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Fred Miller

A Diverse Audience Means Knowing . . .

WHO They Are and HOW Best to Deliver.

The Diversity of Your Audience is Important to the Content and Delivery of Your Presentation.

The goal of your talk, and all communication, is simple and straightforward. The recipients should GET IT!

They may not agree with everything you say. They may not agree with anything. However, if they don’t GET IT! a constructive and intelligent conversation going forward is not possible.

All audiences are not the same.

They may be

  1. Old and young

  2. Male and female.

  3. Your ethnicity or another.

  4. Highly educated or illiterate.

  5. Religious, atheist, or agnostic.

  6. Able-bodied or disabled.

  7. Wealthy or poor.

  8. Healthy or ill.

  9. Chose to attend your event, or were required to.

Knowing these facts, and adjusting your content and delivery for the people sitting in front of you, is critical to them GETTING IT!

Content

Don’t use language that might not be understood or misinterpreted.

  1. Buzz words, techno-speak, and jargon used by particular groups or professions.

  2. Example: Physicians and attorneys have a language outsiders often don’t comprehend.

  3. Slang words, particularly ones used in a specific context or spoken by a unique group of people.

  4. Examples:

  5. Members of the military use slang outsiders would not understand.

  6. Street gangs have verbiage not understood by all.

Important: You don’t impress people by using words they don’t understand. You make them feel stupid. No one likes that feeling.

Most will not raise their hand and ask the meaning of those terms. We see the emperor with no clothes, but no one says anything. (Those unfamiliar with “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, wouldn’t comprehend that analogy, would they!)

Delivery

Verbal communication.

Proper enunciation, pronouncing words correctly and pronunciation, making sounds or articulating words, is paramount to audience understanding.

Slurring words, mumbling, and poor projection of your voice is not acceptable.

The above facts are especially important with audiences from different areas and maybe having English as their second language.

Nonverbal communication beats verbal communication.

People believe what they see. If there is a disconnect between your verbal and nonverbal, that sly snicker or rolling eyes will be the meaning your audience interprets as your message. That might not have been your intention but will be their takeaway.

Some nonverbal communication is universal. A smile is one. It is global and contagious. I call a smile a ‘non-physical hug.’ When you give one; you get one right back.

All gestures are not universal. This fact is paramount to knowing your audience.

A ‘thumb up’ in the United States means ‘great going!’ In some countries that motion is considered an obscene gesture. Doing that hand movement could inadvertently give some watching you a point you didn’t intend but will be an interpretation they believe.

Consider the diversification of your audience when tweaking and practicing the content and delivery of your next presentation and I guarantee it will be absolutely, positively – NO SWEAT!

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Write a Book!

About the Author Fred E. Miller is a speaker, an international coach, and the author of the books, “NO SWEAT Public Speaking!” and“NO SWEAT Elevator Speech!”

Businesses, Individuals, and Organizations hire him because they want to improve their Networking, Public Speaking, and Presentation Skills.

They do this because they know: Speaking Opportunities are Business, Career, and Leadership Opportunities.

They also know: We perceive really great speakers to be Experts. We like to work with Experts.

He shows them how to: Develop, Practice, and Deliver Fantastic Presentations! with – NO SWEAT!

Services:

Topics:

  1. Lessening The Fear of Public Speaking with – NO SWEAT!

  2. Crafting Your Elevator Speech, Floor by Floor with – NO SWEAT!

  3. Speaking Opportunities are Business, Career, and Leadership Opportunities.

  4. We are All Self-Employed!

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