By my estimation, I have sat through a whopping 15,372 presentations.
Some were as short as 45 seconds and some were as long as 4 hours.
(Yes, the financial statements and budgetary proposals presented by Ministers of Finance in my country).
Some were interesting, some were pithy and others were humorous.
Most had content and many were actually well-researched, well-written and used humour and visual aids effectively.
But a whopping 70% or 10,760 and one that I walked out of before it was finished were just downright boring.
This does not have to be the case.
With a little knowledge about and skill about preparing and presenting a speech and the will to apply what you know, you can at least be competent.
But I've often heard that the majority is always right so if that axiom feels right for you and you want to be in the majority, here are my top five ways for you to bore your audience: 5.
Begin with a long apology.
You don't know what I'm talking about? It goes something like this: As you are aware, the parish priest was supposed to deliver this sermon and well ah, since he was called to higher duties, the task is now mine to ah (put you all to sleep?) deliver this little talk, you know I'm not as eloquent as he is...
drone...
drone...
and you nod off knowing it cannot get better from there.
4.
Stick slavishly to the script.
You can end up in a place with the wrong script for the right audience either through every fault of your own or through no fault of your own.
If you're given the wrong information about the audience, you will prepare the wrong speech.
Deciding that this is the only script that you could come up with given the information you receive and sticking to it like a tick to a dog will not only bore your audience but will damage you reputation as well.
3.
Use lots of jargon and technical terms.
This is a close cousin to # 4.
I know that sometimes speakers think that they are impressing the audience with how much they know by using a good helping of industry speak and technical jargon.
You couldn't be more wrong! This is when audience analysis becomes critical.
Knowing you audience and their purpose for listening will prevent you from boring them by talking way over their head.
2.
Not knowing when to stop.
Boy! This drives me crazy.
You have to have seen and heard this before.
It's that time when the speaker in #5 who was replacing someone else reaches a place in his speech where he's caught in a "word warp".
You, I and the rest of the audience knows that the presentation ended 500 words back but the poor guy continues to talk right on past himself and then "boredom" is too pedestrian a word to describe our feelings! 1.
Using no vocal variety.
This is a big one and my #1 because it shows a total lack of knowledge of the communication process.
Vocal variety is like the animated transition in a power point presentation.
The same way that every time the object on the screen moves it resets the listener's attention, so too does vocal variety every time the tone, pitch and rate of the voice changes.
Speaking in a deadpan voice actually puts the audience to sleep, so who knows? This might just be a ploy you're using to prevent your audience from being bored.
Well, now the ball is in your court.
If the purpose of your speech is to bore your audience to death, then you have the top 5 ways to do this.
If you want to deliver a speech that has them eating out of your hand and taking the actions you want, then turn these 5 tips on their heads and use them and to take you to Public Speaking Heaven!
Some were as short as 45 seconds and some were as long as 4 hours.
(Yes, the financial statements and budgetary proposals presented by Ministers of Finance in my country).
Some were interesting, some were pithy and others were humorous.
Most had content and many were actually well-researched, well-written and used humour and visual aids effectively.
But a whopping 70% or 10,760 and one that I walked out of before it was finished were just downright boring.
This does not have to be the case.
With a little knowledge about and skill about preparing and presenting a speech and the will to apply what you know, you can at least be competent.
But I've often heard that the majority is always right so if that axiom feels right for you and you want to be in the majority, here are my top five ways for you to bore your audience: 5.
Begin with a long apology.
You don't know what I'm talking about? It goes something like this: As you are aware, the parish priest was supposed to deliver this sermon and well ah, since he was called to higher duties, the task is now mine to ah (put you all to sleep?) deliver this little talk, you know I'm not as eloquent as he is...
drone...
drone...
and you nod off knowing it cannot get better from there.
4.
Stick slavishly to the script.
You can end up in a place with the wrong script for the right audience either through every fault of your own or through no fault of your own.
If you're given the wrong information about the audience, you will prepare the wrong speech.
Deciding that this is the only script that you could come up with given the information you receive and sticking to it like a tick to a dog will not only bore your audience but will damage you reputation as well.
3.
Use lots of jargon and technical terms.
This is a close cousin to # 4.
I know that sometimes speakers think that they are impressing the audience with how much they know by using a good helping of industry speak and technical jargon.
You couldn't be more wrong! This is when audience analysis becomes critical.
Knowing you audience and their purpose for listening will prevent you from boring them by talking way over their head.
2.
Not knowing when to stop.
Boy! This drives me crazy.
You have to have seen and heard this before.
It's that time when the speaker in #5 who was replacing someone else reaches a place in his speech where he's caught in a "word warp".
You, I and the rest of the audience knows that the presentation ended 500 words back but the poor guy continues to talk right on past himself and then "boredom" is too pedestrian a word to describe our feelings! 1.
Using no vocal variety.
This is a big one and my #1 because it shows a total lack of knowledge of the communication process.
Vocal variety is like the animated transition in a power point presentation.
The same way that every time the object on the screen moves it resets the listener's attention, so too does vocal variety every time the tone, pitch and rate of the voice changes.
Speaking in a deadpan voice actually puts the audience to sleep, so who knows? This might just be a ploy you're using to prevent your audience from being bored.
Well, now the ball is in your court.
If the purpose of your speech is to bore your audience to death, then you have the top 5 ways to do this.
If you want to deliver a speech that has them eating out of your hand and taking the actions you want, then turn these 5 tips on their heads and use them and to take you to Public Speaking Heaven!