How to win and retain the attention of your audience. Five ways to gain the trust of your target audience

There are situations when we are suddenly told that we need to say a few words in front of the audience after a while. In such situations, most of us begin to get lost, become timid and somewhat nervous, since not everyone can win over an audience. In this case, everyone gets the feeling that they have not learned exam card.

No matter how much you say that you are completely unprepared for this, you will have to do it, although the fear that takes possession of a person at this moment is almost equivalent to the fear of death (this is a statistically verified fact). Very often this feeling occurs during a speech at a conference or even a toast at a holiday table.

But still, the opportunity to speak in front of a large audience is a big step forward in development, which is why you shouldn’t panic, but you need to try to cope with the problem and come out of this situation as a winner.

As soon as you hear the news about your performance, react positively, even if you are afraid of performing. Say yours favorite word, which means immeasurable joy - “Super!”, “Excellent!”, “Cool!” and even “Wow!” Then, with this emotional mood approach the issue of speaking. Before you can win over your audience, you need to prepare for your speech.

First of all, you will need to prepare your speech, and quite often you do not have time to do this. Naturally, your speech should consist of an introduction, a main part and a finale, and each part should be clearly expressed and, of course, understandable to the audience.

You can win an audience by breaking the usual pattern or by shocking people. To do this, you can use a small introductory joke or at least an anecdote on the topic. The main thing is to attract the attention of your listeners.

If the audience is noisy, just be silent and let them calm down a little, this is an old teaching technique that is effective even today. Sometimes the beginning of a speech is somewhat reminiscent of the techniques for meeting a woman; in this case, just be in the role of a man (even if you are a woman), try to impress and stand out. Think of your listeners as feminine, then it will be easier for you to start your speech and also finish it safely.

While giving a speech, try to control your emotions, forget about your worries, try to bring the meeting to a climax, and do not forget about the purpose of the speech. The goal, as a rule, is always the same - to motivate listeners to action. Basically, the purpose of a presentation is to sell a service or product, but a speech given at a conference attracts potential partners.

We hope this article will help you win your audience.

When we are suddenly informed that we have to speak a few words in front of an audience after some time, most of us find ourselves in the long-forgotten situation of an unlearned exam paper.

How? Are you going to perform tomorrow? I’m completely unprepared, I don’t know what to talk about, they won’t listen to me, I’ll disgrace myself... And so on and so forth. The fear of public speaking is almost equivalent to the fear of death and loss. loved one(this is not a metaphor, but a statistically verified fact). Moreover, a similar feeling arises before a speech at a conference and before making a toast at a holiday table. The main thing is that all eyes are turned to us, everyone sees and evaluates us. The king is naked and society sees it.

However, the opportunity to speak in front of an audience is most often new opportunity and a step forward in development, so let’s not panic, but let’s try to deal with the problem step by step and emerge victorious.

As soon as you hear about the opportunity to speak, you need to react positively. It's very simple, even the first time. We say to ourselves our favorite word, which means immeasurable joy from the upcoming event - “Excellent!”, “Super!”, “Cool!” and even “Wow!” will do. And in the future we approach the issue of speaking only with this emotional attitude.

Speech preparation- a separate question, and often there is simply no time for it. Therefore, we will not dwell in detail on the composition of the text; we will only note that speech, like any piece of art is subject to the laws of composition and must have an introduction, a main part and a ending. All parts must be clearly expressed and understandable to the listener.

Let's consider the issue of express preparation.

From the very beginning, the audience must be won over. Shock if the situation allows or break the usual pattern. An introductory joke, an anecdote (preferably on topic) or a compliment is suitable for this. If nothing comes to mind, the “When I was on my way to you here...” technique will do. You simply come up with a scene from life and say what thoughts it brought you to, then smoothly steer into the mainstream of your speech. The event can be anything: it was raining, a child was crying, an accident occurred. You can make your speech about an event by the ears, it will not confuse the listeners, the moment of connection to reality and attracting attention is important.

Example: “When I was coming here to you, I was very late, I was nervous. What happened ahead major accident, and I thought that if I had been in a hurry and more nervous, I might have ended up as a participant rather than a speaker in such a representative audience. Well, now let’s talk about what worries us all - the Large Hadron Collider.”

