What you are about to read might seem straightforward, but applying these principles can significantly improve how you connect with your audience and how they connect with you.
Key Principles:
Your Audience Mirrors Your Emotions
- If you want your audience to be excited, you must show excitement.
- If you want your audience to care, you must demonstrate care.
- If you want your audience to be surprised and enlightened, you need to find enlightenment in your message first.
- If you want your audience to trust you, be trustworthy.
- If you respect yourself, your audience is likely to respect you, and so on.
2. Avoid Being Transactional:
- If you merely convey data without passion, your audience will treat it as a transaction and tune out.
- Your lack of excitement will lead to a disengaged audience.
- If you’re visibly nervous, your audience will pick up on that and feel uncomfortable.
Actionable Steps:
Create Self-Awareness:
- Start by becoming aware of your feelings and experiences when communicating. This will help you be more in tune with the ebb and flow of the communication engagement and understand what adjustments you would have to make.
- Building awareness alone and accepting what you are experiencing by default promote authenticity. Authenticity is the pillar of leadership and the number one way to garner trust.
Applying these principles will enhance your technical communication engagements and aid your audience in engaging with you.