Lydia's Top Tips - October 2003
At the recent "setmana de la innovacio" in Barcelona, Spain, organised by The CIDEM, there were many opportunities to view different speaking styles, leading to levels of interest from the audience.
Firstly, the session opened with the Honourable Artur Mas, conseller en Cap. His language was clear, his pacing excellent and his use of rhetoric ensured his audience was connected and interacting with his presentation. He finished with a clear message and kept in time.
Carles Valero was the facilitator and coped admirably with the usual problems which can occur in any conference. Such as, the wrong PowerPoint information appearing on the screen of the Speaker, and overrunning of allotted time for speakers.
The key is to remain cool, calm and collected.
The honourable Sir Antoni Fernandez Teixido, conseller de Treball, "Industria, Comerc I Turisme" started well, with energy, his body language very present, slightly bent forward to his audience. He made regular contact with the whole room with his eye contact roaming from side to side continuously. His hands matched his words perfectly.
Mr Teixido used tone of voice, tempo and rhythm. He was energetic and loud in sections and quieter and conversational in others. His pacing, dramatic contrast and astute use of repetition made his speech both interesting and memorable. The fact that he wore a red tie in a spotlighted darkened room also made him visually attractive.
Bruno Vinciguerra, Vice president Western Europe of Dell was a very natural speaker, whose voice tone carried airs of enthusiasm, curiosity and freshness. His use of tripling and dramatic contrast was very effective.
His conversational manner indeed created an intimacy with his audience and his finish was short and sweet. Two words humility and frugality.
A particularly dynamic presentation was given by Rosa Garcia, directora general of Microsoft Iberia using no notes. She spoke directly to the audience in a relaxed manner using anecdote and sheer enthusiasm in her voice and body language. Rosa had an excellent contact with her audience.
Raimon Segura, soci-director of Cuatrecases gave a very organised and professional talk full of gravitas on 'Un codi de bon govern', the book he has written about family business. His active and relevant use of body language gave life to his subject. He finished strongly.
So, to resume "how to keep your audience interested", it is vital to incorporate the following into your presentations:
- Start clearly by using pacing
- Make eye contact continuously
- Have one message
- Keep to your time
- Remain calm and smile when things don't go right.
- Have open, positive body language
- Change the tone, tempo and rhythm of your voice
- Wear red
- Be conversational, be natural, be yourself
- Be enthusiastic and dynamic
Return the archive of Lydia's Top Tips
Return the Community homepage
|