To ensure that your effective introduction does not go to waste, achieve silence. Use the old teacher trick - be silent for a minute. Believe me, a minute of silence will begin to weigh on the audience much sooner than on you; the majority will become silent, and they will even start shushing the chatterboxes. We can begin.

If you noticed, the techniques for starting a speech are a bit like the techniques for meeting a woman - to make an impression, to stand out. This is no coincidence. It is very useful for a speaker to perceive listeners as feminine and himself as masculine. Moreover, regardless of the real state of affairs. The audience expects to be taken somewhere, to be surprised, to be involved and to be complimented.

It might make you a little nervous, but in the end it will be pleasant. The speaker, on the contrary, is an active principle, the source of all expectations of the audience. Even if there are only bosses in the hall, and a subordinate speaks, for the duration of the speech this is so.

Take advantage of this fact and bring the noble meeting to the climax that is so necessary for both. It is important to remember the purpose of the speech. She is always alone - to encourage action. The toast encourages you to drink and emotionally join in what is being said. The presentation aims to sell a product or service. A speech at a conference attracts potential partners and colleagues to you. Therefore, if good speech eventually faded away and drowned in the clinking of glasses or applause - you hit your finger in the sky. You need to achieve the effect that the audience will look forward to the end of the event in order to learn more about what you so passionately voiced.

These recommendations are enough to quickly and successfully prepare for a speech. It remains to add that any task requires training. Give yourself them more often. If you go to a wedding, you have two toasts. - three. Round table - perfect option your workout; It's best if you are a moderator. And so on. Let your speeches change the world.

One of the great satirists, S. Johnson, once said about his contemporary: “He is not only boring in himself, but his very appearance makes those around him sad.” This statement can be considered fair to many speakers. Very often everything becomes clear after the first sentence spoken, and if it is unsuccessful, then it becomes impossible to attract the attention of listeners.

This is why the problem of the “image of the speaker” arises. We don't mean real personality speaking to an audience. It's about about constructing the image the speaker needs, about a certain impression that the speaker makes on the audience with his speech.

Addressing the listener is very important. Many people find it difficult to know exactly how to address their audience. If earlier the address was long and florid, with exaggerated respect, with multiple listings of those present, now the situation has changed. IN last decades address, like speech itself, became simpler and more business-like.

Contact with listeners is established in a frank and friendly manner, but with a distance. If the hearers are unknown, the address should be respectful, but not servile, and to use it correctly requires some experience and a kind of fine instinct.

In addition, it is very important attunement to the listener,

to the audience. Both their underestimation and overestimation should be avoided. It is always easier to speak when addressing a homogeneous audience. It is much harder to speak in front of a heterogeneous audience.

Some speakers, having brilliantly mastered academic speech, do not speak popular language, which prevents them from easily adjusting and communicating freely in any audience.

You should always put yourself in the position of a listener, especially if there is a certain opinion in the speech. It is important for the speaker not only to imagine the listener, but also to feel him. What are these people like who are listening to me? What do they think, what do they feel, what do they know, what would they like to hear, and what should I tell them? Will what I have to say be new to them or am I banging on an open door?

As conditions maintaining attention to the performance, the following are traditionally distinguished.

• 1. Content of the speech- new information unknown to listeners or original interpretation known facts, interesting ideas, problem analysis.
• 2. Availability of information- presentation of the material taking into account the cultural and educational level of listeners, their life experience. Remember: many people only hear what they want to hear.
• 3.Empathy and trust- they arise when the speaker enthusiastically describes events that affect the feelings and interests of the audience, connecting the subject of speech with own experience, own thoughts.
• 4. Relaxed manner of presentation manifests itself in posture, gestures, facial expression, and the sound of the speaker’s voice.

