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jonstetson wrote @
3 Keys to Engage Any Audience
By Jon Stetson
Running a successful and effective meeting, whether large or small, requires one key element: Engagement. In other words, those attending your meeting can’t simply sit back and listen. If you want them to receive true value from your message and to take action on your ideas, you must make the effort to engage your audience. The more involved and engaged people are, the better their comprehension and retention of information.
For example, think back to your days in the academic world. Chances are you had teachers and professors who taught via lecture format, and others who taught with a hands-on and involvement approach. In one class you sat in your seat for the prescribed amount of time and simply listened to your instructor drone on (perhaps taking a few notes just to stay awake), and in another class you interacted with the instructor, answering and asking questions, forming project groups, presenting and receiving ideas, and perhaps even getting up and moving about the room.
If you’re like most people, the classes you enjoyed most were the ones where you had involvement and your instructor engaged the class. For most people, the lecture style classroom was boring and tedious, and a downright chore to regularly attend. The same concept hold true in business. Those business professionals who engage their staff, their meeting attendees, their co-workers, and their clients fare far better than those who don’t.
When people are engaged, they pay attention. This then creates a synergy, because the speaker or meeting leader feels the engagement and responds with more energy and enthusiasm, which builds even more engagement. When it’s all over, both recipients of the communication have a higher reward factor.
To make every meeting and interaction you have meaningful and engaging, keep the following engagement principles in mind.
1. It’s about surprise.
Connect to your listeners in an unexpected manner. You want to create an interactive experience that causes the “a-ha” light to go off in people’s brains and the “deer-in-the-headlight look” of astonishment to cross their face. [need some quick ideas of how to connect in an unexpected manner—do you mean giving people startling facts, telling jokes, doing juggling, telling stories, etc.?] As you do this, realize that when you’re conducting a meeting, there is no stage or divider between you and your attendees. All four corners of the room are “touchpoints,” so make sure everyone in each of the four quadrants is engaged and involved in the experience—even those people who tend to hide in the back row or in the corners. After all, the meeting is meaningful for people only if the time spent is unique and vivid.
2. Find a bigger shared interest.
People love to share and talk. If they experience something collectively, they talk about the experience every time they get the opportunity. Therefore, rather than just talk to people, give them something to talk about. [do you mean have them to an exercise together or for the meeting presenter to do something unique, such as the book thing Vinnie mentioned? I need a quick example of how a presenter can give people something to experience together.] Always remember that engagement is about connecting experiences that drive conversations, long after the engagement is over. When you do so, people will talk about you, your company, or your brand to others. Talk about great marketing and credibility building that comes at no additional cost to you!
3. Focus on your listeners.
Never forget that the only people who matter in your meeting are your attendees. Therefore, make your listeners and/or attendees the true stars of the show. [can you give some quick points on how to do this…do you ask questions, solicit feedback, get their opinions, etc?] Everyone loves to be treated like a VIP. When you keep your audience actively engaged and involved, they will become your biggest evangelists. People appreciate being treated as special, which occurs when they are involved, and as such, their message retention is much greater. No matter what, always leave your audience with a content driver that they can remember, act upon, and share with others.
The Power of Engagement
When you take the time to engage your listeners, you provide enough value so you become an indispensible resource to your attendees, who in turn become your best sales force. Remember, people want something more. They don’t want to just sit in a chair and listen; they want to feel a bit more lively. Good meetings engagement is strategic, because attendees are ready to receive one or more messages you want to deliver to them. And by engaging and involving your audience, their heartshare and mindshare are open to receiving your message. This then allows you to create, innovate, entertain, and deliver content in a lasting and meaningful way
Rina Bulken wrote @
Today I experianced a life changing performance where Jon literally read my mind. I don’t know how he does it. I don’t know anyone else he could figure out that I once adopted a pet llama. Thanks fro a great show.
Use Your Intuition to Enhance Your Professional Success
By Jon Stetson
Ask any successful person what process he or she uses when making decisions, creating new ideas and strategies, or knowing what to say to get people to take action, and the answer you’ll hear most often is “intuition.” Called by other names, such as “gut feeling,” “a hunch,” or even “a guess that seems to come out of nowhere,” intuition is usually the real explanation for all those “educated guesses” that almost always seem right.
