As a small business owner, you will need to find many ways you can take your business to the next level. Whether you are looking for the latest growth hacks to saving money on your business expenses, you are going to need to hustle and find every advantage you can to ensure your business succeeds.
One strategy that many entrepreneurs are using to reach their business objectives is speaking at business conferences. The reason why proprietors are venturing down this path is because it allows them demonstrate their expertise which helps to connect their product or service to it.
However, some business owners have not embraced this opportunity because they lack the skill of speaking to large audiences. If you have ever wanted to attempt this approach, here are some pointers that can help you succeed.
Understand Your Audience
When it comes to the art of public speaking, not all presentations are created equally. The size of your audience plays an important role in how you write and present your speech, and knowing and understanding the different nuances that come with presenting to a large crowd will help you to master the art of public speaking.
“A large audience is often the most scary situation one can imagine” suggests Dan Smith of Keynote Speaker. “What could be worse than having to get up in front of hundreds of people, and be required to hold their attention and provide entertainment?” There are specific tips that can be applied when speaking in front of a large group that will help you succeed.
Confidence Is Key
For starters, own the room. The larger the crowd, the more important it is that you exhibit confidence and control the presentation. A large crowd is the sum of a lot of parts, and thus, your audience is necessitating a leader.
Larger crowds are subject to the follow the mood of the masses, and to get lost in what everyone else is doing. The more you control the room, and exhibit confidence, focus, and knowledge, the more your audience will respond and react.
Keep Your Audience Engaged
An engaged audience is one that listens, participates, and retains the information you present, and you want to control all of the aspects of the presentation. It can be very difficult to get up in front of hundreds and act confident and brash.
The first few times, you might have to actually just convince yourself of it, and go through the motions. “Understanding the importance of owning the room from the beginning, though, will help to achieve success when up on stage” says Sean Adams of MotivationPing.com.
Keep Things Simple
Keep your presentation display simple and clean. The larger the audience, the more important it is that your screen information be simple and to the point. The larger the crowd, the more varied and unique the individuals in your audience.
Believe it or not, the more information you put up on the screen, the lower the likelihood that they will retain and understand it. In a large group, rely more on your public speaking skills than on your display screen to convey the necessary information.
Pace Your Presentation
Piggybacking off of above, the larger the crowd, the more important it is that you pace your presentation. In this case, slow and steady wins the race. A small crowd might be able to follow along with every statement you make, but chances are that in a large group, some will understand your point and others will not.
The larger the crowd, the more diverse they are, and the more difficult it is to breeze through your topics. Keep you presentation a little more general when in front of large audiences, and present the topics slowly, so that more can understand.
Move On Stage
If possible, walk around the stage area and animate your motions. The larger the crowd, the larger the room. The larger the room, the smaller you appear at the front. Movement helps to make you appear larger and more prominent.
This goes back to owning the room. Your movements, both up on the stage, and your body movements with your hands and arms, all help to convey the notion that you are a knowledgable expert in your space.
Handling Questions
At the end of your presentation, keep in mind that it will be harder to field questions in front of a large audience. Presentation skills training often recommends to not even take questions when in front of a large crowd, because the average question might not be applicable to the vast majority of the crowd. If you do take questions, make sure to think in advance how to steer everything back to the main points of your presentation.
A large audience can appear overwhelming and daunting to present in front of. While you still might have some nerves about it, knowing and understanding how to present in front of a large crowd will help you perfect the art of public speaking.
