Let’s Face It . . . Some People Are Dull
They don’t want to be. They don’t even know they are boring. But they are.
Someone, somewhere, at some time said, “Hey why don’t you teach this class?” Or, “How about giving an after-dinner talk at our club?”
That’s how it started, and ever since they have been talking on and on and on, much to the regret of the audience.
No one has the heart to ask them to stop. And everyone else is too afraid to step up to the microphone for fear that they may become the next bearer of dry words.
That might sound harsh. It may not be proper to voice out loud, but it is true. And that’s why you are reading this right now. You don’t want to be that person. You don’t want to be dull. You want people to smile when they hear that you will be speaking. You want people to anticipate and look forward to your presentation.
What Can Block Your Message?
Listening to a speaker whose good message is lost in poor techniques is like being given a precious diamond wrapped in burlap: You don’t appreciate the value of the jewel because the presentation impedes your vision. You want your listeners to hear the heart of your message; you want your passion to show through. But how can you block your own good ideas and how can you allow your message to shine through?
Usually a combination of factors keeps your audience from truly hearing your message, but here are some of the most common.
A monotone voice A voice that fails to vary in pitch will not only hides the value of your message, but it will also lull a crowd to sleep. As we communicate it’s nice to imagine that what we have to say is of such value no one would dare miss a word. Unfortunately, that’s only imagination; you must also take care to present the ideas with energy.
Lack of clear focus No matter the audience, they all seek the same thing—life-changing information that can be applied immediately. Yet, we have all heard someone who talked for an hour and had nothing to say.
I once purchased a recording of a talk tTwo months ago I bought a tape that promised “104 Ways to Boost Your Creativity.” When it arrived, I ripped open the package and popped it my car cassette player.I eagerly anticipated listening to it, but didn’t get quite the experience I was expecting. The presenter said, “I have a microphone positioned in the aisle. Let’s use this period to let you share some creative ideas you have had.” Not only was I disappointed at the lack of information. The speaker didn’t speak, and the tape journeyed from point to point with no connection, no direction.
Rambling Rambling is fine for tumbleweeds, but not communicators. These people go round and round, where they’ll stop no one knows (Although everyone hopes they will stop, and soon!)
Ramblers tell stories not associated with the topic. One thing reminds him of another until even the speaker is lost. “Where was I” is a common phrase for the rambler. When coupled with a monotone voice this presenter can set a record for losing a crowd’s attention.
Lack of facial expressionDeadpan, expressionless speakers bore us because many of us believe that our emotions should be worn not on our sleeves but on our faces. When someone we want to see enters the room, we smile. When a funny joke is told, we laugh. When our team scores, we cheer. All of these events are filled with expression.
A person who speaks and remains expressionless tells the audience that the subject is not interesting. She says by her appearance that the topic is not worth getting physically worked up over. He says by a lack of facial expression that the topic does not move him enough internally to move him externally.
No passion Passion is contagious. A speaker who is excited about the subject can make even the least interesting topic engaging. Of course, the most exciting topic in the world can be reduced to a yawn with a passionless presenter.
I like to think of passion as energy of the spirit. It is internal electricity that lights up our bodies. When we have passion about a topic it shows. Others can’t help noticing and being drawn into our excitement.
Failing to consider your audience How much we like and care about a subject doesn’t matter if our audience isn’t interested. That does not mean that we can’t take a subject that a group might think is dull and make it interesting. (The Prayer of Jabez sold millions of copies and it was taken out of a seemingly boring list of genealogies.)
However, as a preacher friend of mine learned, it is tough to keep a crowd through thirteen weeks of “Small Creatures of the Old Testament.” As a speaker, your responsibility, your duty, is to understand your audience and their needs well enough to choose a topic that they will find timely, useful, and inspiring.
Slouchy appearance How we look when we speak is important. A later section in this manual will cover personal appearance in more detail. For now it is enough to remind you that the first impression you make is nearly always visual, and that the more you can do to convey energy and enthusiasm for your subject the more likely your audience is to go along with you. Your energy, your posture, and your body language can begin to engage your listeners before you speak the first word. Your appearance should say that you care about yourself and the message you have to deliver.
Unvarying speech patterns Slow talkers can put us to sleep, as can fast talkers. Our brains are designed for rapid assimilation of information, but we need sound cues to tell us when to pay attention. When details come in a sluggish rate our minds become bored. When they come at too rapid a rate, we tune out. There is not enough to keep the brain active in either case. Our brains shut down, causing us to fall asleep or daydream.
Stretching ten minutes of information into an hour. Some people follow the adage “Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you told them.”
Others follow: “Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them again . . . and again . . . and again . . . and again . . . and again . . . and again . . . and again.” And by the time they get to the conclusion everyone has tuned out mentally.
If you only have twenty minutes of information, then only speak for twenty minutes. There is no reason to continue when nothing new or fresh is being presented.
Reading instead of speaking Only the extremely talented can get away with reading their presentation. Combine reading with monotone, or an expressionless face, and you have a solid tranquilizer recipe.
The entire talkEverything does not have to be memorized. A nice outline will serve you well. But a word-for-word manuscript read aloud will rarely be forgiven.
Insufficient eye contact
Eyes are the windows of the _________. (Did you put soul in the blank?)
We do not trust people who will not look at us in the eye. We think they are hiding something. When a child does something wrong we tell him to look us in the eye and tell the truth. We believe that we can look at the eyes and determine just how honest a person is being with us. It’s the same when we speak. The audience weighs our words by our eyes. If they’re shifty, they think we’re shifty. If our eyes avoid contact, listeners think we are avoiding the truth.
Annoying physical habits We all have something we do physically that is repetitive and potentially distracting. An audience—especially a young audience—picks up on these things. Do you know a speaker who seems to constantly push his glasses back up on his nose? A lady who slips her shoe on and off as she speaks? Someone who jingles his keys or change in his pockets? Someone who uses the same gesture pattern over and over?
These attributes not only divert our attention, they drive us crazy! Amazingly, most of these things could be alleviated if someone would speak up and tell us about our repetitive physical actions. However, since most people are a bit shy about telling us things that they think we don’t want to hear, we often have to take the initiative to ask others what about our speech patterns distract them. It’s useful—and humbling—exercise.
What Turns You Off—And On?
Think about your least favorite speaker. What is it that disturbs you so much? What makes you unable to listen? What distracts you?
Whatever you listed, or whatever came to mind . . . don’t do it. Be conscious of your communication skills and vow not to repeat the mistakes you have seen in others. Seek to develop techniques that will make you a successful communicator. Model yourself after good speakers you admire. You don’t want to mimic them, but you can decide how to make their techniques useful to your style.