When working to become better communicators, most people focus solely on analyzing their own behaviors. The secret, rather, lies in looking beyond oneself and studying the audience.
There are hundreds of books that outline the model of what a great speaker should be. They detail the way you should speak, how you should structure your slides, what you should do with your hands, etc. But there’s no one-size-fits-all model to being a great speaker. Yes, many of those fine points are helpful and true, but being a great speaker is really about being excruciatingly attentive to the needs and desires of your audience. And to do that, you need to become amazing at reading their feelings.
If members of your audience are doing any of the following, you’re likely missing the mark somehow:
- Playing on their computers or phones
- Looking around the room
- Slouching in chairs
- Resting face in hands
- Not smiling
- Fidgeting and/or frequently shifting body position
- Zoning out (looking forward but not at you)
- Snoring
The common response when these behaviors are observed, especially in academia, is to reprimand the student or attendee for not paying attention. This is a mistake – it’s not their fault you’re boring. Instead, presenters should be asking themselves: “What can I do differently to capture their attention? How can I be better so that these people want to do nothing but lean forward and absorb my every word?”
Being able to read the signs and change course on the fly is the mark of a great speaker.
So, I encourage you to get great at reading audiences. Commit yourself to it. Observe your own behaviors when you’re an audience member who’d rather be somewhere else. What are you doing with your body language? Look around the room and study how other people are behaving. It should be pretty easy to determine their level of interest in the content being presented.
The audience is your customer. If you don’t want to lose them, make it your mission to keep them happy.