication and oblivious to the fact that you checked out a long time ago. Being a great communicator requires you to increase your awareness of the speaker-audience connection. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to ask yourself as an audience member, what causes YOU to disengage and lose interest? Conversely, what keeps you actively interested and focused? Starting from this perspective can be extremely useful in improving your skills as a communicator trying to make a connection with audiences that are increasingly harder to hook, much less keep interested.