My podcast this week is from the Effective Public Speaking book. I just realized I need another couple of sections, but I might be ready for technical review.
Enjoy!
The Podcast:
The Transcript:
I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is Johanna’s 60 Seconds of Writing WIP for December 27, 2024, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress.
This is from the Effective Public Speaking book.
Larger Audiences Need More Examples
I have a rule of thumb: The larger the audience, the more I need to tell fractal stories. (See the stories section for more specifics.)
That's because a larger audience does not offer you the same feedback a smaller audience does. While you can never quite tell if your audience is on the same journey as you are, it's almost impossible to know with a larger audience. Besides, the larger the audience, the less likely they are to pay attention to you. (Sad, but too true.)
Stories and examples help them realize what you are saying. If you can deliver those stories with humor, that's even better.
People don't always expect a lot of material in a keynote presentation. But they do expect to understand it. So focus on how to get your few and specific ideas across to the audience. Sometimes, that's with an interaction of some sort.
Also see the video.