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How to Get to Know Your Audience (Even if You Think There’s No Time)

October 27th, 2010

Every speaker knows that the best public speakers are the ones who truly know their audience. But what can you do if there doesn’t seem to be any time or method for learning about your audience ahead of time? Never fear – it’s Projector123.com to the rescue with simple tips for getting to know your audience when there doesn’t seem to be any time.

Know Your Audience

This is perhaps the cardinal rule of speaking: know your audience. But at today’s breakneck speed of business, these traditional ways of getting to know your audience aren’t always feasible or practical:

- Arrive early for meet and greet
- Talk to the meeting planner about the expected audience
- Spend some time in the organization’s culture, getting to know the business itself

When you can’t do any of the above, there are still ways that you can get to know your audience. Try these tips on for size:

- Review the company’s/organization’s/event’s website. As you read the web copy, see if you can get a feel for what kind of person they’re targeting, as well as what they stand for.
- Do a quick online search for demographic information. What kind of search you do depends on what kind of information you do have about your audience. For example, if you’re speaking on location to mainly locals, you can do a demographic search about the city or the neighborhood. If you’re speaking to local real estate agents, you can search for current information about the local market. Check local news listings, etc.
- Interview someone – anyone – at the company or organization. If you can’t get face time with the CEO, don’t sweat it. In many cases, a secretary has her finger on the pulse of the organization, especially when it comes to the corporate culture or what’s going on with the employees.
- If the meeting or event planner isn’t connected with the people who will attend, see if you can get contact information (or at least a name) of last year’s speaker.
- Ask for a sample of the company’s product or service. Talk to satisfied customers. Find out whatever you can about what the company does and how it’s doing overall.
- If you can only ask key personnel (or the meeting planner, or anyone of significance) one question, make it this one: What is the number one question or concern of the people who will be attending this presentation? In many cases, this provides you with everything you need to know to craft a great presentation.

Got other great ideas for getting to know your audience when there seems to be no time? Share them with a comment here – we love hearing from you.

As presentation day approaches, remember to order your rental projector from Projector123.com. We’ll help you put your best foot forward with a slick, professional grade LCD rental projector – plus we deliver to any U.S. location you specify. Click now to find out why people are raving about Projector123.com.

Presentation Tips for Regular People

October 25th, 2010

Even “regular people” (non-speaking professionals) find themselves in a position where they have to make a presentation from time to time. These simple tips can help.

Be Yourself

As tempting as it might be to mimic a professional speaker you’ve loved or admired, it is essential to be yourself. For starters, it removes a lot of tension (because you don’t have to think about how to be or who to act like), and secondly, it automatically endears you to your audience, who can smell a phony a mile away.

Know Your Material

The more thoroughly you know the material you’re presenting, the easier it is to relax and deliver a great presentation. When you know the material inside and out, the words flow more naturally, you’ll rely less on your notes, and you’ll be completely prepared for any questions that arise.

Be Enthusiastic

It’s true – enthusiasm is contagious! Can’t you recall a beloved teacher who once taught you a subject you could have otherwise cared less about? Enthusiasm makes even the driest of material seem enlivened and interesting. But careful — don’t fake it! There’s no bigger turnoff than false enthusiasm, and it can appear as condescending.

Make Eye Contact

Forget the old advice to picture the audience in their underwear — it doesn’t really work anyway. Just remember to make eye contact with individuals in the audience — a single person is far less intimidating than a whole group of people. And remember after all — they’re just people, like you. Many of the folks in your audience may have never had to give a presentation in front of a group, and if they have, then they want to see you succeed all the more. 

Don’t Tell Jokes…Unless You’re Good at It

Humor is a great way to break the ice…unless you stink at it. So don’t tell over-rehearsed jokes, avoid blue humor, and don’t work jokes into your presentation unless you can really rock the punch line. Most people have a natural sense of humor that’s far more personal and inviting than preselected jokes, so if you remember to be yourself, you’re sure to win them over.

There you go – now you’re ready to rock your presentation! If you’ve got additional tips, be sure to post them in the comments below. Remember to rent a projector from Projector123.com. Audiovisuals will help you get your message across, create a lasting impression, and put your most professional foot forward (even if you’re not a professional speaker). Using a rental projector is as easy as 1-2-3. Click here to get started.

