Have you ever listened to a presentation in which the speaker just, for lack of a kinder word, annoyed you? I have. And more than once. I usually try to focus on the message rather than the speaker so I don’t miss getting something out of what could truly be a great presentation. But because I’m in the business of public speaking, I always go back and try to put my finger on what bothered me. Was it tone of voice? Or was it a feeling that they weren’t warm or authentic? Was is that the presentation was disorganized and hard to follow?
Today we’ll be looking at 3 of the ways speakers can annoy audiences: self-inflation, lack of audience analysis, and repetition.
Self-Inflation
As a speaker, you want to convince your audience that you are credible and knowledgeable. However, you don’t want to come off as having a big ego or being unapproachable. This can be a bit of a fine line to walk. But audience members are great at discovering whether you are there for them or for yourself. And if you toot your own horn during your message, it’s a turn off for the audience.
Psychotherapist and author Philip Chard says, “A large ego is like a psychological force field keeping the world at bay while also trapping one’s psyche in a house of mental mirrors. Everything and everybody warp through the lens of ‘it’s all about me.’ For such folks, there is little or no heartfelt connection with other people, nature, shared values, the common good and collective purpose.” In order to truly connect with and reach your audience, you have to set your ego aside.
Lack of Audience Analysis
Audience analysis is the process of learning more about your audience so that you can craft your message specifically for them. Julia Miashkova, writer for the Social Listening Tool, Awario says it’s “the new consumer research.” She encourages all businesses and speakers to engage in “social listening” via social media analytics to learn more about their audiences because it is such an important part of the presentation process. And here’s why. Audience members can get annoyed if you assume that they know too much or too little.
Assuming they know too much leads to content that is over their heads. That will make it hard for them to follow the presentation because they don’t understand much of what you are talking about. And eventually, they’ll just stop listening.
On the other hand, it can also be frustrating if you assume they know too little. The audience will feel like you are talking down to them or wasting their time by covering things they already know. To avoid this, make sure you have a good grasp on what the audience generally already knows about your topic and tailor the content to them.
Repetition
The final category of annoying things speakers do falls under the general label of “repetition.” What I mean by this is that anything that gets repeated over and over will eventually bother your audience. It could be that you repeat a filler word such as “like” or “definitely” or “okay.” A couple of these is no problem. But once it becomes a pattern, the audience starts to focus on that rather than on your message.
Repetition can also take the form of too much internal review. In other words, you are belaboring and drawing out points that can be covered much more succinctly. When you repeat a concept too often in a presentation, it can reduce your audience’s motivation to listen. However, when you talk about new concepts, it can boost learning by 19%. We are wired to listen for new concepts, so we need to make sure our presentations aren’t simply repeating what the audience already knows.
When developing your presentation make sure you avoid self-inflation, take time to analyze your audience, and reduce repetition. Then, you’ll be able to connect in an authentic and powerful way with your audience.
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