When you devise a live presentation, you typically consider your audience. They’re history buffs, they’re quilters, their simply readers of good fiction. But what else do you learn about your audiences before you speak? What else is important to know?
Are they mostly men or women? I prepare a little different talk for men than I do for a group of women. Men, as a rule, expect to receive the information in a straightforward manner. Most of them appreciate humor, of course, but they want the facts laid out where they can evaluate them. Women are more likely to enjoy a more playful and light approach.
Younger audiences are in a hurry. When you’re speaking to an older group, you may have to slow your pace a little and repeat yourself for emphasis.
If you can, find out how embedded most of the audience members are in the subject. In my case, where I speak on publishing and book promotion, I try to find out how many attendees are published, what kinds of books they’ve produced, how many are still in the writing stages—hoping to someday publish, and so forth. If I’m speaking to members of an established writing group or organization, I can often find this information by going to their website and looking at member profiles. Sometimes I get a sense of who’s in the audience by asking questions before I begin speaking. Then I gear my talk in what I feel is the appropriate direction.
I often ask the organizer or program director for direction—“Who will be present and what is their experience level?” Just as often, I get the wrong information. I prepare to speak to the highly experienced, multi-published author and find myself facing a group of mostly beginners. Yes, it happens. The organizer might tell me this group is hungry to know how to sell articles to magazines, yet I discover that all of their questions lean in the direction of how to get published or how to use Twitter to promote your book.
I’ve stood before school kids, elderly folks in assisted living facilities, professionals, retired professionals, eager new writers, those who only dream of being published and seasoned authors. I’ve also had audiences sprinkled with a mix of all of the above.
So how does one handle a presentation when the audience isn’t the audience he or she expected? Be flexible. In Toastmasters, we’re challenged to learn how to speak off-the-cuff—to become comfortable being spontaneous when engaged in public speaking or even in one-on-one communication. One way to become comfortable ad libbing is to know your material inside and out. Then you can easily make changes if need be.
Learn more about promoting your book through public speaking by reading my book, “Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.” It’s at Amazon.com in print, Kindle and audio and at most other online and downtown bookstores. Or order your copy here: http://www.matilijapress.com/TalkUpYourBook.html