Close More Sales: Psychology of Sales – Tip #2

September 29th, 2010

In this second segment of our ongoing series on the psychology of sales, we’ll cover a core characteristic that most successful sales people share: authenticity. Learn what it is, how to use it, and why it works.

In a nutshell, authenticity can be defined as “undisputed credibility.” When we’re speaking of people and conversations, authenticity refers to that appealing characteristic that truly honest people of integrity possess. Authenticity allows you to speak the truth, not from a place of righteousness, rudeness or ego, but from a place of truly intending to improve the situation for everyone concerned.

Authenticity is even more powerful when combined with positivity (see our prior segment on this).

Take client testimonials, for example.

Real, authentic expressions of praise from an actual client are always more powerful than solicited, contrived testimonials. It’s almost as though the energy behind the words is more powerful than the words themselves.

Here’s an example from famed marketer Joe Sugarman:

“Have you ever wondered why companies such as Procter & Gamble and General Foods have been running those contests asking people to write down ‘Why I like (product)’ in 25-, 50-, 100 words or less?”

“Because, for the chance of winning valuable prizes, droves of people are willing to go on record as liking the product.  This, in and of itself, is extraordinary because it creates countless glowing testimonials. But what’s even more amazing is that the hundreds of thousands of people who testify in writing to the product’s benefits consequently believe what they have written – and this curious phenomenon fuels unprecedented sales of the product!”

“When you use psychological devices like the one used in the above example, you glide ever so smoothly over people’s natural predispositions that it’s practically effortless for you to generate sales. This spells the greatest difference between the ethical form of mind control used in marketing, versus its evil stepbrother – the kind involving covert behavior modification techniques.”

Getting testimonials for your product or service is easy – rather than directly asking your existing clients for a testimonial, just ask them what they like most about the product or service, or have them explain why they love using it. Once they’ve explained, ask if they would be willing to allow you to share their comments with other potential clients, and you can even offer to keep their names and businesses confidential (for example, list the statement as made by “Marcus P.” as opposed to “Marcus Peterson of Dynamix International”).

To take this authenticity even further, ask your existing clients if they would be willing to refer some friends or colleagues to you. It’s completely up to you (or perhaps, your company) whether you offer any kind of incentive or reward for such referrals.

Besides gathering powerful testimonials, you can harness authenticity by practicing honesty and integrity in your everyday communication.

Stay tuned to this blog for more psychology of sales tips, designed to help you close more sales.

In the meantime, be sure to rent a projector from Projector123.com for your next sales presentation, sales meeting, or sales training event. A professional grade rental projector from Projector123.com will help ensure that you make the most polished presentation possible, and that you take advantage of using pictures worth 1,000 words each! Click here to learn more or reserve your projector today.

Visual vs. Verbal Presentations: Why Projectors Are Necessary

September 24th, 2010

The difference between visual and verbal presentations may seem obvious, but there’s a lot more going on “under the surface.” Read on to learn more.

As a speaker, your natural tendency is probably to choose the delivery method you’re most comfortable with. If you prefer to explain things verbally (and likewise, prefer to learn in auditory fashion), then you may tend to overlook the need for visual stimulation in the presentations you deliver.

Similarly, if you prefer to learn with visuals, you may tend to rely more heavily on visuals in your own presentations, with less emphasis on verbal delivery.

However, the important thing to remember is that people tend to learn in different ways, and the more ways you can incorporate into your presentation, the more likely your audience will be to remain engaged, understand and retain the information you present, and ultimately, appreciate you and your presentation.

With a primarily verbal presentation, the visual learners in your audience have no visual reference with which to anchor your words. Therefore, they can easily become distracted with whatever visuals are available: your clothing, your mannerisms, or what the person sitting in front of them is doing. From your perspective, this is certainly not ideal, as you want them to focus primarily on your message itself.

/>Tactile learners in the audience are often looking for something to do with their hands. Supplying handouts (or passing out product samples or other related items) is an easy way to engage the tactile learner. On your handouts, be sure to provide plenty of white space, so the tactile learners in the room can doodle, draw, make notes, and otherwise find ways to anchor your message into their minds. Without related materials to support their tactile nature, these folks are likely to be distracted by a thread hanging from their garment, emails or texts on their cell phone, or other ways to keep their hands busy.

