What Your Audience Wants From Your Next Speaking Engagement

Inspiration: Before the event, set up a discovery call with the event manager. Understand the audience expectations, and the purpose of your engagement (whether it’s to inform, teach, or motivate). Your audience want to be motivated and inspired by the speakers message. They want to learn something new, gain insights and acquire knowledge.

Connection: Your audience wants to feel a connection with the speaker and relate to their experiences. This means the initial 90 seconds are critical, focus on your first few minutes to capture their attention. Research the industry, come prepared, and engage your audience right away. Use personal experiences, humor, or questions to make your presentation memorable.

Solutions: Tailor your talk to different generations if necessary. Keep it fresh without losing sight of your audience. Provide opportunities for everyone to learn something new, and to find solutions to their challenges or problems. At the end, they want to feel the engagement was worth their time and attention. It is thus important to seek feedback. Ask the audience what resonated with them, what they learned, and how they feel. Their insights can guide your future engagements.

Authenticity: They want to see your transparency and vulnerability. Divide your presentation into smaller sections. Allow the audience to digest each topic. Use visual aids like PowerPoint slides to reinforce transitions between sections. they want to leave with tools, tips or resources that they can apply in real life. Authenticity drives confidence.

Entertainment: Engage your audience throughout the presentation. Encourage questions, discussions, and participation. Active involvement keeps them interested and invested. They want to be entertained with fun activities to help them remember. Your storytelling style, either interactive or humor based. This helps them to connect or relate with the speaker and understand the message very well. This can give them clarity.