5 strokes to teach you how to make your speech better

What led to careless (and costly) domestic accidents? Is it a rapid advance in technology, or is there too much to do but not enough time? or both? To find out, the Bank of England Lloyds TSB Group (Lloyds TSB) conducted a study The result is an interesting finding: the average adult's attention span has been shortened from 12 minutes 10 years ago to just 5 minutes. This is especially true every year to this season, because most of us prefer to stay on the beach.

If you are planning a critical statement, it may determine whether your career is going in a better direction or in a worse direction, and the time of presentation is half an hour. Sien Oblein said: "Because the average audience's attention duration is only 5 minutes, so during the 30-minute speech, the audience has 84% of the time is wandering." Unless you can find a way to keep your audience focused.

O ' Brien is executive vice president of PGI, an online conference and cooperation company in Atlanta. He will provide readers with some suggestions to attract the attention of the audience.

1. Are you sure you want to use slides? "People tend to turn to PowerPoint because it's simple and common," said O ' Brien. The problem is that slides don't make you stand out. The same format, the audience may have seen 1000 times, so they have been numb to the slide. Alternative tools such as Prezi, EASEL.Y or sliderocket are not only easy to use but also provide more visual effects.

He added: "Maybe you don't need to use slides at all." Sometimes slides are just a kind of spiritual dependency. "O ' Brien likes to quote Steve Jobs. "People who know what they're talking about don't need PowerPoint," jobs once said. "In addition, the survey data he cites suggest that 41% of American employees would rather pay taxes or see a dentist than wait until the slide---62% American staff had dozed off or even left the conference room to escape the tedious slides."

2. If you really need a slide, the less the better. "The first slide or prologue must be exciting, using some eye-catching visuals and concise language," said O ' Brien. "30-minute statements do not use more than five to 10 slides." "If you're going to put 30 slides in 30 minutes, your statement is not going to work," said O ' Brien. In addition, each slide only needs to list an important point, the words can not exceed 15 words. "Talk too much, the audience will lose interest, so be sure to be concise and highlight the theme."

3. Clever use of uncommon fonts and colors. By using fonts other than the mainstream Microsoft Office and keynote fonts, you can increase the visuals of your slides to capture the attention of your audience, Dafont, 1001 free Fonts, Websites such as Fontsbytes and fonts.com offer downloads of various fonts. O ' Brien added: "Don't forget to make the spacing between the words more open." The size of the text should make sure that the person standing behind the room can also see it clearly. ”

Color is also very important. O ' Brien found that product marketers and interior designers rely on color to inspire different reactions-red represents power and urgency, blue for calm, and orange for energy and passion. You can also use color: "Give a certain connotation to the color used in the statement." People tend to focus too much on the facts and forget about visual effects. ”

4. Don't just talk about work. "The best presentation will allow the audience to immerse themselves in it, creating an emotional connection between the speaker and the audience," said O ' Brien. "If you tell an interesting story, or share a favorite quote, talk about yourself and show what you look like outside the office, it makes you more attractive and gives the audience a deeper impression." ”

Of course, must have a sense of propriety, as long as properly handled, will attract the attention of the audience. Cherille Sandberg's Famous 2010 Ted speech, which made her decide to write the book Forward (Lean in), is the best evidence. Sandberg's frankness and self-deprecating humour impressed everyone-and she didn't use any slides during the speech.

5. Break the "four wall". Have you ever had the experience of having a class at a university and not knowing when a mentor would suddenly point to your name, hoping you could give some smart comments? This time-honored technique can keep the audience tense, as no one wants to be caught and asked without any precaution, and the same technique applies to speeches.

O ' Brien advises: "By encouraging the audience to interrupt a speech constructively, such as ask questions, let the audience participate." Or randomly select listeners and invite them to participate in the discussion. ”

Some speakers, such as Welch, the former chief executive of General Electric (GE), will use Twitter to ask questions and comments from listeners, and Mr Welch will answer them in real time. This technique is not suitable for timid people, but it does make the audience focus. This is not a small feat today. (Fortune Chinese network)

Translator: Liu Jinlong/Wang Hao