How much do you REALLY know about your audience?

Have you ever poured your heart into a speech or business presentation – only to realize later that your audience didn’t get it (or didn’t care)?

That’s a lost and wasted opportunity.

And it happens when you focus only on what YOU want to say instead of WHO you’re saying it to.

Here’s how risk-taking and vulnerability during audience analysis can change everything in a business presentation.

Many leaders preparing a speech or business presentation focus almost exclusively on what THEY want to say instead of WHO they’re saying it to.

It’s a big mistake.

Because when this happens, the consequences come quickly:

• The audience tunes out.
• The speaker’s credibility is lost.
• The message doesn’t land.

What’s worse?

Leaders miss their chance to change the way their audience thinks or behaves.

The bravest decision you can make as a speaker

I watched these unfortunate consequences unfold when I attended a talk by a national expert and public speaker about how a famous innovation in American history came to be (and the lesson we should learn and apply even today).

Now don’t get me wrong: This speaker really knew his stuff – from his angle and his perspective and his experience.

But this particular audience knew some of this stuff, too – only from a different angle.

Their angle.

Their perspective.

Their experience.

So it’s no surprise that people in this audience completely missed the speaker’s point.

They didn’t even hear it.

In fact: The audience skipped right over what the speaker came to say – a breakdown exposed during the Q&A.

In the end, this talk was a lost and wasted opportunity.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Because everything changes when you DECIDE to get to know your audience deeply.

That means having the courage and the humility – especially if you are an expert on a topic for a business presentation – to ask a whole lot more questions about a particular audience right upfront.

Before you do anything else.

Listen to this audio clip from a past workshop I delivered that shares a few questions that begin to challenge what you think you know about your audience:

When it comes to audience analysis, these are only some of the many questions to consider if you are planning a business presentation.

Here are a few more:

• What does your audience want and need?
• What challenges and problems do they face?
• What do they value and believe?
• What are they afraid of or concerned about?

And this important one:

What does your audience already know – and how do they already feel – about your topic?

Being willing to ask a lot more questions about a particular audience and dive deep requires risk-taking and vulnerability.

After all:

• You’re admitting you don’t have all the answers. That feels tough, since leaders and experts are expected to “know.”
• You’re giving others a voice in shaping your business presentation. That feels like a loss of control: allowing your assumptions to be challenged and your authority to be shared.
• You’re acknowledging you may need to change course. That feels uncomfortable, because it means doing extra work to refocus and rework the material for your business presentation.

But risk-taking and vulnerability are worth it!

Because they ensure that you and your message won’t be missed or dismissed.

Instead, you will be heard, understood and remembered.

Which means the audience will be different in some way when they leave the room.

The decision that changes everything

Every great business presentation starts with a decision.

• You can either take the easy route: Rely on what you already know. Deliver what you’ve always delivered to other audiences. And hope your message lands with this particular audience.
• Or – you can take a risk and be vulnerable by DECIDING to get to know your audience deeply.

It means asking a lot more questions. Admitting you don’t have all the answers. Giving others a voice in shaping your business presentation. And acknowledging you may need to change course.

And if you make this decision and follow through?

The payoff is big and comes fast.

• You captivate your audience.
• You gain credibility.
• Your message lands.

And in the end?

You change the way your particular audience thinks or behaves.

So before you begin preparing your next speech or business presentation, and start focusing on what you want to stay, take a pause.

Stop and ask yourself this question:

Am I brave enough to find out what I don’t know about my audience?

Want to discover how you can get to know your next audience more deeply?

Work with Teresa Zumwald: a 21-time winner of the Cicero Speechwriting Awards who delivers custom speechwriting services, plus executive speech coaching, executive communication, and speaking and training.

She can help you learn how to speak like a leader and AIM for impact every time you speak in public.