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“I’m
not accustomed to speaking. So please bear with me since I'm a
little nervous.”
Ugh!
Instead of starting your presentation with an apology, start with a
simple relevant statement that goes to the heart of your
message. For example, “Today, we’re going to focus on how to make
everyone here extremely rich with very little effort.”
Now
that’s a good beginning.
Apologies, on the other hand, make the audience nervous. Here’s what
goes through the listeners’ minds when they hear an apology at the
beginning of a presentation: “Oh no! This person is a terrible
presenter and I have to sit here and listen to this.”
We
recently heard a presenter who had been invited back as the keynote
speaker for the second year in a row at a major convention in
Atlanta. He started his presentation with a long-winded recap of
what he said the previous year and made a point of apologizing for
any overlap in this year’s presentation.
It
was as if he thought the audience had all taken notes last year and
were wondering how he was going to elaborate!
The
best way to begin is to just dive right in. Get on with it. Just
start! “I’d like to start this afternoon with a gee whiz fact . .
.”
So
skip the apologies and you’ll get off on the right foot with your
next presentation.
At
Speechworks we help our clients learn how to give presentations that
connect with the audience. If you’re interested in becoming a great
communicator give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website
at
www.speechworks.net |