Gestures coming “from the heart” enhance the effect of speech and make it more expressive. After all, during a speech you have not only listeners, but also spectators. It is best when the posture and gestures when performing are calm, and not careless and defiant. When the listener sees a figure rushing in front of him, he becomes irritated. Gestures are the fundamental basis of any language. Don't be afraid to use them, but remember:

• 1) about 90% gestures must be done above the waist. Gestures made with hands below the waist often mean uncertainty, failure, confusion;
• 2) Elbows should not be closer than 3 cm from the body. A smaller distance will symbolize the insignificance and weakness of your authority;
• 3) gesture with both hands. The hardest thing is to start using gestures.
• 5. Conviction and emotionality of the speaker, which not only keep the attention of listeners on the problem, but also allow them to infect those gathered with their attitude towards it. Eastern wisdom says: “You, the speaker, will not convince anyone if you don’t have in your heart what comes off your tongue.”
• 6. Pauses- It is during pauses that comprehension of what has been said occurs, and the opportunity to ask a question arises.

It must be remembered that a person can listen actively for an average of 15 minutes. Then you need to pause or make a slight digression and bring up some interesting fact.

As special techniques, that allow not only to hold the attention of listeners during a speech, but also to convey to them the main idea, experts in public speaking call the following.

• 1. Dramatization speeches are an emotional and visual depiction of events related to the topic.
• 2. Repeat- repeated repetition of the same word or phrase in order to highlight the most important thing in the phrase.

Exists a large number of main types of repetitions: verbatim repetition (“no one, absolutely no one has the right to this!”); partial repeat (“I reproached my opponent once, I reproached him a second time”); extended replay.

For example, Cicero did not limit himself to a meager statement of fact: “Everyone hates you, Piso.” He continued further, detailing: "The Senate hates you<...>, the Roman horsemen can't stand the sight of you<...>, the Roman people want you to die<...>, all of Italy curses you."

Let's give another example of extended repetition.

“Please take my position on this issue seriously. Then, only then, only then is it possible to find a common solution.”

However, it is very important to remember that a small dose of repetition is encouraging, but too much is lulling or discouraging. Oratory The point is to present the repetition as if it had just been born;

• 3. Citation- references to authorities that decorate the speech, if quotes are not abused.
• 4. Opposition- should be clear, but unexpected for the listener.

For example, the American politician R. Nixon had big success, when in one of his speeches he announced: “Khrushchev shouted to the Americans: “Your grandchildren will be communists!” We answer this: “On the contrary, Mr. Khrushchev, we hope: your grandchildren will live freely!”

5. Hint- an effective technique that clarifies and sharpens a statement.

For example: “I don’t need to explain to you in detail what consequences this event will have...”, “You already know where I’m going with this.”

• 6. Provocation- a statement that provokes disagreement from the audience (and therefore attracts its attention), and then allows the speaker, together with the listeners, to come to constructive conclusions.
• 7. Humor- a classic technique with which you can relieve emotional tension.

However, a sense of humor natural gift. And if it is not developed, you must at least be aware of it. It becomes awkward when you see a person on the podium who is making himself laugh intensely. When resorting to a joke, one should not forget the words of Pisarev: “When laughter, playfulness and humor serve as a means, then everything is fine. When they become the goal, then mental debauchery begins.”

All the techniques listed here interact with each other through various connections, and sometimes one tool is built into another. It should be borne in mind that it is not recommended to use them too closely, otherwise their effect will be dulled.

Many speakers use these means unconsciously, but when preparing a speech, you need to consciously integrate them into its structure. Oratorical techniques must be presented in full in the speech.

Many speakers like to use proverbs, sayings, catch phrases. Indeed, they not only decorate our speech, but... most importantly, accurately, concisely and expressively are able to convey the most complex meaning: “The man was angry with the master for three years, but the master didn’t even know”, “If the heart is black, then a golden tongue will not help”, “They kill with a knife in a deserted place, with a word they kill in public”, etc.

Every day, countless speeches and presentations take place around the world. But, unfortunately, the vast majority of them do not arouse much interest among the audience. Only a few lecturers manage to truly win over their listeners and establish contact with them. This is not surprising, because for a presentation to be truly successful, it is not enough that it be carefully prepared. Your presentation should also be bright enough, because even a very useful but boring lecture will lead to the audience yawning.

It’s not for nothing that the art of oratory is called that way. In order to become a successful lecturer, you need not only to have talent for this, but also to devote a lot of time special education with attending trainings. But still some general tips, which will help you attract the interest of your audience, and ideally, win it, we will still be able to give you.

