Content Versus Context in Public SpeakingI subscribe to several online newsletters. I don’t have time to read them usually but one day I received one from a public speaking website that had the headline, “The Top 10 Things You Need To Do To Prepare For Your Next Presentation.” Ok, that got my attention. But, do you know what the number one recommendation was? “Go to the Library and research your topic!” Are you kidding me? Right then and there I deleted my name from the mailing list. Why? Because, anyone who tells you to research your topic whether it’s at the library, online or even by calling a friend, is just plain out to lunch. The fact is; if you haven’t done it, then you don’t have a right to teach it. Well, you do have a right, but that would be wrong. Get it? In any case, your content is your experience, knowledge and expertise. Anything else is preaching, not teaching. But, I want to be very clear before going any further; your content is secondary to the context. Let me explain…
In Fig 2.1 above you’ll notice that inside the bowl is some water and that water represents the content of the bowl. Your content is your experience and knowledge that you will share with your audiences. You’ll also notice that if your bowl springs even the tiniest of leaks, what happens to all your content? It leaks out – all of it. So, what is more important that the content? The bowl - of Course! So, what does the bowl represent? Context! Your context is much more important that your content. In other words; it’s not what you teach, it’s how you teach it that is more important. Let me put it this way. Most speakers and trainers try to share as much content as they can in the time they have. Whether it’s for a 15 minute presentation or an entire day, most just spew out data data data! And, usually what happens after 5 or 10 minutes of boring data, most of your audience has tuned out. Their either sleeping or daydreaming or checking their Blackberries. Too much data without appropriate context to hold it together is just plain boring. And, most people can’t learn it they’re bored. Data is boring. No matter how good or how powerful you think your data is, it’s still boring. Therefore, the context of how your present you data becomes the most important thing. Did you know that most speakers are happy to have 20% of their audience paying attention? That’s ridiculous. You want 100%! Anything less is less than good enough! So, how do you do that? How do you enroll and engage 100% of the audience 100% of the time? Context is the answer! You must learn the secrets of the most powerful speakers in order to deliver an award wining presentation! You must learn the context of how it’s done. The problem is; most speakers would never reveal their most coveted secrets. That’s why I wrote this book. I believe that the better you’re able to present the better the world will be. Think of it this way; if you learn to be a better presenter then you’ll be able to affect a larger portion of the population. And if enough speakers do that, imagine how much the world will change? Good speakers are hard to come by, but that’s only because there is not enough good information out there for you to learn from. My public speaking seminars actually teach you how to enroll and engage 100% of your audience 100% of the time. It’s all about the “context”. I’m sure you have enough sense to know that most speakers are boring. Are you boring? Here’s a test. Do you remember your last presentation? What was the energy of the room? Did you enroll and engage everyone? Were you nervous? Did you forget your place a few times? Did you use PowerPoint the whole time? Did you stand behind a podium? How did you handle questions? How much money did you make? If you have any doubts about the answer to these questions then I guarantee you that my seminars will dispel and myths about public speaking that are out there. And, you’ll learn your game a thousand percent and quickly become one of the best speakers out there! For more information click
here. Paul Tobey | |
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