Unfortunately, many people are afraid to trust their intuition. After all, people perceive the business world as being black or white, and “hunches” and “guesses” fall into that fuzzy gray area. In reality, though, you use your intuition every day in matters you likely take for granted, such as what tone of voice to use in a particular situation or how close to stand when meeting someone new. Your subconscious processes these decisions at a speed much quicker than any supercomputer ever could. They are your intuition at work.
In the business world, using your intuition is most important when you’re communicating with others, whether you’re addressing your department at a staff meeting, talking one-on-one with a co-worker or employee, or delivering an important message from the podium. Those you’re communicating with need to feel that you understand where they’re coming from and what challenges they face. If you go into the interaction with a planned “script” of what you’re going to say or how you’re going to deliver a certain piece of news, you’re making yourself vulnerable. Sure, you may think that going from point A to point B to point C seems safe, but the moment someone throws you a curve ball with an unexpected question or statement, you’re likely to say the wrong thing and hurt your credibility. It’s during those times that you need to listen to and trust your intuition most.
Of course, this notion of intuition means you need to throw away the management 101 textbook and go with your gut feelings during interactions. Doing so can be scary—there’s a risk when you stretch yourself, but the rewards are enormous. Those you are talking with get more out of the interaction because they don’t have their guard up and are “in the zone” with you. They can sense that you’re in touch with their needs, creating a synergy between them and you that enables them to truly understand your message and apply it. When you’re able to communicate in a way that gets people to take action, your professional status is greatly elevated.
Intuition Honing Techniques
All rewards in life require an investment. As is often said, “You don’t get anything for nothing.” When it comes to optimizing your intuition, the same holds true. If you are willing to keep an open mind and put forth the time and energy to hone your intuitive skills, you’ll find your life to be more focused and successful. The following suggestions will help you tap into your inherent intuition so you can reap all its rewards.
• Focus on what you hear.
Using your intuition means paying attention to the things that go on around you. Unfortunately, many people today are over-stressed and over-extended, and as such they simply don’t listen. Their minds are racing with so many thoughts that they never really focus on what’s going on around them, much less the person or audience they’re speaking to. To train yourself to stay focused and aware of what’s going on around you, in your mind repeat what other people are saying. Echo their exact words mentally. Doing so will bring you right into the moment and force you to really listen. After a short while, staying present will become second nature and you’ll be one step closer to better utilizing your intuition.
• Focus on what you don’t hear.
Science has established that only about 19 percent of communication between people is what they say. And while words are certainly important, more often the tone, accent, or timbre of someone’s speech, as well as a person’s body language, is a better gauge of what’s really going on. Elite gamblers know this fact well. Even if they’re dealt a bad hand, after observing their opponents’ body language, they often decide to stay in the game. They tap into their intuition to assess just how bad their cards really are as opposed to their opponents’ hand. By doing so, the odds are on their side. Therefore, watch the people you’re talking with and observe the subtle clues their body language gives you. How are they standing or sitting? Are they looking at you or are they focused on something else? Are they yawning or fidgeting in their seat? All these are clues—signals to your intuition—of how to respond.
• Become a people watcher.
Observe people standing on street corners, when they are stopped from crossing due to traffic. Look at everything about them: Their clothes, their demeanor, what they’re carrying, etc. Then, try and predict which way they will continue—will they go straight across the street, or are they about to turn and change directions? Also attempt to anticipate what stores or buildings they will enter. Often, people give clues as to their destination, and your intuition can help you pick up on these clues.
• Use games as intuition boosting experiences.
Honing your intuition can be as simple as a card game. Remove three playing cards from a deck and lay them face up on a table. Make sure the cards are as different from one another as possible. Ask someone to look at the cards and mentally pick the one that seems most interesting to them. Then you do the same. You’ll be surprised how often your intuition will guide you to the same choice. As you get more accurate, increase the number of cards you use. Similarly, when you’re in a new environment, such as a new restaurant or store, ask someone you’re with to look around and mentally focus on something they see. Then you do the same. Again, your intuition will often guide you to the same choice.
Use Every Day as an Intuitive Challenge
Intuition is definitely not a “foo-foo” soft topic that has no place in the business world. In fact, intuition is one the most powerful tools you have to get ahead, gain credibility, and motivate others to take action. Remember that other people can be a rich source of “hidden” information. Just as gamblers have learned that poker isn’t a card game but rather a people game, you, too, can increase your awareness of things around you when you practice these intuition-honing exercises. The more you invest in your intuition, the more you’ll trust yourself in any situation. Only then will you become confident in every decision you make and interaction you have, both in your personal and professional life.