Prepare properly for your presentation

Experienced speakers always think about what kind of audience they will have to speak to, because this determines how and what exactly should be said. To win an audience and keep it most lectures or presentations, you should speak the same language with her. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the age and gender composition of the listeners and, of course, social affiliation. If you are going to speak in front of children, then as an illustration you should take, for example, cartoon characters or the Harry Potter saga, but if you have a female audience, then examples from films will be more appropriate.

At the same time, you should not overdo it with animation effects, as they can distract listeners from the main topic of your conversation. And, of course, your video materials and slides should be prepared in person high level.

Be sure to define main idea, which should run like a red thread throughout your entire presentation and try not to stray too far from it.

Speaking about how to win over an audience, one cannot fail to mention the role played by good, and most importantly, well-timed jokes. Don't rely on your ability to improvise, even if ordinary life You have no problems with this; when you speak in front of an audience, your resourcefulness may fail you. Therefore, be sure to prepare a few humorous examples that you will keep in reserve.

The most depressing impression on the audience is made by a speaker who reads his speech from a piece of paper. Therefore, under no circumstances write it down in its entirety, and if you are afraid of getting confused, then it is better to prepare several cards with brief abstracts that you can look at when the need arises.

What to wear for a performance

How you will look and what you will wear also has a very great importance. If you have to speak to an informal audience of youth, it is better if you are not very different from them in appearance. A cowboy shirt, a pullover, and jeans will get you in the good graces of your listeners, at least at first. If this is an official presentation of your company’s products at some forum, then a strict business suit is required. Women should avoid provocative necklines and slits on the skirt, because appearance yours may be appreciated, but the topic of your speech is unlikely.

The first minutes are the most important

Whether you can win over an audience or not is essentially decided in the first few minutes. It is during this time that your listeners have time to form their opinion about you. If you can establish immediate rapport with a good joke or an impressive, bright opening, you can count on a friendly reception down the road.

We have all at least once had the opportunity to attend boring and lulling lectures, when the audience's attention is focused only on the hand of the clock. So, to ensure that your online presentation is definitely “hooked”, memorable and dynamic, you can use tips, tricks, effective techniques, and ways to attract and retain the attention of the audience. Which ones exactly? You will learn about this from our article.

Do you often have to carry out public performance, presentations, webinars, trainings, online meetings? Are you sure that your listeners don’t get tired of your reports, start yawning, get irritated, count crows outside the window, wander in their thoughts...? You are probably pleased when people listen with enthusiasm, understand the topic and react positively to your words, jokes and questions.

So... Any experienced online event presenter knows that without dynamic contact with the audience, even the most informative and useful reports will have no meaning. But how to stimulate audience engagement at the very beginning of the webinar and keep it until last minute performances? Where and how to set “attention traps”? Below we offer you 8 effective techniques, which will allow you to become a powerful emotional magnet for your listeners.

Nothing lights the fire of attention like life examples. Important theses, arguments, thoughts in a speech, especially if the webinar is selling, must be supported real story from your practice or from the lives of your colleagues, clients, friends. This dispels skepticism and mistrust, and also creates a vibrant energy surge in the experience space of people who have already attended similar webinars, implemented the proposed tools/methods and received quick results. Then everything you say will begin to make sense, become more understandable and interesting. Advice: get yourself a notebook-piggy bank of living and interesting stories on the topics of their speeches. Believe me, it will be very useful to you in the fight for the attention of listeners.

It's no secret that for better memorization and assimilation of the material, you need to use as many organs of information perception as possible. And since the main task If the presenter is to constantly hold the attention of the audience, then you cannot rely on the hearing organs alone. At modern technologies organizing an online presentation with visual material is not difficult. You can start a webinar, for example, with a short video with real facts or an exciting story. Demonstrate graphic information (simple graphs, charts, tables and illustrations) on presentation slides. Reference and methodological material It is better to send it out in advance so that listeners can use it in printed form. And most importantly, the methods of presenting information should be periodically alternated so that listeners do not have time to get bored.

