Public Speaking Skills You Must Have - Part 3

Secrets to Seminar & Speaking Success: What I Wish I Knew Many, Many Years Ago...

Do Not Lose Control of Your Group!

You've been there before: you're sitting in the audience attending a seminar or presentation that you've been looking forward to eagerly.

Maybe you've even paid a decent sum of money to hear what the presenter has to say on a topic that's important and interesting to you.

But some audience member keeps interrupting with long-winded questions, completely ruining the flow of the presentation and eating up precious time.

In your head you keep wishing that person would just shut up, or that the presenter would take control and stop the constant interruptions.

But no - the situation goes from bad to worse as others jump on the bandwagon interrupting with inane, off-topic questions as you get more and more angry and frustrated.

In the end, the presenter has run out of time to deliver on what you came to hear and you end up getting short-changed.

Don't let this happen in your speaking and seminars.

People have come to hear you speak, not someone who's trying to hijack your seminar, or tell their life story, or act like a show-off trying to "steal the show" from you.

Set the ground rules up front.

Tell your audience how things are going to be.

Tell them that you'll take questions only during a specified question and answer period, or after your seminar is over.

In some cases, such as conducting trainings, it might be appropriate or even necessary to take questions and allow audience participation during your presentation.

But if you've promised to deliver on a specific topic, your audience is expecting you to follow through so don't disappoint them by allowing anyone to hijack your presentation.

Keep control of your presentation by setting the ground rules up front and be prepared to enforce them if necessary - with a smile, of course!

Public Speaking Skills You Must Have - Part 4: