Speaking Tips: One Audience Member at a Time

Here you are making an important speech or presentation, and you have an audience of dozens or even thousands. Any way you look at it, when see all those faces, you know you're speaking to a big crowd.

But, did you know you can speak more effectively by addressing just one person at a time, no matter the size of the audience? Now, speaking publicly to just one person may sound like a contradiction in terms, but in fact it's not.

I learned the lesson rather late in my radio career, to my regret. The logic goes like this: You may be speaking to a crowd but it is being received only individuals. Every audience comprises many individuals, and each of them hears the message for herself or himself, and not for the audience as a whole.

When I finally did use the technique In radio, I spoke to just one person, rather than announce to thousands. That individual person could be my wife, perhaps a friend. It didn't really matter whom, so long as I spoke to the audience in the same way that I would speak to one other person. You may notice this in television interviews, when the person being interviewed responds only to the interviewer and not to the huge audience watching the program.

When making presentations or speaking publicly, I like a technique that many professional speakers recommend: Pick one person; speak a sentence or two of your speech to her, then pick someone in another part of the room and repeat the process with him. Rinse and repeat, as the saying goes, and by the time you finish your speech, you'll have made direct contact with dozens, while everyone else thinks you've spoken directly to them, too. And, you'll have spoken to everyone in the audience as individuals, ensuring your message gets a better reception.

Behind all this, of course, is the goal of getting members of the audience to respond to your speech or presentation the way you intend. Whether that’s to understand something, or to accept an idea, or buy something, that’s the goal. And, by speaking to individuals you increase the odds you’ll get through to each of them, and in turn they’ll respond as you wish. That fulfills the essential purpose of virtually all speeches and presentations.

Robert F. Abbott is an online writer and publisher specializing in consumer information sites, including a QuickList on Cuisinart Mixers , and business communication, including articles that help you increase your communication skills and knowledge.