TO ALL MOTHERS WHO ARE READING THIS: HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! *HUGZ*

If you have not wish your mum a happy mothers’ day, please do so right now. No no, this entry can wait. Go on.. wish her. Make sure you give her a big hug and tell her how much you love her. In fact, you should do it everyday because they deserve it.

Clockwise from left: Eileen (my sister), Dad, really beautiful Mum and my girlfriend, Yiting.

As for my family, we celebrated Mother’s Day at a yacht club near the north coast of Singapore (Sembawang). They sell the best seafood! If you are in Singapore and you love dining by the sea, you got to eat there with your family and friends.

So there we were, enjoying our curry fish head when a middle aged musician came on stage to sing. His first song was some English oldie. And I felt very embarrassed for him because no one was listening. And he was essentially singing and talking to himself. This went on for three songs and we tried to help him up by clapping after his song. I even got the waiter to increase the volume so that more diners can hear him. As you guessed, it did not help since people are engrossed with their food and chit chatters.

And then everything changed when he belted a Chinese song by a famous singer Theresa Teng, titled “The Moon Represents My Heart”. Like clockwork, everyone stopped eating and chatting. If you were there, you know that the 200 people at the restaurant were impressed. And it isn’t rocket science why they reacted this way.

First, almost 90% of the crowd yesterday were heartlanders and they are all in their mid 50s. Second, almost all are Chinese except for a table of Indians. They were speaking mainly mandarin. So when you sing a Mandarin song, and a famous one during their time, it will surely grab the attention of the audience.

Because you are SINGING THEIR LINGO!

The audience were also impressed because the musician was NOT chinese and yet he was able to sing their song so well.

That evening, I was reminded of the importance of KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE, so that you can SPEAK THEIR LINGO.

The musician also reminded me of another speaker from America. His audience were largely Chinese and for a good one minute, he was delivering his speech in Mandarin! We were impressed and everyone in the expo gave him a roaring applause. And then in the midst of his presentation, he started talking about how he wasn’t from Raffles and so he may not be the smartest. Again, we were impressed because he knew about our top school in Singapore. And he also addressed an issue that Singaporeans are currently facing - elitism.

If you want to impress the audience it is really simple. Go talk to a few representatives of the audience and find out what’s unique about them.

What are they most concerned about at this point of time?
What do they talk about these days?
What are some words/slangs that they use?
What’s the hottest topic in town? (For Singapore, it is Mas Selamat)

Once you get the answers, incorporate them into your speech and I guarantee you that your audience will be impressed!

To find out how professional speakers research their audience, click here (this is the reason why they are easily paid $20K a speech)

As you are mulling over this simple lesson, I will like to share with you a video put together by National Speakers Association (New England). They invited two world champion of public speaking, Darren La Croix (2001) and Vikas Jhingran (2007) to answer three questions.

1. When giving a speech over and over again, how do you keep it fresh and interesting to yourself?
2. What was transfered to you (Darren) being coached, to coaching Vikas?
3. Without memorizing, how do you keep your stories tight?

To get some top-notch coaching, watch the video below. Pay special attention to Darren’s answer to the last question. Genius!

Cheers,
Eric Feng
Your Public Speaking Coach

P.S: A good friend of mine (Gary) just lost his mum to cancer recently. And he wrote a special 7 entry tribute for his mum which I strongly recommend you to read. It’s an excellent reminder for us to treasure our loved ones. Click here to start reading his first entry. Talk soon.

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