How to Give Informative Talks

Why should you do informative talks to smaller groups?

Informative talks to smaller groups allow you more intimacy with the audience. You will be able to more closely connect with their needs and their responses to your speech. You have something to say that is important not only to you but to the audience as well. They will take time to listen and not socialize as long as what you have to say is relevant to their pursuits. If you are not relevant, you must find a way to make your topic something they want to know. You must make them aware of the importance of your topic. Suggest books they can read, suggest ways they can use the content of your speech to their advantage to make improvements at work or at home. You want to make sure that you deliver something of value

The point of an informative speech is not to sell yourself and make it an infomercial. The point is to inform the audience of a salient topic and give them information that they can use immediately. Once you have accomplished that task, gaining additional bookings will be easy. I have sat in many audiences and really enjoyed the speeches except when it came to the end and they went into full commercial mode. A successful speaker that is making an informative speech does not do it; they simply let the audience know they will be available for questions at the end of the speech.

An informative talk should also have some supporting materials so that it is easier for the audience to follow along. Many speakers do not want to take the time or spend the money to provide unbiased hand-outs. The one thing I do is make sure they have a worksheet where they can jot down important information (which they keep for future reference). Be ready to dole out free information.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

In The News:

XINING, China (AP) — There's a building boom on the Tibetan plateau, one of the world's last remote places. Mountains long crowned by garlands of fluttering prayer flags — a traditional landscape blessing — are newly topped with sprawling steel power lines. At night, the illuminated signs of Sinopec gas stations cast a red glow over newly built highways.

The world's oldest carnivorous dinosaur, known as Gnathovorax cabreirai, has been discovered in southern Brazil, according to a new study.

A grim-looking 200-year-old set of false teeth that were dug up in a U.K. field will be auctioned later this month.

There's a hole in the story of how our universe came to be. First, the universe inflated rapidly, like a balloon. Then, everything went boom.

Chimpanzees are attacking people in Uganda, part of a disturbing trend going on in the country that has led to crop loss and even death.

A camera has captured the incredible moment when a meteor lit up the sky over the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Venus is likely too hot to support life, with a toxic atmosphere and temperatures approaching 900 degrees, but that isn't stopping NASA from exploring it.

Mercury had a rare celestial occurrence Monday, as stargazers saw the planet -- as a small black dot -- pass between the sun and Earth.

A U.S. World War II fighter plane that crashed off the coast of North Wales and occasionally appears from the sands has received protected status, officials announced Monday.

KINIGI, Rwanda (AP) — Deep in the rainforest of Volcanoes National Park, a 23-year-old female gorilla named Kurudi feeds on a stand of wild celery. She bends the green stalks and, with long careful fingers, peels off the exterior skin to expose the succulent inside.

How to Give Informative Talks

Small Business Small Business