Why is it important to be an audience centered speaker?

As public speakers, it’s easy for us to lose track of what matters and to focus so heavily on the message we want to share that we forget to think about the people we’re talking to. This is a problem, because it dilutes our efficacy and makes it harder for us to deliver a memorable speech.

That’s also why today’s forward-thinking public speakers are focusing more heavily on catering to their audiences and addressing their needs. They know that if they do a good job of that, they’re more likely to deliver a successful speech that gets them additional bookings in the future.

But why is it so important for public speakers to put their audience at the center of everything that they do? Let’s take a look.

Your audience is the customer

Even though it’s the event organizers that will book you to talk and will pay your fees, it’s your audience that you should think of as your customers. That’s because they’re the ones that you’re delivering a service to. If you don’t put your audience at the heart of everything you do, word will travel and people will stop booking you.

It helps to address their pain points

As a public speaker, one of the best uses of your time is to identify the pain points that people have and to create a talk that addresses them. If you’re talking to marketers, for example, then they might have the pain point that they’re struggling to measure the effects of their marketing efforts. If that’s the case, you can deliver a talk on analytics and provide people with the advice they need to better monitor their campaigns in the future.

People judge you based on how relevant you are to them

In other words, if you stand up to speak and you talk about a bunch of stuff that has no bearing on the lives and work of your audience, they’re not going to enjoy your talk. We all judge the speakers we see based on how relevant they are to us, even though we know that they’re talking to a room full of people. That’s why it’s so important for you to focus on catering to your audience.

It makes it easier for you to get the response you want

The chances are that you have some idea of how you want people to respond to your talk, even if it’s just that you want them to listen attentively and to ask a few questions at the end of it. Depending upon the type of engagement, you may be hoping for them to make a purchase. Whatever the case, if you put your audience at the heart of what you’re doing, you’ll find it much easier to encourage them to take those actions.

It softens bad news

As much as we’d like to only ever talk about positive news, there will always be times when public speakers need to deliver bad news. When that’s the case, putting your audience at the heart of what you do will help you to deliver that bad news in a way that’s sensitive and palatable for people. That’s because you’ll be able to better put yourself in their shoes and you won’t just blunder in with a bombshell that scares the pants off everyone.

It increases the chances that people will remember your message

When you’re an audience-centered public speaker, you give yourself the best possible chance of people remembering the message that you have to share. That’s because you’ll have taken the time to develop a message that’s specifically designed to resonate amongst your target audience. You won’t be expecting them to remember something that has no relevance to them. You’ll be asking them to remember something that you’ve created with them in mind.

It gives you a north star to focus on

As a public speaker, it’s always a good idea to have a north star to focus on so that you can check everything that you’re doing against it. In this case, you can check your plan for your speech against the audience that you’re delivering it to so that you can ensure you’re providing them with some sort of value. You can do the same with any supplementary materials, such as your marketing messaging or your speaker bio.

It boosts your networking opportunities

One of the great things about being a public speaker is that it provides you with all sorts of networking opportunities that you might not be able to tap into elsewhere. By focusing on the audience when you deliver your talk, you increase the chances that a member of the audience will come up to speak to you after your talk is over.

The other speakers don’t need your help

Let’s face it — you’re there to give your attention to the audience and not to the other speakers. Sure, it’s polite to pay attention to their talks, but if there’s a choice between listening to someone’s talk or answering some questions that an audience member has, you should always go with the latter. The other speakers don’t need your help, and you don’t need theirs. The audience, on the other hand, will need as much care and attention as you can give them.

Conclusion

Now that you know just a few of the reasons why it’s a good idea for public speakers to be audience-centered, you’re in a better place to make sure that you’re doing just that. You’ll want to ensure that you’re putting the audience front and center of everything that you do.

The challenge is that this often requires a change of mindset. It also goes all the way to the heart of your talks, requiring you to think less about what you want to talk about and more about what people need to hear.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts, so be sure to let us know what you think in the comments so that we can keep the discussion going. We look forward to hearing from you!

This was originally posted on SpeakerHub Skillcamp.

