Go Fish!!!

I am a person who hates being reminded of the same thing over and over again. In every public speaking course that I have attended, the speaker will always start by saying, “The first and foremost thing in writing a speech is Audience Analysis.....”

The moment I hear that, my mind would go, “Oh God, here we go again....”

However, after attending a 3 day convention over the last weekend, I am afraid that today, I will be the one nagging on the importance of Audience Analysis.

The convention was attended by well over 300 delegates and as with tradition, during the closing ceremony; a speaker came up on stage to invite everyone to attend the next convention which will be held in a very beautiful island in Asia. Everyone in the audience was very excited and eager to find out more information about the next convention.

But instead of providing information about the next convention and how beautiful that island is, the speaker spent too long talking about how he was initially born in that island and how he spent many years of his life travelling around the world and then finally coming back to settle down in that particular island.

As he continuing talking about his own life, most of the people in the audience began to shut off their minds while others began to pay more attention to their i-phones. His saving grace was that when he actually started to present about the island, his powerpoint slides are indeed attractive and generated a lot of interest.

To me, the whole episode proved one point. No matter how many times we were nagged on the importance of Audience Analysis, it is still not a common practise.

So, to avoid the risk of sounding like an old nagger (is there such a word?), let me share with you this wonderful phrase by DTM Papa Gerald Green, professional speaker and the first and only Accredited Speaker outside USA.

He said, “Public Speaking is like fishing. You need to use the right bait to hook the right fish.”

Therefore, the next time you are writing your speech, find out who your audience are and what they are interested to know. Tailor your message along that line so that your audience are hooked not to their i-phones but to your every word.

Happy Fishing!


Speak to Inspire and Be Inspired,
Bernard Yong