YIKES! Do You Make A Powerful And Influencing Impact In 0-10 Seconds?
“It takes me a few minutes to get into the swing of it, then I’m OK.”
Says my client (let’s call him Tony) about his board meetings and presentations.
“I’m pretty shaky at the beginning and my voice goes a bit, then after I’ve done the intro, about 3 minutes in, I’m fine, my hands stop shaking, my voice stops quivering and I can relax into it, and even enjoy it.”
I was with my client the other day and he shared this with me, looking rather pleased with himself. He’s a senior partner at a top global law firm and he’s been practicing law and speaking to audiences for 25 years.
Sound familiar?
“Hmmm”, I say. “Yes, most of us take a while to warm up, which is why you need to do the warming up AWAY from the audience – before you speak!”
Tony was interested. I shared this advice with him and you too can learn from this tip, so you don't make the same very common mistake again.
I’ve got good news and bad news… are you ready?
The Good News?
It’s not as difficult as you think.
You will get good at this. You can relax and enjoy your presentations and high pressure meetings in future and yes, you can seriously nail your next one.
The Bad News?
You lost your audience last time!
Here’s the truth
- After the first 10 seconds, unless you gave them a hook, the audience didn't hear a message and started to disengage.
- After 30 seconds if you were still shaky, all they were thinking was, “Oh, no, he’s a bit nervous, poor guy, I know how he feels.”
- After 1 minute they were thinking, “I wonder how long this is going to go on for?”
By minute number 3 Tony didn’t realise that even though HE felt confident, his fabulous content was falling on deaf ears because… the audience weren’t engaged!
His mistake:
- He didn’t hit the ground running with a big Whoosh!
- He didn’t warm up his vocal chords and body so he was physically firing on all cylinders (this is what I’ve learn from producing talent at the BBC and it works!).
- He didn’t give the audience what they NEEDED in the first 0-10 seconds.
More good news…
Your content is all there, the delivery overall is great – and it's really easy to polish up your act and make the most of what you’ve got. (And you’ve got it, I know you have).
Here’s a special gift for you… 4 easy-to-adopt tips you can use immediately in your next presentation, board meeting, Town Hall style talk or pitch
How to Hook in Your Audience in 10 Seconds or Less:
- Think about what your audience really needs – Do they actually want the sales figures? Or do they need to know their job is safe?
- Have a killer top line: “It’s time to change” - or a personal favourite from the other day - “Why don’t bees fly?”
- Warm up! Get your body and voice physically in shape ready to get out on the pitch (yes, as if you’re playing sport).
- Eyes and Teeth! Smile, it's a game changer, it makes you look relaxed, confident and warm (your audience will love this)
There you go, easy-peasy!
Don’t you make the same mistake as Tony and throw your 10 second golden hook time down the loo.
If you want your team to know all the tricks of the trade when it comes to speaking with confidence, influence and getting instant audience buy-in, please Email me NOW – I’ve been helping broadcasters at the BBC and business leaders from all over the world to engage with audiences for over 25 years and I can help you too. And the rest of this year and 2017 are booking up quickly!