The majority of the population is comprised of visual learners, so it pays to have a rental projector in use during your presentation. Using pertinent images to support your verbal presentation is the ideal way to support the visual and auditory learners in your audience.

The combination of verbal presentation, still or moving images in a slide show or video display format, and relevant handouts will help to ensure that you are maximizing your time in front of the audience.

To rent an LCD projector from Projector123.com, click here to get started now.

Close More Sales: Psychology of Sales – Tip #1

September 22nd, 2010

For decades, the psychology of sales have been studied and scrutinized to decipher what makes people buy. By incorporating these simple tips into your sales meetings, telephone calls, and presentations, you can see for yourself and test some simple methods that have been proven to increase the number of closed sales.

From time to time, you’ll see a new “psychology of sales” tip posted on this blog. You can always share your own tips by leaving a comment here. We love hearing from you!

But first, a disclaimer.

These techniques are very powerful and have been proven to work. These are not manipulative strategies designed to coerce a person into buying something they don’t want or need – these methods work best when the sales person truly has the customer’s best interests at heart, and feels a genuine desire to solve the client’s problems with viable solutions in the form of quality products and services.

In other words, if you continue reading this post and begin using these techniques, please use them for good and not for evil!

Tip #1 – Always Keep It Positive

No, we’re not talking about “positive thinking” here, we’re talking about getting the prospect speaking about what they like about a particular product or service, and why they like it. This helps you to frame your pitch in such a way that it hits the key points and features that the customer is most interested in. While it may seem obvious not to belabor any negative aspects of what you’re selling, it’s worth mentioned here that it’s never appropriate to badmouth another company or their product or service. If one of your competitors should arise in conversation, it’s best to merely draw a contrast between what they’re offering and what you’re offering. Notice the difference:

Negative slant:

Customer: “I’ve used Company X’s widgets in the past, but I wasn’t particularly impressed with them.”

Salesperson: “Their quality is very poor, I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve had switch over to us because they were so dissatisfied with the complete lack of organization at that company.”

Positive slant:

Customer: “I’ve used Company X’s widgets in the past, but I wasn’t particularly impressed with them.”

Salesperson: “I see. The thing that really sets our company apart from others is our commitment to quality. We actually triple check each widget for quality control before it ever leaves the factory, plus we offer a 100% money-back guarantee or hassle-free replacement for any part that might sneak past our tight quality standards.”

Can you see the difference? By keeping things positive, the sales rep in the second example stays focused on the main point: why his/her product is the best choice. In the first example, the sales rep takes a negative approach, making the other company look bad in the hopes that it will in turn make his company look better.

The bottom line is this: people almost always buy from someone they like. Staying focused on the positive rather than delving into negativity always creates a more attractive, likeable impression.

Likewise, if the prospect should mention something negative about your company, product or service, it is imperative that you keep things as positive as possible, without making excuses, and with complete integrity. For example:

Negative:

Customer: “I called to ask a technical question recently, and the person I spoke with wasn’t able to help me at all.”

Salesperson: “Oh, that was probably Suzy. She was horrible, and she’s been let go. Rebecca is our new technical expert, you’ll love her.”

(Notice how that doesn’t address the real concern the customer has – whether or not they will be able to get their questions answered when they call for assistance.)

Positive:

Customer: “I called to ask a technical question recently, and the person I spoke with wasn’t able to help me at all.”

Salesperson: “Really? What was your question? Perhaps I can answer it.”

Now the sales person can engage in a productive conversation, possibly answer the client’s question, or call someone who can answer it.

In the positive scenario, the sales rep might mention new initiatives that have been put in place (or will soon be put in place) to address any chronic issues. For example:

“We’ve just implemented a new training program for our technical staff. In fact, every technical rep we have must spend two weeks on the factory floor, training on every aspect of production, to help them better understand the process used to create our finished product. I think that the next time you call for assistance, you’ll find that the knowledgeability of our technical staff has improved dramatically. And, you can always call me, and if I don’t know the answer, I will find out from someone who does.”

See how the positive scenario actually addresses the customer’s true concern?

Look for more ways you can use positive language and the positive angle to win more sales (and get more repeat business from your existing clientele). Positivity can go a long way in closing more sales.

