This entry is the fifth installlation to a seven part series that answers to some of your most frequently asked questions.

How do I interest, impact and impress the audience?

Can you share with me how I can influence my audience?

How do you make sure that your audience listens intently to you?

What suggestions can you give to help me capture the attention of the audience?

What are all the crucial ways to draw the audience into your speech hence connecting with them. Please elaborate in details each of the way.

E5. Be Their Friend

This tip is an extension of tip #4 - (be) your audience. Apart from getting into the heads of your audience, you have to be their friend. In order to do so, you got to first create relatedness and familiarity with your audience. The audience must feel like you are one of them. They must also feel like they know you. One very simple and effective way of doing so is to get to know them before your speech. In my opinion, that’s like the best way to prepare.

When you make friends with your audience, you effectively reduce uncertainty and any hostility they may feel towards you. This is extremely helpful in reducing your nervousness. When you are comfortable with your audience, it helps you relax in front of them. As such, you sound conversational which helps you score points with them. As you can tell, all these benefits start from first being friends with them.

Though you won’t become best friends with your audience in the short ten minutes of conversation. it gives them the opportunity to know you as a person. The connection you build during that short period of time pays off big time when you are up on the stage. Even professional speakers like Darren La Croix or Craig Valentine preached the importance of getting “flesh-time” with your audience. They will make it a point to greet their audience and shake their hands before they speak.

This is by far the simplest tip yet arguably the most powerful. For an in-depth understanding of how to apply this tip, read Do You Build “Before Rapport”

Cheers,
Eric Feng
Your Public Speaking Coach

P.S: Want answers from experts to ALL your pressing questions on public speaking? Dying to get hold of a cheat sheet that can help you win audience over in no time? In a hurry to become a speaker superstar? … … … NO YOU CAN’T until you get yourself a complimentary chapter of The FAQ Book on Public Speaking right now. (Download Free Chapter Now!)

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