How to be a Great Speaker Without Using PowerPoint
By: TomAntion

RESEARCH YOUR AUDIENCE It amazes me how some speakers will go to
a speaking engagement and really not know anything about the audience
they are speaking to. Many speakers just get lazy and feel that their
message is so important that anyone would want to hear it. They
couldn't be more wrong. Your core message may be about the same for
everyone, but knowing your audience will allow you to slant the
information so that the audience feels it was prepared just for them.
They will relate much better to the information and think much more
highly of you for creating something specifically for them. Of course,
in many cases you were only slanting your information, but I won't tell
if you won't.

PRACTICE The only way to look polished while speaking is to practice.
This is one skill you cannot delegate to anyone else. It is you that is
on stage with the microphone and it is you who will look either great
or terrible. You are sadly mistaken and egotistical if you think the
PowerPoint slides that either you or someone else created will make you
a dynamic speaker. There are specific techniques used to practice that
don't take much time and make you look extremely polished. One of these
techniques is called bits. You practice a short piece of material over
and over again. You don't practice it word for word, but just talk your
way through it. This way you won't blank out when a distraction happens
while you are on stage.

TAKE CARE OF HECKLERS The following is my famous asterisk technique; I
use it to make sure hecklers don't interrupt my presentation. I get
people in the group to identify potential troublemakers BEFORE I get to
the event. I phone these people and interview them to give them the
attention they are craving. I then mention their names during the
speech. This virtually eliminates the chance they will give me a hard
time because I am praising one of their opinions. This works really
well but don't mention their names exclusively or the rest of the
audience that knows these people are trouble may think that you are
just as bad. Mention a wide variety of people in the audience. Just
make sure the bad ones are included which normally keeps them at bay.

USE EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE Boring old facts rarely move people to action.
Learning to use words that evoke emotions in people will make a much
greater impact when you speak. There are many emotions you can trigger
in the audience just by your choice of words. Happiness, anger,
sadness, nostalgia are just a few. Knowing your purpose for being in
front of the group helps you to pick which emotions you want to tap.
When your purpose is known, choosing words to get the desired emotional
response is much easier. For instance, if you wanted to take someone
back to a childhood experience you might say, "Do you remember when
someone did something bad at school and the teacher smacked the
yardstick on her desk?" The word Phrase "smacked the yardstick" would
evoke an emotional response that many adults can relate to. A younger
group may not relate to this phrase since corporal punishment has all
but disappeared from schools. You must pick the words that would mean
something to your audience.

REVEAL YOURSELF Some people have trouble implementing this idea because
they like to remain aloof and private. This will hurt their chances of
making a good connection with people in the audience. You certainly
don't have to reveal your deepest darkest secrets when on stage, but
you certainly could tell someone how much you like horses, or how you
love to cook . . .anything that will give them a glimpse into the real
you will give you a better chance of connecting with them and getting
them to listen to you.

USE PROPS A prop is worth a thousand words. People can really anchor a
thought in their minds when it is connected to an object that relates
to the point you are trying to make. You could use large, small, funny
or serious props. Always relate the prop to the point you are trying to
make and make sure the audience can see it. Sometimes you'll want to
hide the prop so people don't wonder what it is until you are ready to
present it.

USE HUMOR Even Shakespeare used humor in the middle of the tragedies he
wrote. Humor is a powerful and effective tool that gives the audience's
mind a chance to breath in the face of heavy material. It also makes
you more likable and fun to listen to. Humor is also much more likely
to make your information more memorable. You don't have to be a stand
up comedian to use humor in speeches and presentations, and you don't
have to tell jokes either. There are many ways to add humor that don't
require any skill at all. You can show funny visuals, tell stories, or
read from books or periodicals. Just like with props, make sue your
humor relates to the point you are trying to make and you will be much
more successful. Each issue of "Great Speaking" has about 20 pieces of
humor you can use during speeches.

MOVE 'EM TO ACTION If you are going to bother taking up people's time
to speak to them, don't you think it would be a good idea to get them
to do something positive because of your presentation? Even if they do
something negative, it's still better than doing nothing because they
will at least get a chance to learn something from their mistake.
Regardless of the size of your ego, the reality is that you are there
for them, not the other way around....I'm all for you building up your
reputation, but if you go into your speech thinking it's all for you,
it will show and you probably won't do as well as you would have had
you concentrated on the needs of the audience more.

BRING SOLUTIONS One of the best ways to make sure the audience loves
you is to bring solutions to their problems. If you have done a
thorough job of researching your audience, you already know what their
problems are. It's your job to bring ideas for them to try. In modern
day thinking this is what motivational speaking is all about. No longer
is it good enough to get people all fired up where they are bouncing
off the walls still having no plan to what they will do with this new
found excitement and motivation. Modern professional motivational
speakers bring solutions and a plan of action, which is in itself
motivating to people.

PAY ATTENTION TO LOGISTICS All the best preparation, practice and
audience research could be ruined if you forget to pay attention to all
the details surrounding a presentation. You want to know what is
happening before you speak, and what is happening after you speak. How
are the people seated? Are they at round tables where half of them are
facing away from you, or are there no tables at all? What kind of
microphone is appropriate? How big is the screen in the room? Will the
people be drinking alcohol? What is the lighting like? All these items
and many more effect the overall effectiveness of a presentation. The
same exact words delivered with significantly different logistics could
be received in entirely different ways. You could even go from a
fantastic evaluation to a bomb just because of the way people are
seated. It's up to you to know the differences and how they affect a
presentation.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Tom Antion has only used PowerPoint once in over 2500 paid speaking engagements. His techniques have helped thousands of presenters worldwide make their audiences say "Wow!" For your free mini-course, go to his website by following this link: Presentations Without PowerPoint.

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