public speaking-readbud
9 Tips for Handling Public Speaking Questions
How you handle questions from an audience can often be the deciding factor as to how your presentation is received. If you're pitching for business, then it's absolutely vital to handle questions well.
1. Be prepared for questions - When you write your presentation, think about what you're likely to be asked and what your answer is going to be. Maybe you won't want to answer a particular question there and then, so think about what you'll say to satisfy the questioner.
2. Make it clear at the start - You may decide to take questions as you go or at the end of your presentation. Whatever you decide, make it clear at the start and don't change your mind. I would suggest questions at the end in a short presentation; if you take questions as you go, then your timing will get knocked out. And always remember, an audience won't forgive you for taking half an hour when you were only scheduled to speak for fifteen minutes.
3. Never finish with questions - Far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end, deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat - particularly if you don't get any.
4. Listen - When asked a question, listen and look like your listening. It may be something you've heard a million times before. Treat the questioner with respect and don't trivialise their point.
5. Thank the questioner - It's only polite, it shows respect and it gives you a bit more time to consider your answer.
6. Repeat the essence of the question - Some people may not have heard the question so your answer may not make any sense to them. It can also be irritating for them not to hear the question. Again, it gives you more time to think of the answer and it makes you look so clever and in control.
7. Answer to everyone - Don't fall into the trap of only answering the questioner. If they happen to be near the front then you could end up having a conversation with them and exclude everyone else.
8. Keep it simple - Many speakers, when it comes to questions, have become more relaxed and the fact that someone is interested enough to ask them a question, leads them to go on too long with the answer - DON'T.
9. Don't bluff or bluster - If you don't know the answer to a question, say so and find out. Suggest to the questioner that you'll 'phone them or come and see them with the answer. It can even be a good way to make further contact after the presentation.
As we all know, it's possible that you may not be asked any questions and you then have that awkward silence. People may be thinking about what you've just said and may need more time to ask. They may also be a bit shy and may take a few minutes to speak out. Why not have a question of your own prepared and say something like. "You may be asking yourself.........?" If you still fail to get any questions then go straight into your summary and closing statement.
Handling a question and answer session well, demonstrates your professionalism and reflects on your message.
The History Of Audio Books
It's really amazing that you can get the exact value listening to an audio book while doing your normal chores as you would reading it.
Certain experts even say information sinks in more when we are not paying direct attention to them.
But when did this audio book phenomenon really start? In other words, what's the history of audio books?
From all indications, audio books look like a very recent invention, right?
WRONG!
It is very easy to make the assumption that audio books are a recent invention because of the mention of CDs, downloadable digital formats, MP3s, PDAs and other technological jargons each time audio books are discussed. But audio books started a long time ago.
To know how long audio books have been, it is pertinent to understand exactly what audio books are.
Forget about any other jargon you have heard, audio books are simply books that are recorded to be heard, instead of read.
That being the case, such recordings of books in audio formats have been around for a very long time. If you want to be specific, it is safe to say they were first introduced over half a century ago.
It could even be longer, if you include the Library of Congress recordings made especially for the American Foundation for the Blind and distributed free throughout the U.S.
However, according to Robin Whitten, the editor and founder of the only magazine which is dedicated solely to the audio book industry:
Audiofile--http://www.AudioFileMagazine.com, Caedmon (now a subsidiary of Harper Collins Publishers) can be credited to have started the recordings of literature as far back as 50 years ago.
Going further, he said Caedmon was just a small company way back then in New York, which started recording the audio of great authors and poets of the 1950s. Specifically, he said one of the earliest recordings were by greats such as Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, Fitzgerald and Robert Frost.
What happened then was that they were simply recorded while doing their own works and made as vinyl records.
But these early recordings can arguably pass off for the first collection of audio books ever.
However, the transition of these book recordings into audiocassette tapes didn't happen until the late 1970s up to the 1980s. From thence, it blossomed until audio books in audiocassette tapes came to be accepted by all and sundry.
