Communication tips for non-profit organizations.

9 Factors That May Influence the Audience Other Than The Speaker

2008-03-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

An effective speech is the one that gives you results; however, we should recognize that there are other important factors that may enhance or, if lacking, may hurt your speech. Giving a great speech or being a great speaker, sometimes, is not enough. Sorry Toastmasters, Zig Ziglar, Carnegie, Rodham and others who may think that a good speaker is all that it takes to have an effective outcome.

The title of the speaker or credentials
Many times, the audience may be influenced by the title of the speaker (executive director/ doctor/ celebrity). For instance, when it comes to medical information, the audience may believe a boring doctor more than an experienced & well-spoken speaker. The audience may be bored to death but they will still be more influenced by the doctor, instead.

The topic
The topic of the speech is the reason why the audience may be present in the first place. It may be a topic that affects their lives or it may be a topic of general interest. The topic may also be controversial.

The audience
The audience knows how to influence itself. The audience may help the speaker be a great deliverer or may destroy his/her credibility on the spot. They may even forgive mistakes made by the speaker. If the speaker ignores what the audience wants, he/she may fail.

The location where the speech is made
The audience may ignore the speech if the site, where the speech takes place, is uncomfortable. They may be more influenced by the fact that the site is “too hot” or “too cold” or “too small.” On the other hand, if the site is acceptable, the audience may become even more involved.

The visual aides
The audience may be more influenced by the material presented than the speech itself. The speaker should recognize that materials used during a speech are needed to ENHANCE or illustrate a point made by the speaker only. The material should never be used to substitute a speech or portions of a speech.

The agency being represented
Many times, the audience is influenced more by the type of organization that is providing the speech than by the speaker himself. The audience may attend and respond more based on their views on that particular organization. On the other hand, they may reject and be influenced to not accept the credibility of an organization that, in their view, is negative and controversial.

The disruptive speaker/ argumentative speaker
There is always one of those. An audience may begin to turn their attention to the audience member that causes the most distraction. This audience member may influence the decision or point-of-view of the audience. He/she may challenge the topic addressed by the speaker and may turn the audience to agree with him/her, instead. A speaker should always be on the alert for this.

The giveaway
If the presentation has been promoted with a giveaway, the audience may be more interested in attending and be more influenced by the gift than the speaker himself.

The request made to the audience by the speaker or topic
When a topic ends with a request to the audience, which may demand an immediate reaction or immediate decision, the audience may be turned off. If the audience knows that, at some point, during the presentation, they will be required to make a potential, immediate decision, they may react accordingly. These types of presentations, many times, involve monetary commitment. The audience many times, once they know they will be asked for money, walk away before the end of the presentation or forget about the presentation entirely and focus more on thinking “How will they say NO” to any immediate commitment.

How can you make your organization “fun” enough to attract interest from volunteers, sponsors or the media?

2008-02-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

Dealing with an organization that handles serious matters such as homeless, drunk driving, runaways, spousal abuse, and others is not easy. When promoting these types of services, for the most part, we use a tone that is calm and serious. Even though it is a serious matter, it does not have to be addressed this way all the time.

I worked for a company that owned funeral homes. If you want a serious matter, there you have it.
My job was to attract clients. Believe it or not, at the end of the day, that was my job. I was hired to help raise the number of services. So, I know a thing or two about dealing with subject matters that definitely are not about fun.

I knew that I was never going to get air time by handling it the same obligatory way.

So, the first thing I did was find a way to package my information. Your services must always be packaged effectively, if you plan to get air time.

Now, usually many organizations wait until it is “their turn” to get air time. This happens, for instance, if the organization has a national pledge where everyone participates in it. Best example is breast cancer and the pink ribbon. This is a problem that is heavily addressed once a year with a pink ribbon. If your organization does not have a visual angle like this one, chances are you will have to find other creative ways to get media attention to raise awareness for your organization.

#2. The package must have a title. Then, you must have a positive objective that will provide a positive outcome for your services.

Since I probably lost you half way through this, I will give you an example. (That’s ok. I’m famous for driving people crazy).

EXAMPLE:

One of the programs that I used to package my services was The Texas Family Care Program. This is what I used for my title. I wanted something strong.

The objective was to help families who had lost a loved one and qualified under the state of Texas’ victim of crime program. The state of Texas provides financial assistance under these circumstances. Families that do not have enough money to take care of a loved one, depend on this money to take care of funeral services and cemetery services. It was rumored that some funeral homes made this a part of their business, charging clients most of the money received. I could tell you some stories.

Our objective was simple: We pledged to charge 30% less than what we normally charged for a funeral service. Not only would it give clients enough money to pay for their service, but it would give them the chance to pay for the cemetery services. The outcome was to give families the chance to focus on their loved on, instead of funeral expenses.

