I briefly watched a webinar the other day. The operative word is briefly. Five professionals spent time introducing themselves, their backgrounds, biographies, and their respective expertise and skills. Each had their own pre-recorded video segment. There was no interviewer. So these self-proclaimed experts had full control on how they recorded themselves, how they looked, what they said, and how they said it.
I never made to the end.
All of them, let me repeat that, ALL of them were saying "ummm....uhhh....ahh..." so often that I was annoyed, bored, frustrated and started counting the "umms." They also littered their talks with "great, fantastic, very, wonderful, really, so, just, like," and other empty language.
It seemed highly probable that the primary discussion, which was scheduled to follow these introductions, would continue along the same lines, take a lot of time without actually saying anything. So I left.
The above photo is a large group of First Responders attending a FAA safety seminar. I gave a talk on aviation communications (yes, in a hangar) to these firefighters, law enforcement, and EMTs. They expect to get valuable information. They do not need or want empty, useless language. They expect to spend their time wisely, efficiently, because lives are on the line. This is not the audience you want to disappoint.
Have you listened, consciously listened, to your own presentations, webinars, podcasts, seminars? Maybe recorded and played them back so you could improve your next talk? Do you know what you sound like to your audience?
The "experts" in the webinar I mentioned obviously didn't. The message they sent the listener, was not that they were experts, but that they were anything but. They did not care enough about their audience to prepare or make any kind of effort. So, they lost me - an audience member, potential client, future income.
What can you do to change your speaking skills from adequate to expert and avoid losing clients, opportunities, or income? Simply take 3 small steps -
1. Record and review your tape.
2. Realize you might need some help.
