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HOME » FOR TEACHERS AND YOUTH WORKERS » TIPS FOR THE YOUTH WORKER » COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE All of us communicate and all of us teach. We may not teach in a traditional setting but we do teach and tell each other information. Teaching is communicating with the purpose of informing. Most people are good communicators one on one or in small groups. All of us have the potential of being good communicators but few of us are good group communicators. Why? Teaching or speaking in a formal setting is unnatural. In fact speaking to a group is unnatural let alone a group set aside to hear you. Speaking to a group of people some distance away is very unnatural. Projecting our voice ten, fifty or a hundred feet away is unnatural and when all these "unnaturals" are factored in they produce an uneasy fear. Most of us would rather die than give a speech and yet from time to time we are forced into this living death by having to give a speech or teach a class or heaven forbid speak to a bunch of teens. If you are afraid to speak join the club and there are millions of people in the club. Lets consider some things about teaching and speaking that may take a little of that deadly and dominating fear away. THE TEACHER or speaker to be successful has to have several things going for him. He has to desire to communicate a message. He has to know his subject. He has to feel that this subject is important and relevant to his audience. Believe it or not these three things build a confidence that builds authority. THE FEAR FACTOR: If you are fearful as you stand and face your audience or students they will sense your fear and they too will become uncomfortable. Once you conquer the fear factor you can relax, and your audience enjoys a relaxed speaker. Successful experience speaking is the only thing that will erase speaking fear. Start teaching children . . . great way to start speaking. If you are a good kids speaker you can hold your own with adults. PROJECTING: All of us are used to speaking or projecting our voice just a few feet. We normally speak soft and close and that's natural. Today with a good sound system we don't have to change much. Without a sound system most people are dead! They have never learned how to project their voice. In fact your voice is that expensive mystery instrument you have had all your life and never really learned to use it to it's full potential. What a shame to have a Stradivarius and never really learned to play the violin. Cultivate your voice! It's worth cultivating. An important part of your personality. Be sure to drive your voice as low as you can. A low voice projects confidence, order, dominance and authority. THE SUBJECT or what you are talking about is a very important factor both to you and your audience. Are you comfortable about the subject and will the audience be comfortable with the subject? Is what you are to say or teach relevant? Relevance is important here. Is your subject relevant or must you make it relevant and relevance must be defined by your audience. What they want to know is one thing and what they need to know might be quite another. TEACHING STUDENTS? The ideal of course is teaching students or speaking to an audience that wants to hear what you have to say . . . they have come to listen. BUT most often that just isn't the case. If you are going to be an effective communicator you must know your audience and most audiences need to be won over to you and your subject. Personal honesty, illustrations, stories, and examples. Talking fast is much better than talking slow! People tend to have to follow a fast talking speaker while a slow talking speaker tends to lose people. THE TWO DOORS: I look at my audience as a group of houses. Each person having two doors. The front door which is the formal door and the rear door which is the door for friends and neighbors. I always aim for the informal door, the door for friends. It seems as most speakers head straight for the formal door. The predictable door. The front door is the formal door and you get the formal and predictable response. The back door is often opened by humor, adventure, music, stories and interest. The back door is the honest door. The friendship door. The "Come on in" door. HOOKER: I like a hook! I like to hook an audience fast before they swim away. Some use jokes but that can be dangerous if you don't have your timing down or you don't know your audience or it simply isn't you. I like a quick story or a physical object. Object lessons are my thing for a non-student audience. ENVIROMENT: Environment is so important when it comes to communicating. When I'm speaking or teaching I want everything I can get going my way, even the little things. And there are a lot of little things that constitute a room environment. Three are very important. The sound system, the lighting and the temperature. If you are speaking outside the wind and sun can become factors. Always speak with the wind. Have your audience sitting down wind. Always face your audience away from the sun. AUDIENCE: There are things you need to know about your audience to communicate effectively. The size of the group you will be speaking to, their maturity and their level of fatigue. The time of day you are speaking. Early afternoon is the worst time to speak to an audience. Also remember no audience should ever be facing distraction! Your audience should be facing away from doors and windows. If you are speaking outside be sure your audience is never facing the sun. READING YOUR AUDIENCE: Learning to read your audience is an important skill. It may take some time before you are relaxed enough to read your audience. This is in the body language department. Your audience will tell you when you are through and when you are, don't continue. When you suddenly lose your audience it's essential to get them back with you as soon as possible. An unexpected audio or visual distraction will lose your audience. A siren, clap of thunder, bird, mouse or bat . . . whatever. It's essential that you stop and direct your audience to the distraction and then bring them back on track with you. Never just continue speaking. Learn to read your audience.

