My 60 Seconds is from the speaking book this week.
Enjoy!
The podcast is here:
And the video is already on my YouTube channel.
(I realize you can tell the time of year and when I need a haircut from the videos, but I decided that's part of my “charm.”)
The Transcript:
I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is 60 Seconds of Johanna’s Writing WIP for March 29, 2024, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress.
This excerpt is from the speaking book.
Start With Your Audience's Problems
Your audience comes to your presentation because they have problems and want solutions. So the faster you identify at least one problem, the faster the audience members will pay attention.
That's why I avoid long speaker introductions, or even explaining too much about my experience too early. Until I, as the speaker, start offering solutions, the audience might not believe I have anything useful to say.
You might need to start with a story that illustrates those problems. If you're talking about other people, anonymize them. I always tell my audience that every story is true— and I've changed all the names to protect the innocent and the people who did not realize the effects of their actions.
Notice what I did there. I didn't blame people who created some of the problems because I hope some of them will be in the audience. Instead, I offered them the benefit of the doubt.