Know what else can help you close more sales? A sleek, professional grade rental projector from Projector123.com. To begin a hassle-free projector rental experience, click here to get started now.

How to Keep Your Audience on Its Toes

September 20th, 2010

If you do a lot of public speaking, you know that you’ve got to keep your audience engaged in order to win them over and hold their attention. One of the ways you can do that is by shaking things up a little bit and keeping your audience on their toes. Here are some easy, fast tips for doing just that.

1. Be unpredictable

For example, instead of opening with, “How’s everybody doing today?” open with a funny line that doesn’t start off sounding like a joke. For example, one of the funniest opening lines I ever heard from a speaker went like this:

“Hey did everyone see my jacket?”

(Audience answers “yes.”)

“Good, now I can take it off.” (And he removed his jacket.)

/>2. Alter your voice and intonation

Avoid a monotone voice – use a variety of inflection, emphasis and intonation to keep the audience engaged. A trick used by many grade school teachers is easy to adopt: when you suddenly lower your voice to a hushed tone, you immediately grab attention, and people listen more closely.

3. Inject humor

If you’re not a joke teller, don’t worry – you can relate a funny story, insert a cartoon into your slide show, or ask for volunteers from the audience to tell their best clean, funny joke.

4. Add surprises

If you’ve got a wild or outgoing personality, don’t be afraid to use props, funny hats, or whatever other surprises you can add to your presentation. Alternatively, you can bring some advertising specialties (note pads, pens, gadgets, toys, etc.) and give them to folks who participate, ask questions, jump out to share, volunteer, etc.

5. Audience participation

If you want your audience to participate, just ask them. Ask for volunteers, for assistants, for jokes, for feedback, for brainstorming, for questions, etc. The more you ask them to participate, the more participation you’ll get, and the more engaged your audience overall will be.

Keep your audience on its toes with a powerful visual presentation and a rental projector from Projector123.com. Click here to get started.

5 Speaker Tips for Creating Instant Rapport

September 8th, 2010

No matter what topic you’re speaking about, one of the easiest ways to win over your audience is to create rapport. Think this is tough in an unknown crowd? It’s easier than you think with these simple tips for “instant rapport.”

1. Eye Contact: Be Specific

It’s not enough to just “look up” as often as you can. Whenever possible, maintain eye contact for a full second or two with an individual person at a time – not the room in general. Hold that eye contact for a second longer when you’re in the middle of making a key point.

2. Make Individual Connections

If at all possible, meet at least a few of the group members before you begin your presentation. This might require arriving at the room or auditorium early to have some small talk, or perhaps getting to know folks at a luncheon or dinner prior to your presentation. It’s easy to say, “I was talking with Bob before I came up here, and I learned something interesting about this company…” It not only makes Bob feel important, but it invites other group members to connect with you after your presentation, or during Q&A.

3. Refer to Corporate (group) Culture Where Appropriate

Certainly you wouldn’t want to mention a nickname the employees call the boss behind his back, but you would want to mention quirky expressions or group traditions that everyone in the group can relate to. Group members appreciate that you took the time to get to know their culture when you integrate these expressions into your talk.

4. Be passionate and enthusiastic

When you demonstrate passion and enthusiasm in your speaking, your audience can’t help but become engaged. If you’re forced to present on a topic that you can’t get passionate about, relate it to something you can. For example, if you have to speak about tax codes, which doesn’t interest you, but you adore your children, then find a way to integrate personal stories that are either funny or interesting into your presentation.

5. Smile

There’s an expression that says “a smile is the shortest distance between two people” and it’s true. Never fake a smile – instead, simply find something worth smiling about and share your smile with others to create instant rapport.

Now that you’re ready to win your audience over, be sure to put forth your most professional presentation with an LCD rental projector from Projector123.com. Projector123.com now rents the Optoma TS526, a sleek and versatile professional grade rental projector. Click here to get started or learn more now.

Don’t Let This Happen to You…

April 21st, 2010

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Mastering the Segue

April 12th, 2010

A “segue” can be defined as a smooth transition from one topic of section to the next. As a public speaker (or even the occasional presenter), it’s important to master the segue, to ensure a smooth and seamless presentation.

Without proper segues, your presentation can appear disjointed, your audience can become confused, and valuable questions can remain unasked. Here are some tips for artfully transitioning from one part of your speech to the next.