HOME » FOR TEACHERS AND YOUTH WORKERS » TIPS FOR THE YOUTH WORKER » COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

All of us communicate and all of us teach. We may not teach in a traditional setting but we do teach and tell each other information. Teaching is communicating with the purpose of informing. Most people are good communicators one on one or in small groups. All of us have the potential of being good communicators but few of us are good group communicators.

Why? Teaching or speaking in a formal setting is unnatural. In fact speaking to a group is unnatural let alone a group set aside to hear you. Speaking to a group of people some distance away is very unnatural. Projecting our voice ten, fifty or a hundred feet away is unnatural and when all these "unnaturals" are factored in they produce an uneasy fear. Most of us would rather die than give a speech and yet from time to time we are forced into this living death by having to give a speech or teach a class or heaven forbid speak to a bunch of teens. If you are afraid to speak join the club and there are millions of people in the club.

Lets consider some things about teaching and speaking that may take a little of that deadly and dominating fear away.

THE TEACHER or speaker to be successful has to have several things going for him. He has to desire to communicate a message. He has to know his subject. He has to feel that this subject is important and relevant to his audience. Believe it or not these three things build a confidence that builds authority.

THE FEAR FACTOR: If you are fearful as you stand and face your audience or students they will sense your fear and they too will become uncomfortable. Once you conquer the fear factor you can relax, and your audience enjoys a relaxed speaker. Successful experience speaking is the only thing that will erase speaking fear. Start teaching children . . . great way to start speaking. If you are a good kids speaker you can hold your own with adults.

PROJECTING: All of us are used to speaking or projecting our voice just a few feet. We normally speak soft and close and that's natural. Today with a good sound system we don't have to change much. Without a sound system most people are dead! They have never learned how to project their voice. In fact your voice is that expensive mystery instrument you have had all your life and never really learned to use it to it's full potential. What a shame to have a Stradivarius and never really learned to play the violin. Cultivate your voice! It's worth cultivating. An important part of your personality. Be sure to drive your voice as low as you can. A low voice projects confidence, order, dominance and authority.

THE SUBJECT or what you are talking about is a very important factor both to you and your audience. Are you comfortable about the subject and will the audience be comfortable with the subject? Is what you are to say or teach relevant? Relevance is important here. Is your subject relevant or must you make it relevant and relevance must be defined by your audience. What they want to know is one thing and what they need to know might be quite another.

TEACHING STUDENTS? The ideal of course is teaching students or speaking to an audience that wants to hear what you have to say . . . they have come to listen. BUT most often that just isn't the case. If you are going to be an effective communicator you must know your audience and most audiences need to be won over to you and your subject. Personal honesty, illustrations, stories, and examples. Talking fast is much better than talking slow! People tend to have to follow a fast talking speaker while a slow talking speaker tends to lose people.

THE TWO DOORS: I look at my audience as a group of houses. Each person having two doors. The front door which is the formal door and the rear door which is the door for friends and neighbors. I always aim for the informal door, the door for friends. It seems as most speakers head straight for the formal door. The predictable door. The front door is the formal door and you get the formal and predictable response. The back door is often opened by humor, adventure, music, stories and interest. The back door is the honest door. The friendship door. The "Come on in" door.

HOOKER: I like a hook! I like to hook an audience fast before they swim away. Some use jokes but that can be dangerous if you don't have your timing down or you don't know your audience or it simply isn't you. I like a quick story or a physical object. Object lessons are my thing for a non-student audience.

ENVIROMENT: Environment is so important when it comes to communicating. When I'm speaking or teaching I want everything I can get going my way, even the little things. And there are a lot of little things that constitute a room environment. Three are very important. The sound system, the lighting and the temperature. If you are speaking outside the wind and sun can become factors. Always speak with the wind. Have your audience sitting down wind. Always face your audience away from the sun.

AUDIENCE: There are things you need to know about your audience to communicate effectively. The size of the group you will be speaking to, their maturity and their level of fatigue. The time of day you are speaking. Early afternoon is the worst time to speak to an audience. Also remember no audience should ever be facing distraction! Your audience should be facing away from doors and windows. If you are speaking outside be sure your audience is never facing the sun.

READING YOUR AUDIENCE: Learning to read your audience is an important skill. It may take some time before you are relaxed enough to read your audience. This is in the body language department. Your audience will tell you when you are through and when you are, don't continue. When you suddenly lose your audience it's essential to get them back with you as soon as possible. An unexpected audio or visual distraction will lose your audience. A siren, clap of thunder, bird, mouse or bat . . . whatever. It's essential that you stop and direct your audience to the distraction and then bring them back on track with you. Never just continue speaking. Learn to read your audience.