The "Ultimate Keynote" school at Marco Island University in January featured Mark Sanborn, Robin Creasman and Janet Lapp. We asked each of them for one idea to improve interaction with the audience. Their ideas focus on mental and emotional interaction, rather than physical activity.

"One of the ways to interact with the audience is to get everyone doing something together even if it is not physical or visual. This creates the perception of commonality." shared Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE, a noted authority on leadership, team building, and customer service. One of his favorite tools is a five question quiz because of its effectiveness and versatility: it accommodates almost any business setting, any size audience and topic. Everyone focuses on the same questions, bonding audience members and simultaneously bridging to your points.

"Be a rockstar!" advised Robin Creasman, an award winning television producer, director, and speaker. Hailing from the entertainment industry, he coaches his clients to think big, urging them to get interactive by developing a rock star mentality, which includes:

•  Script your speech - no winging it. Your audience deserves your best.  In television, the script is king--if the script stinks, the show will be cancelled. Rock stars rehearse before every performance at each venue to be their best. So should you.

•  Craft the speech for 5000 people - this will play to an audience of 50, but a presentation for 50 will not play to 5000.

•  Be in 3D, not 2D. This is the difference between reenacting and telling. Know your presentation so well that you have rockstar confidence. Creasman reminds us, "We should all be entertainers with content. No data dumps."

One of the favorite storytelling methods of Dr. Janet Lapp, founder of the Center for Leadership Development, is to share her stories in third person because it simplifies processing and ultimately offers a bigger payoff.  According to Lapp, "First person can be difficult, jarring, or distracting for the audience. I want them to be relating the story to their own lives and/or to people in their lives; if they know it was me, they would be too busy processing that.  I tell the story in character, at least visually, so at least at one level they are prepared for the switch. Then when the switch occurs (to first person) there is a beat of recognition, another beat of processing, and then I take them to a higher place with humor or reflection." For example, picture the classic Hollywood stereotype of an accountant: stern, cold, inflexible. Now picture this accountant sharing a story to his audience of a time he entertained children with puppets and songs. The audience may get distracted switching gears and trying to imagine this scenario. The accountant loses the punch of his point while his audience is temporarily left behind.

No matter how interactive and compelling you already are, regardless of whether you are presenting to thousands or 'mere' dozens, adding quizzes, 3D reenactments, and third-person story-telling can help you, as chef Emeril Lagasse would say, "Kick it up a notch."  BAM!!

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Contact: Jolene at 425-489-1073 Jo@FunSpecialist.com