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Information On Public Speaking
WHAT'S THE #1 BEST PLACE TO HOLD A SEMINAR?
My students often ask me, "David, where's the
best place to do my seminars?" The best place
to hold your seminars is the venue in which your
target market will be most comfortable. Why? Because
if they don't like the venue, they won't show
up in the first place. To go one step further,
if you're holding your seminar somewhere that
your target market finds highly desirable, then
you've hit the bull's-eye! What venue will be
comfortable (or even desirable) to your target
market? A church? A restaurant? Country Club?
Your office? Your home? Hotel banquet room? If
you're not sure, just take an informal survey
and ask them!
WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD SAY?
When you get up in front of people, what should
be the very first thing that comes out of your
mouth? One school of thought is that manners never
go out of style, so thank your group for being
there. Another school of thought says your opening
words should be something that is so shocking
that it grabs your audience by the ears and forces
them to sit up & listen to you. Why not have the
best of both words! - open with a brief thank
you statement and immediately follow up with your
shocker/grabber question or statement. In this
case, you CAN have your cake and eat it too!
USING HUMOR IN A PRESENTATION:
When I teach any of my workshops on Seminar Speaking
Skills, inevitably someone will ask me "David,
should I use humor in my seminars?" Using humor
is great because of 2 reasons: 1. It loosens people
up, and they feel more relaxed. 2. You get a good
measure of how "with you" they are. Everyone likes
to laugh (don't they??), so you create a more
congenial atmosphere. Plus, you can gauge how
receptive people in your audience are by noticing
who's laughing. If you are "naturally" funny,
that's best - never, ever try to "force" yourself
to be funny because that will backfire on you.
If you're not 'naturally' funny, you can always
work in a cartoon or funny quotation. In the final
analysis, always use your best judgment - is humor
appropriate to use with your topic and target
audience? You be the judge!
Here's even
more real-world, proven information on public
speaking:
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