3. Interactive dialogue

Involve the audience in dialogue, make listeners active co-participants of the webinar. Ask questions, make them think, give them the opportunity to finish their thoughts on their own. A great way is to offer to take part in a survey or test. Such techniques can be compared to playing volleyball. If you keep the ball in your hands without passing passes to anyone, the other players will simply lose interest in the game. And so, you will constantly stir up the listeners’ interest in your speech, enliven the audience, make the webinar interactive and, most importantly, get a response. Moreover, questions promote persuasion. If they are thought out in advance and submitted in correct form, the audience will unanimously follow the direction that the speaker intended.

4. Humor as a way to keep the audience's attention

If you see that the audience is pretty bored, try to enliven your speech with a touch of humor. For example, you can tell a joke or funny story, and thereby relax your listeners, give the webinar a more informal character, and establish trust. It is strictly forbidden to use indecent stories, curses and ambiguous phrases - all this will only spoil the audience’s attitude towards your performance. It is also recommended to test your jokes on friends and acquaintances in advance. In general, there is an interesting feature in telling jokes - moments in which you manage to make your listeners laugh are better recorded in memory. That is why some of the humorous pauses of successful tutors are not located by chance in a certain place - everything is planned in advance. Why? Because this place in their report is key, and they need it to be imprinted in memory, which can be achieved through laughter caused by a joke. A double effect: both attracting attention and ensuring that the information is retained in memory.

5. Take breaks

A meaningful pause is a very strong and effective basic technique for establishing contact with the audience, which will fit perfectly into absolutely any online speech. It is typically used at the beginning of a speech when the speaker wants to emphasize the importance of subsequent information, and immediately after important phrases, so that listeners can think about and “chew” the material they heard. It is the pause that attracts attention, concentrates listeners on specific issues and provides an opportunity to relax before a new flow of information.

6. Provocation

Why not?! Today it is a powerful and quite often used tool by speakers that guarantees attracting the attention of the audience. Here stereotypical thinking is turned off and the effect of motivation is turned on. Never be afraid to elicit an immediate but short-term reaction from your listeners that disagrees with the information being presented. She's like a bucket of invigorating cold water on the head, stimulates brain activity, makes the audience perk up and get involved as much as possible in the process of discussing the issue.

7. Element of surprise

A person always “clings” to something new, unknown to him. Don’t neglect the opportunity to “give” your listeners fresh interesting information(unfamiliar studies, new data, expert opinions). Techniques such as original interpretation of known facts, discussion of innovative ideas, and collective analysis of the problem will work well here. Let it be an element of surprise that stimulates the audience's interest. Remember! If a webinar contains nothing new, it not only falls on deaf ears, but also leaves listeners feeling bored, frustrated, and even irritated.

To properly “hook” the audience through intrigue, it is necessary to initially create a feeling of positive uncertainty. But! It will be much more difficult to maintain this interest throughout the webinar. To do this, you'll need to provide listeners with emotional ups and downs while periodically revealing new details and information. The audience needs to feel like the story you're telling, whether in training, advertising, or a presentation, is coming to an end, even if they intuitively know how it will end. You must constantly add something new. Great marketing ploy- announce at the beginning about a certain gift or surprise that awaits everyone who listens to the webinar to the end. As your speech progresses, you can periodically focus the audience’s attention on the value and usefulness of the gift. This technique will motivate the audience and cause a surge of interest.

At the end of the article, I would like to say that you should be “on fire” with the topic that will be announced at the webinar. After all, if you are not personally emotionally touched by what you are about to explain, then how can you talk about it with fervor and passion? Find emotional moments in the topic - and rely on them, turn them into “attention traps”. Use them to surprise, intrigue, excite and delight your listeners.

And remember, the audience is not a bunch of skeptical ill-wishers. These are people who want to gain new knowledge, experience and skills in an environment that is comfortable for them. All you need is to be able to win their attention and affection. The techniques described above to attract the audience's attention will help you turn listeners into friends who will respond to you with kindness, interest and gratitude. And you, in turn, will enjoy the atmosphere that reigns during your webinars.

P.S. You can watch the full recording of the master class

I believe that with the help of high-quality content you can overtake your competitors, gain the trust of the reader and turn him into a grateful client.