Get focused

On your journey along your personal development path I once again cannot focus you enough on your ability to speak, one-on-one as well as to a group.  It makes no difference the size or scope of your audience.  Whether you are giving a million dollar presentation to the board, stressing the benefits of your product/service to a group of people or a parent passing along life lessons to your children – your ability to speak to an audience will have a huge impact on your growth personally as well as professionally.  One thing that every audience will appreciate from you as a speaker is focus.

In order for you to get focused in on your topic you will need the following three things:

1. A Message


2. An objective


3. Knowledge of your audience

 

• Message – sit down and write a single sentence that states what you want your audience to focus on and remember.  Make sure it is simple.  Make sure it is clear.  This will become your overriding message and theme of your presentation.  Whether that message is three minutes or 30 - your message needs to be repeated throughout your presentation at least six times and most importantly driven home at the end of the speech.  Weave it throughout your talk like a binding thread to insure your audience focuses on the message.  Know this; if you cannot focus the overriding message down into one sentence – your audience will probably not remember the message you trying to convey!

 

• Objective - Going into your presentation you should know the answers to questions like; do you want to motivate your audience? Entertain them? Inform them? Gather input or sell a product?  Sit down and answer this question – I want the audience to…from your own answers you will be able to focus your talk.

 

• Audience – In previous posts I have stressed the benefits on knowing your audience.  Why are they interested in this topic?  How you motivate a group of college students to save for their future will be far different then how you motivate a group of thirty-something business professionals that are parents.  So be sure to focus your message to their needs and issues.  Be sure to sincerely communicate to them how the action you want them to take will benefit them.

 

Gaining this focus early on in the creation of your presentation will guide you as you prepare the material.  When prepare a talk knowing these three essential pieces of information the speech will begin to take a life and flow that makes sense.  Attempting to write the speech without this information will fracture your focus and cause you to struggle harder for what makes sense to share.  You will risk spending time on talking points that are irrelevant and will loose your audience.  Give them what they want, give them what they need and stay focused.

Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann

One of Today’s TOP Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs

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