Tip #1: Use a joke.

OK, it might be the oldest trick in the book, but it still works. A carefully selected bit of humor can easily transition your audience from one topic to the next – even if those topics seem completely unrelated. Here’s a couple of examples:

Complete the final statement in the segment, followed by… “Which reminds me of a joke.” (insert joke related to next topic.) And speaking of (next topic),…” then proceed with the next segment.

Alternatively, you might find an image, drawing or cartoon that could potentially link these two topic together, and you can insert it into your slide show as the segue.

Tip #2: Change your tone.

This segue style is effective if the tone or mood of the two topics are dramatically different. For example, if you were presenting a problem (or bad news), and now you’ll present the solution (or the good news). It might sound something like this: “OK, we’ve covered the dismal reality of last year’s final numbers but enough doom and gloom – let’s now look at the bright future that we are in the process of creating.”

Tip #3: Stop and start.

Perhaps the simplest way to transition is to simply let the audience know that this section is complete, and ask if there are any questions before we move into the next topic. “That concludes the technical part of today’s demonstration. Are there any questions before we begin talking about sales strategies?”

Images are a useful and easy way to master your transitions and segues – click here to rent a projector from Projector123.com.

Twenty-Three Ways to Connect With Your Audience

March 1st, 2010

Please enjoy this excellent speaking article by Karen Susman. And when you’re ready to order your rental projector, contact us here at Projector123.com.

Twenty-Three Ways to Connect With Your Audience
(Use Only If You Want Your Audience to Listen and Take Action)

By Karen Susman©

If you want to get your message across to your audience members, you have to connect with them. Here are twenty-two ways to connect before, during and after your presentation.

Connect Before:

1. Do your homework on your audience. Plan your presentation from their perspective.
2. Arrive early to check out the physical and emotional atmosphere.
3. Visit with audience members before your presentation. You’ll learn what’s going on and you’ll gather allies.
4. Listen to and observe events and speakers that come before you. If you’re scheduled to speak at 8: 15 PM and the meeting starts at 7 PM, arrive at 6:30 PM. (Earlier if you have to test audio/visual equipment.) Adapt your remarks to what you hear, see and feel.
5. Refer by name to the speaker before you. Ask permission of an audience member to use his name in reference to your topic. For instance, “As Jim in engineering told me…

Connect During:

6. Use your body. Pause before you begin. Walk toward the audience. If you can’t walk toward the audience, lean in. Use eye contact. Move meaningfully with each point you make.
7. Energize. The larger the audience and the room, the more energetic you have to be. Animate your face, too.
8. Flex your voice range, volume and speed to emphasize and invigorate your remarks.
9. Gesture. The bigger the group and room, the bigger the gesture.
10. Be prepared to be spontaneous.
11. Reveal your personality.
12. Don’t read your remarks. Don’t read from slides.
13. Enliven your remarks with stories, quotations, examples, analogies, metaphors and unusual visuals.
14. Don’t overuse PowerPoint. Less is more.
15. Use pictures in your visuals. Put people, faces, animals, your family, etc. in the pictures. This gives your audience an emotional zap that lodges your points in their brains.

Connect After:

16. Stick around. The good questions come up during breaks and after your bow.
17. Be available. If you’re rushing or packing up your equipment, anyone who wants to speak with you will feel disregarded. Listen to people. If you have to vacate the stage quickly to make room for the next speaker, tell fans you’ll meet with them in hall or at the reception.
18. Place yourself by the exit doors at the end of your presentation so you can visit, smile, shake hands and make eye contact.
19. Offer to send bonus information via mail or e-mail to audience members. Ask them to specify the requested information on the back of their business cards.
20. Follow through by promptly sending out requested material.
21. Request the mailing list or cards of attendees. Send them a reminder note within two weeks of your presentation.
22. Offer to sign them up for your e-newsletter or an e-mail follow up.
23. Write an article for the audience’s newsletter.

Take advantage of the time before, during and after your presentation to make a connection. You’ll boost your message’s effectiveness and longevity. You’ll be remembered. And, if you are interested in selling products, services or yourself to your audience, you’ll maximize your success.

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You are welcome to reprint this article as long as the copyright and contact information are included. Contact Karen Susman at 1-888-678-8818 www.karensusman.com karen@karensusman.com

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