8 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR AUDIENCE LIKE YOU

I hate to admit it.

But you and I are just humans.

We humans tend to be judgemental, whether we realise it or not. We are prone to make assumption of what we see on the surface.

Sometimes, it can be a good thing because it helps us to be less gullible or over-trusting. However, it can also be a bad thing for the reason that things don’t always appears the way it looks.

As a speaker, your audience will form an opinion of you even before you open up your mouth to speak. And they will continue to judge you and determine whether you are worth listening to until you prove to them otherwise.

When you are delivering a speech; during a seminar, conference or in classes, it is important to make sure your audience feel comfortable around you.

How are you supposed to persuade, motivate or convey valuable information to your audience if they have negative perceptions of you at the very start?

Just imagine that you are the audience. Try putting yourself in their shoes. Take 5 minutes to think about the things that will make you like the speaker. Now, can you figure out how to make your audience like you?

Here is my list of 8 ways to make your audience like you which I want to share with you. It is based on own my experience and observation. If you can come up with other ways too, it will be great!

1) SMILE BEFORE AND WHEN GOING UP ON STAGE

A friendly face will always make people like you. Flash a smile and ZAP! You got yourself a new friend. Before you go up on stage, (for example the stairs near the stage) please look at your audience first. You might see some audience looking at you, wondering how the speaker looks like. Smile at them.

When you come up to the stage, look at them again and smile. Smile before you open your mouth to speak. Show to your audience that you are pleasant and approachable. Make them see that you enjoy meeting them and love being there. Be enthusiastic. They will feel the warmth and be keen to listen to what you want to say.

2) INTERACT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE ON STAGE

When you deliver a speech or doing a presentation, please remember you are actually talking to your listeners. Your audience are not only looking for beneficial information. They are also looking forward to an interaction and communication with you.

Have eye contact with your audience. Talk to them. Ask them questions. Let them ask you questions. Give answers to their questions.  Let them get involved in some part of your speech presentations or certain discussion. Make them feel important. Everybody loves a little attention. They love a speaker who values their opinions.

3) DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF TOO MUCH

Yes. Credibility counts. A speaker must tell the audience of his or her experience, background and stories. Still, a speaker must know the limit in self-promoting. If you are not careful, it might backfires.

I have seen this happened many times during a speech presentation. The speaker started to talk about him or herself. It started out fine because the audience wanted to know about the speaker. But then, the speaker talked too much that it sounded like self-promoting. The speaker was obviously showing that he or she was selling something; business ideas, books or the speaker’s reputation. At that moment, the audience have stopped listening.

One vital thing to remember, your speech is about your audience. It is not about you. Even though, speech presentation is a way to promote yourself as a speaker or any business you have, you need to have a balance. The speech message and the audience interest are important too.

If you can show to them the speech is about them, they will listen to you. If you talk too much about yourself, they will be suspicious of your intentions. Is this speaker talking about something that benefits us or he just want to promote his business?

Do not brag. Be humble. You audience will like you for that.

4) ACCEPT YOUR AUDIENCE OPINIONS

During a speech presentation, sometimes there will be a discussion or someone from your audience may raise hands and give their opinions. As a speaker, you should listen to what your audience want to share. You might not agree with their views but it doesn’t hurt to listen to them.

Give them a chance. Their opinions might be brilliant after all. You are not the only expert in your field and some people might surprise you. Discuss their ideas and interact with your audience. They will love a speaker who has an open mind and respect other’s point of views and perspectives.

5) TELL JOKES AND TELL STORIES

Most people like people who can make them laugh. One way to make your audience like you is by telling jokes or say something that makes them happy. You don’t have to be incredibly funny (although it is a great advantage). You can be witty and fun to listen to. Don’t try too hard to be funny. Just be yourself.

Another way to make them like you is to show them you are only human. Tell them stories. Tell them about your struggles and failures. If you tell them stories only about your success and how great you are (I’m sure you are), your audience will think you lead a perfect life. There is no way someone who has a good life will understand what they went through.

Tell your audience jokes and stories. A serious speech presentation can make them bored. Make them feel good and they will feel good about you.

6) GIVE YOUR AUDIENCE WHAT THEY SEEK

They came to listen to you. They are looking for something to gain; knowledge, ideas, information. They want to feel good; motivated and inspired. They are hungry for the value of content and desire to learn more.

How to make your audience like you? Give them what they need. They want to listen to a speaker who knows what he or she is talking about. They like a speaker who is sincere enough to share with them the great experience of life.

7) LOOK PRESENTABLE

Yes. I know what you are going to say. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But as a speaker, looking presentable makes a difference. I need to explain that looking presentable does not mean you have to look gorgeous on stage (even though it does help a lot). The point is, the way you are dress tells people a bit about you. 

When you dress nicely, clean and well-maintain clothes; it shows that you are a discipline and well-organised person. It does build up a character. You can dress simple yet presenting a good image of yourself. Your audience will like you right away.

8) TALK TO YOUR AUDIENCE AFTER THE SPEECH

Some audience like to talk to the speakers after the speech presentation. Most probably they want to ask questions or give suggestions to the speaker. Maybe they are being friendly and just want to get to know you. Whatever the reasons may be, do spend some time to talk to your audience. If you do not have time to talk, let them know how to contact you. Make an effort to reply to them when they do contact you later.

Your audience will like you for making them feel important. They will feel that you are not just there to sell your ideas but genuinely care about them. They are your precious audience. Without them, you will be speaking to the brick wall. And remember how word of mouth works. Your audience will surely inform others of how kind and approachable you are.

But What If My Audience Still Don’t Like Me?

Face the fact. Some things you just can’t control. You can’t expect each person from the audience to like you. Some of them will not like you as a speaker and might think you are not that great. Sometimes you just happen to get difficult audience. We can’t please everyone, can we?

Don’t be too hard on yourself. There must be some people who have good opinion about you. Deliver your speech with sincerity and expect nothing in return. People can actually see if the speaker is honest, true and genuine. Treat your audience well and they will do the same to you.

Written by: Intan Salwana Anis

@2017 Public Speaking Is Cool. All Rights Reserved.

intansalwanaanis@gmail.com