A company hired a writer to boost its online visibility, but no one there had ever worked with a writer before. On the writer’s first day, his manager pointed to a work station and said, in effect, “Go to it.”
Without instructions or deadlines, the writer was free to add articles to the company’s website. He chose all his own topics and photos and made his own decisions on story length, tone, headlines and subjects to interview.
The result? In a year, the website’s readership went from zero to half a million. In the next six months, the website rose to the number one position in its field as the result of an online search on the web.
Later, a law firm made him an offer to double his salary. He took the job, but soon came to realize the new firm’s methods allowed much less creative freedom. Whenever the writer penned an article, one of the law partners would pull up a chair next to his and go over the copy, line by line, dictating things like paragraph length and photo selection. After two days at the firm, the writer quit and asked for his old job back.
What forces brought the first website to the top of its industry? And what forces drove the writer away from the law firm with its fat paycheck? If money doesn’t float everyone’s boat, then what is it that motivates people to do their best?
How to seduce, engage and win
your audience’s heart
By Jack Vincent, ACS, ALS
Reprint for Valentine’s Day
“Valentine’s Day…[makes]…February the month for lovers in many parts of the world. So let’s talk love; let’s talk romance.
From attracting and connecting for the first time, to focusing on someone else and touching someone’s emotions and feelings as much as their mind, a great speech is like a love affair. A great speech seduces audience members, engages them and then wins their hearts.
Seduce
Attraction is a product of emotion. It’s spontaneous. We don’t control it, and it’s impossible to change who—and what—attracts us. Sometimes it’s instantaneous, like a spark. Famous playwright William Shakespeare and poet Christopher Marlowe both included this famous line in their works: “Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?”
As speakers, we can use this powerful emotion of attraction in our presentations—especially at the beginning of our speeches—to seduce our audiences. The key is to keep it simple. Simplicity sparks emotion. Complexity gets in the way of making jaws drop. It may be helpful in the body of your speech, but in the beginning, simplicity rules—simplicity seduces.
An example: I spotted him when he walked in. Then he looked my way, looked away, then looked back, and it took my breath away.
That’s simple. Some call it an opening “grab.”
“Jump smack into an exciting story,” says John Zimmer, ACB, ALB, a member of the International Geneva Toastmasters club in Switzerland and a five-time winner of District 59 speech contests. “Offer a surprising statistic, cite a quotation, make a provocative statement or ask a provocative question. Your opening is one of the most powerful moments of your speech. Use it to hook your audience.”
A brief pause after being introduced can also be powerful and seductive. A pause draws the audience in, not rationally but emotionally. Making a well-crafted opening grab and pausing again can literally take an audience’s breath away.
And perhaps the most powerful seduction tool of all is confidence. This should not stray into arrogance or cockiness; just show genuine confidence. In romance, business and presentations, almost everyone is attracted to someone who has a strong sense of self. So don’t be shy about drawing the audience in with a powerful opening, sprinkled with pauses and genuine confidence.
Engage
Attraction is powerful, but it only gets you so far in relationships and speeches. Engagement is key, it…”
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Click on the video provided below to watch a clip of Colin Boyd, from colinboyd.com.au, who provides three tips on “How To Connect With Your Audience When Speaking In Public”:
JIA Toastmasters will not be meeting today (Thursday), as we are trying a new date and location to provide greater opportunity for our members and guests to attend.
Our new meeting day is on the 1st and 3rd TUESDAYS, still from 6:30pm to 8pm.
We hope this new day and location will be helpful to those of you who have found it difficult to attend on Thursdays. Another notice and RSVP request will be sent as a reminder for our first meeting at the new location, scheduled for THIS Tuesday, February 2nd.
JIA Toastmasters Club 