An audience can be your best buddies. Empathetic, supportive, listening – just like your best friends. But – an audience can also be your worst nightmare. Bored, annoyed, sarcastic – just like your worst enemies.
Good news is it’s in your hands. Normally, an audience is best friends at the beginning of your talk. Like a bank they grant you a credit of support. Problem is, this crowd is a tough bank. They are worse than Goldman Sachs. When they see that default is imminent, they instantly withdraw their credit line. That’s the moment when they turn into your nightmare.
We have to avoid default!
A challenging task because there are many triggers of default. A monotonous voice can cause default. Closed body language can cause default. A lack of humor can cause default. A lack of energy can cause default. Too much information can cause default. Text-based slides can cause default. And then, there’s IKIA.
I learned that an audience gets quickly bored when you tell them something they already know. They think, I Know It Already – IKIA!
- Repeating the title of your speech that’s featured in the event agenda is IKIA.
- Telling programmers at an IT conference that they are part of the digital revolution is IKIA.
- Talking about the great achievements of Apple Inc. is IKIA.
- Saying that ecommerce is important is IKIA.
- Pointing out that the company needs more motivated people is IKIA.
Avoid IKIA; challenge yourself! Tell them something new – a new perspective, a new insight, a creative twist of thought.
When you do that, you face one default trigger less. Your audience will stay best buddies with you.