"Ten Commandments for Conference Speakers" by Jack Powers Fast Company, January 1999 issue, page 132 "How To Keep Your Audience Interested" by Mary Krentz

I'm sure everyone at one time or another has sat through a really bad presentation. Jack Powers, chairman of Mecklermedia's World Conferences, believes the only thing worse than sitting through a bad presentation is delivering one. For the past sixteen years, Powers has worked as one of the world's most accomplished talent scouts. He is an expert at seeking out innovative speakers. As a result of his rich experience, Powers has developed a set of ten guidelines-commandments for speakers. Anyone who works in Extension knows that speaking is a sizeable part of the job. Why are some speakers better than others? How can you fine-tune your speaking skills? The following ten guidelines will answer these questions.

1. ENGAGE BRAIN BEFORE OPENING MOUTH. Too often, presenters go into a speaking engagement ill prepared. Understand the group you are presenting to.

2. NO PITCHING. I recently attended a workshop where the keynote spent 75% of her time plugging her new books. People were understandably turned off. I interviewed several people regarding why they feel some speakers are better than others. Several people indicated they didn't like speakers promoting themselves.

3. READABILITY COUNTS. "You know you've lost the audience when you say, 'You can't read this slide, but there's some good information here.' " If you choose to use slides or computer generated presentations, make sure the content is simple and easy to read.

4. FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTENTMENT. Familiarize yourself with equipment you might be using as well as the room itself. Recently, I attended a presentation where the speaker spent 15 minutes trying to get the VCR to play.

5. KEEP THE ENERGY LEVEL HIGH. Powers encourages speakers to shout and move around. Through my interviews, I learned people like it when speakers change their tone of voice because it creates more interest and variety.

6. TELL A STORY. Story telling is one of the best ways to keep an audience on the edge of their seat. Furthermore, stories often paint a picture in the minds of the recipients, which will ultimately result in a more memorable experience.

7. DON'T ASSUME KNOWLEDGE. Always follow up acronyms with definitions. A colleague recently shared an experience where they sat through a training workshop that was jam packed with acronyms, none of which were explained. They left the training feeling confused and frustrated.

8. DRESS NICELY. Dress to impress, only when appropriate. If you were speaking to a group of farmers at field plot day, a suit and tie wouldn't be appropriate.

9. GIVE PEOPLE A WAY TO CONTACT YOU. If a presentation is successful, people will often want to contact the speaker in the future. Powers explains; "A successful presentation is only the beginning of your relationship with an audience."

10. INSIST ON FEEDBACK. Anyone who works for the Extension Service know the great emphasis placed on evaluation. It is crucial to incorporate feedback into future programming efforts. Future funding may be contingent upon it.

Interviewing several people in regards to the content of this article reinforced the notion that the majority of speakers could be better groomed. Some do an exceptional job at some of these guidelines, but lack skills in other areas.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 1999

Answers

Good summary and discussion. This articles does a nice job with its 10 points.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999