Notes

5 Ways To END UP BEING THE GPS Your Audience Needs
Think back to how you used to visit from your location to an unfamiliar distant address: calling you to definitely ask directions and jotting them down, taking along a cumbersome folding road map, and stopping when you got lost to ask ways to get back to the main highway. That all changed when the GPS (Global Positioning System) became available. Now travelers have instant access to the very best route, updates on the progress, and helpful signposts along the way.

Switch now to the speaking situation. It's no exaggeration your audience needs full-fledged GPS service from you. Listeners want you to clarify the destination and keep them informed about what your location is. Here are get more info can minimize confusion and maximize clarity.

ONE: Start by announcing where you're headed.

That's the logical first entry into a GPS, and what your audience expects from you. Nothing complicated relating to this. To illustrate:

"Today we're concentrating on becoming a leader in customer service. First, we'll identify the major complaints most consumers express about customer support. Next, we will consider the best-known customer support providers, including Starbucks, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Southwest Airlines, and Zappos. Third, we will have a discussion session, providing you a chance to share the 'best practices' your organization is using to attract customers and keep them satisfied."

Using only four sentences, we've alerted our listeners from what we're going to accomplish as a presenter. Also, we've set the stage for an interactive session.

TWO: Display attractive visuals

Few drivers would depend on a GPS that was only auditory. We like the visuals that track our travel. The more sophisticated systems display the names of the streets at the intersections you're approaching, supply the speed limit, and report your present speed.

While speaking, words alone are rarely sufficient. Sticking with the topic of customer support, your PowerPoint program could show in-action slides of one's employee of the month, who was simply selected by high appraisals from clients. Or show simulated photos of a disgruntled customer who came to you with a complaint, followed by a posed shot of exactly the same customer smiling broadly after you had resolved her grievance. Or give everyone a Smiley Face button to wear, as a reminder of how they should greet each visitor.

THREE: Recalculate when you get off track

"Recalculating," the GPS voice says, when we have gone the beaten path. Quickly, we hear which turns to take to make contact with the expressway.

Tactfully, we are able to help our audiences regain the intended direction after a detour. Assume that throughout your discussion of customer service, an audience member spent two or three minutes telling how his company dedicated weeks in focus conferences to design a new logo. At some time, you will respond graciously: "Marvin, thanks for letting us know very well what your group did about your logo change. Certainly every nonverbal symbol says something about us, and is essential. However, our topic today centers exclusively on direct face-to-face customer contact. Soon we will schedule another session to hear ideas about logos, call centers, and direct mail. Now, back to our consideration of one-on-one customer encounters."

FOUR: Post Your Progress Frequently

You like to know the status of your trip. When best laptop in india see on the GPS screen that you have one hour and forty-five minutes left, you decide: "Can't wait until then for lunch, so we'll look for a place soon"-which, needless to say, your GPS will let you do.

Audiences want to stay informed as well. Use updates like these: "That completes our analysis of the Mary Kay customer support approach. Next, we'll see how a famous restaurant chain keeps customers happy, even though six or seven folks are standing atlanta divorce attorneys line with their stomachs growling."

FIVE: Tell them once you have arrived-then stop.

"You have arrived at your destination," your GPS announces. Then silence. Nothing else said. No, "Oh, and there a few other things you have to know now that you're here."

At the end of your speech, you have several choices for letting your audience know you have finished. Possibly you'll summarize everything you have said. You might issue a challenge-what to do with the info you provided. Yet whatever you do after you are done, do it with as few words as you possibly can. Really, your audience is leaving mentally anyway, so permit them the physical exit you promised.

All right, now you are ready to become the GPS for the next audience. Tell what your location is going, provide useful and attractive visual aids, bring listeners back again to the topic after a detour, keep them posted about your progress, and tell them once you have finished, and say forget about. Your audience will love the speaking journey, and can look forward to another one.

Bill Lampton, Ph.D., "Speech Coach for Champions," helps clients consult with "poise, passion, and power," so that they will create "attention, agreement, and action." His top-tier client list includes Gillette, Duracell, Procter & Gamble, Willis Investment Counsel, Celebrity Cruises, Ritz-Carlton Cancun, British Columbia Legal Management Association, and National Pest Management Association. Visit his Internet site and join his newsletter, "Winning Words and Ways": http://tinyurl.com/otlcgz Call him: 678-316-4300 Sign up to his weekly podcast, "Speech Coaching Radio": http://tinyurl.com/4jype49
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