Communication is important whether you are a leader in an organisation or someone who is running a small business. As part of my ongoing learning and development I like to listen to teleseminars and other virtual learning events. One of the key things that I have noticed from listening to many of these virtual trainings is that the best presenters always focus on one thing. Keeping the audience at the forefront of their mind all of the time.
When you keep the audience at the forefront of your mind when communicating, there are a number of real benefits. These include:
Benefit 1: You respect their time
Imagine you turned up to a presentation which was billed as a 60 minute talk and it was 30 minutes before you offered any worthwhile tangible content. What do you think the feedback would be like? Remember that people have a lot of competing demands on their time, so respect this and focus on giving them as much as you can in the time available.
Benefit 2: Your build credibility
People listening to a presentation live or virtually want value. If you are delivering value you are building your credibility as someone they can trust to provide them with tools, strategies and ideas to help them achieve better results.
Benefit 3: You fully focus
When you remember your audience and what you wanted to create for them at the end of the communication, you keep your focus on them and the results that they desired from attending. What this means at a practical level is that you respond to what the audience really needs rather than promoting yourself.
Benefit 4: You get more buy-in
If you are responding to the issues that are important to your audience, you create more buy-in. For example, if you are a leader or manager, specifically responding to the burning issues that your people are worrying about, you are more likely to get their support in implanting solutions.
Benefit 5: You are open to ideas
Many businesses are having to make tough choices right now. If you are remembering your audience, chances are that you will build in sufficient time in your communication process to listen to ideas and suggestions that people closest to the point of delivery have.
Bottom Line- Communication is a great opportunity to get your message across and to get input from others. So what steps can you take to focus more on your audience?