Career development
How To Create an Audience-Centered Speech

By Indeed Editorial Team

Published April 5, 2021

If you want to give a truly engaging presentation, you need to find ways to connect with your audience. That's why it's important for you to anticipate who might be listening to your speech. By considering who your audience is and what they care about, you can choose more interesting and memorable talking points. In this article, we discuss what audience-centered speaking is, why it's useful and how to go about doing it.

Related: How To Start a Presentation: Steps for a Winning Presentation

What is audience-centered speaking?

Audience-centered speaking is when you build your speech or presentation around the audience's experience. Those who are skilled audience-centered speakers have the ability to connect with the audience and give a presentation that will leave a lasting impression on their listeners. When planning to do an audience-centered speech, you'll figure out who your audience is and what they care about. By doing some background research and planning, you can introduce talking points that resonate with your audience.

Related: How To Improve Your Public Speaking Skills (With Examples)

Why do audience-centered speaking?

Audience-centered speaking is a great way to engage and connect with your listeners. Here are some of the benefits of this presentation style:

Keep their interest: When giving a presentation, you want to keep your audience engaged and interested in what you are saying. By focusing on what the audience is going to enjoy, you may notice people are excited to listen to you speak.
Help them learn: If you need to teach an audience something, one of the best ways to do this is by making your speech fun and engaging. Rather than listing facts and data, consider implementing eye-catching visuals, videos and stories that encourage learning.
Deliver your message: Presenting your work to a large group is an effective way to get your message across. If you want people to remember what you had to say, you need to find ways to keep their interest.
Leave a lasting impression: Rather than giving a decent speech, try to give one that your audience will always remember. With audience-centered speaking, you can give a presentation that stays in their memory.

Related: 15 Public Speaking Tips and Tricks for Your Next Presentation

How to do audience-centered speaking

Follow these steps to implement audience-centered speaking into your next presentation:

1. Learn about your audience

When planning your speech, start by learning about your audience. Get to know what demographics you'll be speaking to and what might be important to them. Consider their values, beliefs and what they care about. When planning what they say, consider what your audience might already know about a topic and what they may want to learn more about. Think about what they will enjoy about your speech and what they could possibly disagree with.

Related: How To Give a Memorable Speech

2. Use authentic communication

In order to be a charismatic speaker, you need to learn to show some personality during your next speaking engagement. Learn to communicate with your audience like you would a friend. Rather than relying on note cards, learn to speak like an actual person. If appropriate for your topic, consider incorporating jokes or personal anecdotes into your speech. This more casual way of speaking can help you connect with your audience members on a human level.

3. Think about your audience first

Before even creating your presentation, think about what is going to capture your audience's attention. Work on writing your speech to cater to your audience before you start building slides. Consider adding in the visuals of your presentation at the very end of your preparation process. This way, you can focus on creating interesting talking points first. Essentially, your presentation can enhance your speech rather than being the center of everything.

Related: How To Become Confident Speaking

4. Determine your purpose

In order to keep your audience interested in what you have to say, make sure your speech has a well-defined purpose. The goal of public speaking is to have your audience understand exactly what you intended for your speech. Make sure the information you're sharing connects to the overarching point of your speech. Think of ways you can connect all of your talking points to the central theme of your presentation.

5. Use data sparingly

While data can help back up your claims, you want to use it sparingly throughout your speech. Consider which data points are the most important and how you can present them in a way that will resonate with your audience. Finding ways to connect hard data with real-life implications can make your presentation more interesting.

6. Incorporate a call to action

Once you deliver your message, tell your audience what to do next. By using a call to action in your presentation, you can persuade your audience to follow your message. For instance, when giving a speech about climate change, you need to incorporate ways your audience members can do their part in helping the environment. Essentially, you want to answer the question, "Now what?" by the end of your speech.

7. Ask for participation

Create an engaging presentation by asking audience members to participate. Whether it's asking your audience questions or having someone come up on stage, this technique shows your audience that you need their help to make your speech a success. Asking for participation encourages your audience members to carefully listen to what you have to say. It's also a fun way to break up your talking points and help audience members regain their attention.

8. Respond to feedback

At the end of your presentation, consider sending out an anonymous survey so that you can collect data about your audience and what they thought about your presentation. Give them free space to write down their thoughts. After collecting these surveys, carefully read through them all. Think of ways you can apply this feedback to future speeches, especially if you're going to be talking to a similar audience again.