Stay updated on our latest
articles with RSS
Business speakers, ask yourself this question: what do you get by knowing the ages, genders, and education levels of your audience? Do these demographics improve your presentation skills? The answer: you get a lot of demographic information that rarely helps you customize a speech that is meaningful to that audience.
Presenters are also advised to know the characteristics of the type of people you're speaking to. This is another way of saying "stereotype the audience." Common stereotypes: CPAs only care about numbers and aren't people persons. Technology workers are introverts who can only think in their jargon and love complicated slides. Women don't like technology. Gen X and Gen Y want the information fast and high-tech. And on and on.
These myths force presenters to create presentations that bore or dispirit the audience. Unless your topic is truly and deeply important to an age group, a gender or a specific level of education, these demographics take away from what's really important. (See Truths.)
Consider CPAs. Are they all introverts? Not at all--the partners of CPA firms have achieved their success because they are interested in helping their clients (people) get the best financial results from the work they do. The accounting is a means to an end.
Many people become CPAs as a step on the path to CFO, which is about relationships, marketing and sales--understanding what makes customers buy and employees work hard.
CPAs become management consultants. They use their accounting knowledge as a foundation upon which to build plans for achieving corporate goals. These people are also very relationship oriented.
When you're tempted to stereotype your audience, stop and consider how varied these people really are.
Audience Truths
Know and believe these truths and you'll create presentations that your audiences want to listen to and act upon.
Truth #1: The audience is united by a common interest and by a common pain or challenge.
Truth #2: The speaker needs to know what the interest and the pain are.
Common interests: At a company conference or meeting, the common interests center on what is going on with the company. Is it doing well, poorly, falling behind or surging ahead? What is its standing in the market place? Compared to others in the same field? What do investors think? Consumers? Are they B2B, B2C or B2G? Is there a lot of change going on or just a little? Why? What does it feel like to work there?
At an industry conference or meeting, common interests center on the place of the industry in the national or international economy. Old, new, cutting edge? Boom or bust? B2B or B2C? Seasonal or year-round? Hard to hire employees or too many layoffs. Contraction or expansion? Scandals or admiration? Position in relationship to other industries offering similar benefits to their customers (e.g. planes and trains are both means of travel and transportation but they are different industries. There are challenges to competing within the industry and between the industries.)?
Your presentation needs to speak to these issues/concerns/interests no matter what the demographics of the audience are. Men and women of every age group and level of education will feel the pain of a company that's struggling in its market. Same for a company that's way ahead.
Create your audience profile based on the challenge or the pain the company/industry is facing. That's what the audience wants to hear. When the audience hears you, they will respond to your call-to-action. You will also be remembered as someone who understood them and who helped them.
Presenters are also advised to know the characteristics of the type of people you're speaking to. This is another way of saying "stereotype the audience." Common stereotypes: CPAs only care about numbers and aren't people persons. Technology workers are introverts who can only think in their jargon and love complicated slides. Women don't like technology. Gen X and Gen Y want the information fast and high-tech. And on and on.
These myths force presenters to create presentations that bore or dispirit the audience. Unless your topic is truly and deeply important to an age group, a gender or a specific level of education, these demographics take away from what's really important. (See Truths.)
Consider CPAs. Are they all introverts? Not at all--the partners of CPA firms have achieved their success because they are interested in helping their clients (people) get the best financial results from the work they do. The accounting is a means to an end.
Many people become CPAs as a step on the path to CFO, which is about relationships, marketing and sales--understanding what makes customers buy and employees work hard.
CPAs become management consultants. They use their accounting knowledge as a foundation upon which to build plans for achieving corporate goals. These people are also very relationship oriented.
When you're tempted to stereotype your audience, stop and consider how varied these people really are.
Audience Truths
Know and believe these truths and you'll create presentations that your audiences want to listen to and act upon.
Truth #1: The audience is united by a common interest and by a common pain or challenge.
Truth #2: The speaker needs to know what the interest and the pain are.
Common interests: At a company conference or meeting, the common interests center on what is going on with the company. Is it doing well, poorly, falling behind or surging ahead? What is its standing in the market place? Compared to others in the same field? What do investors think? Consumers? Are they B2B, B2C or B2G? Is there a lot of change going on or just a little? Why? What does it feel like to work there?
At an industry conference or meeting, common interests center on the place of the industry in the national or international economy. Old, new, cutting edge? Boom or bust? B2B or B2C? Seasonal or year-round? Hard to hire employees or too many layoffs. Contraction or expansion? Scandals or admiration? Position in relationship to other industries offering similar benefits to their customers (e.g. planes and trains are both means of travel and transportation but they are different industries. There are challenges to competing within the industry and between the industries.)?
Your presentation needs to speak to these issues/concerns/interests no matter what the demographics of the audience are. Men and women of every age group and level of education will feel the pain of a company that's struggling in its market. Same for a company that's way ahead.
Create your audience profile based on the challenge or the pain the company/industry is facing. That's what the audience wants to hear. When the audience hears you, they will respond to your call-to-action. You will also be remembered as someone who understood them and who helped them.