Listening: A Presenter Perspective
My job is to present. Their job is to listen.
That’s a mistaken mindset. Effective communication is a two-way street of interpersonal interaction. And while all great presenters spend quality time shaping their message to make it easier to listen to, they also listen to their audiences before, during, and after their delivery.
Listening is your first priority when planning for a meeting or presentation. At this early point in the process, listening is essential to understanding—understanding your audience, appreciating where they stand, recognizing the filters through which they will view your content, being considerate of their experiences, anxieties, and aspirations, and realizing which stories will strike a chord and which will fall flat.
Great presenters deeply listen to their audiences long before they ever take the stage or step to the front of the room. To be a great listener in advance of your next communication opportunity, perform a purposeful audience audit—a process you can learn more about in our August 1, 2018 edition of Speaker Soundbite.
But the need to listen doesn’t stop when you start speaking, in fact, it intensifies. Think about Robert Cialdini’s Principle of Reciprocity: we are hardwired to give back to those who give to us. As a result, if your goal is to get your team, clients, or customers to listen to you, you need to listen to them. Here are three easy ways to build that listening bond:
1. Invite them to talk. Whether directly or through polls, surveys, or the classic show-of-hands, soliciting input puts you in listening mode. While important in all communication settings, inviting in other voices is especially critical in recurring sales meetings or team huddles to keep it diverse and dynamic. But be sure you aren’t just going through the motions as audiences are quick to pick up on presenters who construct content for appearances; if you are going to solicit input, take audience contributions seriously, acknowledge their input, address tough questions, and integrate their responses back into your information.
2. Acknowledge them...by name. Whether you are referencing a situation or group, responding to a question, or even acknowledging a comment in the chat, refer to them by name. “Sasha, this part of the program is a direct result of your team’s great work,” “Eric, that’s a great question,” and “Bre, this is similar to what we discussed last week, right?” Using people’s names illustrates you’re listening and telegraphs that this is an exchange between people.
3. Expand the spotlight. Cayden and Liz may both be members of your audience, but if Liz has important information that sheds light on Cayden’s question, bring her into the spotlight by saying something like, “Great question, Cayden. Liz I know this is right up your ally. Can you take 30-seconds to update the team on where your customer engagement piece fits into all of this?” Not only does this approach invite more voices into the presentation or meeting, it also models a listening-mindset; everyone listens and recognizes the possibility for contribution.
Finally, listening remains important once you’re done talking. Beyond formal feedback, your audience is telling you things through their post-meeting actions. Did they leave the room in silence? Ask lots of ‘what if’ questions? Ask clarifying questions that you thought you addressed? What’s the office buzz about your content and performance? Are people talking about your takeaways? Take in all of this downstream chatter. Listen to it. It's telling you something.
So the next time you present to your team, talk to a client, or make an important announcement, don’t just select your stories, polish your slide deck, and practice your public speaking. Listen.
If you listen before, during, and after your communication moments, it increases the odds that your audiences will listen to you.