Making Public Speaking FUN! Part 3
Still looking for ways to inject FUN into your presentation? Still wondering what it takes to get your audience involved in your talk?
We go back to more suggestions from HARO (Help a Reporter Out) responses.
Door prizes are always good, according to *Andrew Darlow* of imagingbuffet.com (732-742-0123):
I’ve taught many different workshops and have done many presentations over the years, and one of the best ways to make them more fun is to hand out a sheet of paper which people can fill their name out on to win door prizes for merchandise related to the topic. I also add a checkmark box that asks people if they’d like to subscribe to my free Inkjet and Imaging Tips newsletter, and I include that their e-mail address will never be shared or sold to a third party.
Another way to make things fun is to give things away when people answer questions related to the topic at hand. For example, I might
ask: “if your shutter speed stays the same, which aperture requires more light to expose a scende, f/2 or f/22?” First one to answer, or first one to put their hand up and get the answer correct gets the gift.
From *Mike Michalowicz,* the Toilet Paper Enterpreneur, comes the ol’ photographic memory trick:
Saw your HARO request (thanks again for the radio interview last week)… and wanted to give you a fun trick I use. In short, I ask how many people in the audience have photographic memory. The response is always 0. Then I explain only 0.001% of the population has it and most people can’t even remember 10 items in order. But that the impossible is possible… if you simply believe it possible and search to discover a way.
Then I show them a visualiazation technique, and within 10 minutes can remember any list of 20 random items.
I actually wrote a post about it too…!
*Silvana Clark* of Bellingham, Washington, tells us:
I’ve been a professional speaker for 18 years. To make speaking fun, I involve the audience by:
Taping “PANIC” buttons under everyone’s chair. After giving a keynote on reducing stress, I end by saying, “Hopefully the tips I’ve given you on reducing stress in your life will work. If nothing else helps, look under your chair for a never-fail way to reduce stress.” Everyone gets up, looks under their chair and leaves the room with a PANIC button and a smile. I sell the PANIC buttons as a sideline business, so this means I also get more orders at a later time.
When making a point during my speech, I ask who in the room has had more than 20 years experience in their particular field. I select three people to come up front and put a sign around their necks that says “WISE ONE”. Then I ask the Wise ONes questions about their industry or how they would handle a situation i was talking about. All their peers love hearing the Wise Ones answers and the Wise Ones share industry-related information I wouldn’t know about.
*Joe Bruzzese, M.A.,* speaker and author of Author of the Parent’s Guide to the Middle School Years, chimes in with what he feels in an obvious observation, but one worth sharing:
It sounds obvious but, knowing your audience gives a speaker an incredible advantage when it comes to the fun component. Connecting personal stories that draw on the relationships a speaker has with her audience creates a connection that keeps the group hooked. Connect a physical action (20 jumping jacks, introduce yourself to 2 new people, share something that no one knows about you with the person sitting to your right) brings the audience out of a passive state and into an active, playful place that sets the stage for an engaging event.
Find Joe on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/JoeBruzzese
I hope you find a few good ideas in our series on *Making Public Speaking FUN!* If you want to contribute to the series, which will eventually become a book, you’re welcome to send us your story. Click here for contact information.
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