Notes

5 Ways To Become The GPS Your Audience Needs
Think back to how you used to travel from your own location to a new 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 getting back to the main highway. That all changed once the GPS (Global Positioning System) became available. Now travelers have access immediately to the best route, updates on the progress, and helpful signposts on the way.

Switch now to the speaking situation. It's no exaggeration your audience needs full-fledged GPS service from you. Listeners want one to clarify the destination and keep them informed about where you are. Here are five ways you can minimize confusion and maximize clarity.

ONE: Start by announcing where you're headed.

That is the logical first entry right 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 think about the best-known customer service providers, including Starbucks, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Southwest Airlines, and Zappos. Third, we shall have a discussion session, providing you an opportunity 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 to what we will accomplish as a presenter. Also, we have set the stage for an interactive session.

TWO: Display attractive visuals

Few drivers would depend on a GPS that was only auditory. We just 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. Keeping the topic of customer support, your PowerPoint program could show in-action slides of one's employee of the month, who was selected by high appraisals from clients. Or show simulated photos of a disgruntled customer who found you with a complaint, accompanied by a posed shot of 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 ought to greet each visitor.

THREE: Recalculate when you get off track

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

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

FOUR: Post Your Progress Frequently

You like to know the status of your trip. When you see on the GPS screen which you have an hour and forty-five minutes left, you select: "Can't wait until then for lunch, so we'll find a place soon"-which, needless to say, your GPS will help you do.

Audiences want to stay informed as well. Use updates like these: "That completes our analysis of the Mary Kay customer service 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 making use of 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 then there several other things you must know now that you're here."

At the end of one's speech, you have several options for letting your audience know you have finished. Possibly you'll summarize what you have said. You may issue a challenge-what related to the information you provided. Yet whatever best laptop in india do once you are done, do it with as few words as possible. Really, your audience is leaving mentally anyway, so allow them the physical exit you promised.

All right, now you are ready to become the GPS for your next audience. Tell where you are going, provide useful and attractive visual aids, bring listeners back again to the topic after a detour, keep them posted about your progress, and inform them when you have finished, and say no more. Your audience will enjoy the speaking journey, and will look forward to the next 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 Subscribe to his weekly podcast, "Speech Coaching Radio": http://tinyurl.com/4jype49
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