district 105

Where Leaders Are Made

district 105

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Are you someone who generally stands locked behind the podium during a talk, reading from your notes in a dull monotone? Or perhaps your presentations consist of a towering pile of overhead transparencies which you project on the screen, one after the other, reading each of them word for word to the audience?

Knowing how to communicate effectively is the key to any association. Whether you’re giving a presentation at work, or just having a chat with a friend, knowing how to articulate your ideas—and listen to those of others—is crucial. But though we spend much of our time each day talking to each other, that doesn’t mean we’re all great communicators. Communicating effectively can be surprisingly challenging.

One way to prevent listener’s lethargy from descending on an audience during your next presentation, is to organize your information around a clear theme. Then your listeners will know why you are speaking to them, which increases the chance they will pay attention. This theme is your central message.

To be precise, developing a presentation is much like writing a report – organizing material, communicating it intensely etc.

The theme is captured in just a few words or sentences. Thus, it is not the same as the subject itself. It is more like the explanation of the subject. It also answers the question: What’s the takeaway message; what’s in it for me?

That is the question your listeners are asking. But many speakers never seem to address it. We always expect the audience to draw the main idea from the speech that we delivered. They may not come to the right conclusion, so we must provide it for them.

Some people are not excellent listeners. Others soon drift away unless we explain the theme of our speech as soon as we begin speaking. But it may sound condescending, to tell the audience the message. So, let us create signposts and constant encouragement, or they may lose their way and lose interest.

An effective public speaker has the responsibility of informing the audience and keeping their attention. To accomplish these goals the speaker must take steps, set a strategy, identify the audience, prepare the message, and make the presentation.

DISTRICT 105

Where Leaders Are Made