SMILEWhether it is a full out enthusiastic smile or a subtler "Buddha smile," or even a Mona Lisa smile, your smile radiates pleasure, joy, enthusiasm, contentment, engagement, excitement, energy, delight, connectedness, passion or desire.
Just for a moment, think of one of your presentation topics, and then notice whether your own face moves into a smile in the process.
No? Then think through the 2-3 main points you use to support your core message. Any smiles there?
No? Is your subject too dry, too data driven, too much someone else's idea, too serious a subject to warrant a smile?
But what is your purpose in making the presentation? To create a relationship with your audience? Or to inform them? Or to teach them a skill? Or to change their attitude? Or some or all of these? Certainly.
Yet if you are not demonstrating your own pleasure, joy, enthusiasm, contentment, engagement, excitement, energy, delight, connectedness, passion, and/or desire related to the subject, why should they pay attention?
Smiles are infectious and provide on an emotional level, a reason to pay attention. Several years ago I was making a radio commercial. The director prompted me to smile as I was talking about the product - even though my audience could not see me. He said the audience could hear a smile and it added energy to the sell. And it did!
Now, look at a presentation that you did recently or one you are preparing and see where you feel passion, enthusiasm or pleasure. Use that feeling as an emotional vehicle for the whole presentation. It will carry you far and help your presentation to be more persuasive and more memorable.
Go ahead! Seduce and delight your audience with your passion for sharing your topic with them.
Smile!
If you are a woman and you want to be taken seriously, want to be promoted, want to dazzle an audience - find out about the Great Women Speakers program that begins on February 26th. For information and to see if this is a good fit for you, contact Connie here
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