Now, was that not fun! Of course not! The fact that I had packaged this product this way gave me the chance to get on television. This allowed the tv host to face the topic with a lighter tone. I managed to get us some great television exposure, free. People called our 1 800 number for more details. At the end, I realized that no one had written the official book on funeral homes, yet. When it comes to promoting services, the same goes for non-profit organizations. Many organizations tend to repeat what other organizations have already done. Sometimes that is good because it gives us a solid point-of-reference, but others times it makes things very repetitive and boring.
If your organization deals with serious subject matters, the concept of “packaging your product” is not meant to make fun or to have fun with it. I called this the Language of Fun because that is the drive, to make things lighter from time to time. At the end, you want your organization to be approachable.

I have seen how tv producers and newspaper writers don’t want to come anywhere near serious subject matters like the ones mentioned, unless there is a theme or an annual event behind it. You don’t want your organization to be “waiting in line” until it is time to talk about your needs and the type of services your organization offers.

Review:

Package your program
Give a title to your package
Give it a solid and simple, one-line, objective
Give it a solid and simple outcome
When you package your services, you have the opportunity to give it a lighter tone.

HOW TO MAKE A POWERFUL SPEECH THAT GIVES YOU LONG-LASTING RESULTS

2008-02-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

I’ve always said that an effective speech is not the one that gives you a standing ovation; it is the one that gives you RESULTS.

Making an effective speech is not easy. Why do you think this is? Most people believe that this is because they are not professional speakers or because they don’t belong to some speech club. I couldn’t disagree with them more.

The key is to determine what the word EFFECTIVE means to you in your speech. What are you looking for at the end of your speech? Are you looking for a standing ovation or are you just looking for results…maybe both? There is obviously nothing wrong with that…a good speech that gave you a standing ovation and results all in one. They are not very common, but they are possible.

Most of us don’t really make personal speeches. Let’s face it. Most of our speeches are work-related. You have to speak before your audience because your boss or your job demands it.

This time I want to help you focus on speeches that can give you results and a long-lasting relationship with your audience.

These types of speeches are more common. As a member of your community, whether your speech is for a business or a non-profit organization, most of the time you will see this same audience over and over again. You may be addressing your staff or volunteers or repeat clients on a regular basis.

This type of speech should not be designed to look for that standing ovation. It should be focused on results. Little ones, perhaps. You are not looking for a “first-place trophy” speech. You are looking for a way to create a long-term relationship with your audience.

You will want your audience to like you from the beginning. After all, you will be the one addressing them later on with another speech. Imagine if you prepare a speech that looks for that “standing ovation.” Good luck! Then, your audience will expect nothing less at your second speech.

Let me share something that helped a few of my friends become better speakers. Actually, they became more “relaxed” speakers. I helped them find a common ground that allowed them the opportunity to create a solid platform for their audience.

There are three comments that you’ll want your audience to
express during & after your speech.

1) “I knew that”
Create a common platform.
Start with information that your audience is familiar with. Don’t start with information that creates and impact or that is an “eye-opener.” There will be time for that later in your speech. By creating a common platform in your speech, you take your audience on a ride. Everyone is familiar with your information and they will understand you better as you proceed with more specific information. Your audience will feel as if they “already know your information.” And that is fine. You want that. It will make them feel comfortable and more willing to listen to the rest of your speech.
Focus on information about your topic that you know for certain your audience already knows. It is like a math class. Students first learn numbers before they get into other things such as multiplying and dividing. Consider the first part of your speech as a review or a warm up.

2) “That’s a good way to put it” or “I didn’t think about it that way!”

Read quotes and come up with you own ones
This is focused on your information. When you deliver a speech, you want to make it unique and give your audience a reason to want to hear you again. I always go back to stand up comedy. Comedians use the same jokes. It is up to them to make them unique and to give it some sort of a trademark. Same goes for your speech. You want to give this information a little “spice.” I recommend that you read poetry or go on line and search for “FAMOUS QUOTES.” This exercise will help you see how people use common words and common topics and replace the information with catchy or poetic sentences. Now, this is not relative to using someone else’s quote for punctuation or to highlight a specific point in your speech or to give additional information. When you re-phrase certain sentences in your speech, you are bound to have your audience say, “Now, that’s a good way to put it.” Or “I didn’t think about it that way.”
When you do this, your audience becomes more engaged. More involved with you and your information.

3) “I didn’t know that”

Provide a fresh and new idea; something that your audience will be able to pass along.
Obviously a speech must have something new in it. You want your audience to learn something new. Your information can be fun or engaging.

This is what makes an effective speech become…well… effective!

Follow these three steps whenever you are required to make a speech. Don’t fall for old, boring and traditional techniques that died at the end of the last century. The concept of immediacy is vital in your speeches. Techniques used by speech clubs are decades old and are designed may not be designed specifically for you or your topic. They may have been designed for a Gala speech or a special ceremony. You must deliver a speech that is direct, simple and effective. One that your co-workers or your community can not only understand but they can also put to practice. Remember that an effective speech is not the one that gives you a standing ovation; it is the one that gives you RESULTS!

See you next time. Need more tips, learn more about effective communication techniques for non profit organizations at www.nonprofittips.wetpaint.com .

Alex