WORK THE ROOM: 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Knowing your audience is essential in giving a presentation that sticks. Before you address any group of any size, ask yourself:
1. What is my relationship with the person or group I need to address?
2. How much do they already know about me?
3. Are they my peers, superiors, subordinates—or a mix?
4. How much credibility do I have with the audience, and vice versa? (i.e., my age, gender, culture, race, experience, knowledge of the subject compared to theirs)
5. What is my purpose—to inform, to sell, to persuade, to motivate, anger, frighten, harmonize, neutralize, or to create controversy?
6. What do they want from me in terms of financial, informational, or emotional support?
7. What do I want from them?
8. What other factors may be influencing how I see the audience? (i.e. my own personal, financial, or emotional needs)
9. What other factors may be influencing how they see me? (as above)
10. Why should they care about what I have to say?

When you ask yourself and answer these questions, you sure to have your audience’s full attention.

(Excerpted from Loud and Clear by Karen Berg. Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/wm2tod4)