For whatever reason however, the audio book phenomenon didn't really kick off until the 1990s.
And with the transition from audiocassette technology into CDs, more people have become interested in audio books.
With the advent of the Internet and its paraphernalia, audio books have now transited from vinyl records, audiocassette taps and CDs into downloadable digital formats that can be listened to with a desktop computer, laptop computer, PDAs, etc.
If you are still interested in "going back in time" you can get the original book recordings that started this audio book industry.
Impossible?
Not really.
Some of those early 1950s analog recordings by Caedmon which were performed by the greats of those days can be purchased today on the Internet.
For example, recently I was able to browse the Internet thoroughly and found the original recording of "The Lord of the Rings" as read by J.R.R. Tolken.
You can find that classic you have always dreamt of in audio book format if
How you handle questions from an audience can often be the deciding factor as to how your presentation is received. If you're pitching for business, then it's absolutely vital to handle questions well.
1. Be prepared for questions - When you write your presentation, think about what you're likely to be asked and what your answer is going to be. Maybe you won't want to answer a particular question there and then, so think about what you'll say to satisfy the questioner.
2. Make it clear at the start - You may decide to take questions as you go or at the end of your presentation. Whatever you decide, make it clear at the start and don't change your mind. I would suggest questions at the end in a short presentation; if you take questions as you go, then your timing will get knocked out. And always remember, an audience won't forgive you for taking half an hour when you were only scheduled to speak for fifteen minutes.
3. Never finish with questions - Far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end, deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat - particularly if you don't get any.
4. Listen - When asked a question, listen and look like your listening. It may be something you've heard a million times before. Treat the questioner with respect and don't trivialise their point.
5. Thank the questioner - It's only polite, it shows respect and it gives you a bit more time to consider your answer.
6. Repeat the essence of the question - Some people may not have heard the question so your answer may not make any sense to them. It can also be irritating for them not to hear the question. Again, it gives you more time to think of the answer and it makes you look so clever and in control.
7. Answer to everyone - Don't fall into the trap of only answering the questioner. If they happen to be near the front then you could end up having a conversation with them and exclude everyone else.
8. Keep it simple - Many speakers, when it comes to questions, have become more relaxed and the fact that someone is interested enough to ask them a question, leads them to go on too long with the answer - DON'T.
9. Don't bluff or bluster - If you don't know the answer to a question, say so and find out. Suggest to the questioner that you'll 'phone them or come and see them with the answer. It can even be a good way to make further contact after the presentation.
As we all know, it's possible that you may not be asked any questions and you then have that awkward silence. People may be thinking about what you've just said and may need more time to ask. They may also be a bit shy and may take a few minutes to speak out. Why not have a question of your own prepared and say something like. "You may be asking yourself.........?" If you still fail to get any questions then go straight into your summary and closing statement.
Handling a question and answer session well, demonstrates your professionalism and reflects on your message.
The History Of Audio Books
It's really amazing that you can get the exact value listening to an audio book while doing your normal chores as you would reading it.
Certain experts even say information sinks in more when we are not paying direct attention to them.
But when did this audio book phenomenon really start? In other words, what's the history of audio books?
From all indications, audio books look like a very recent invention, right?
WRONG!
It is very easy to make the assumption that audio books are a recent invention because of the mention of CDs, downloadable digital formats, MP3s, PDAs and other technological jargons each time audio books are discussed. But audio books started a long time ago.
To know how long audio books have been, it is pertinent to understand exactly what audio books are.
Forget about any other jargon you have heard, audio books are simply books that are recorded to be heard, instead of read.
That being the case, such recordings of books in audio formats have been around for a very long time. If you want to be specific, it is safe to say they were first introduced over half a century ago.
It could even be longer, if you include the Library of Congress recordings made especially for the American Foundation for the Blind and distributed free throughout the U.S.
However, according to Robin Whitten, the editor and founder of the only magazine which is dedicated solely to the audio book industry:
Audiofile--http://www.AudioFileMagazine.com, Caedmon (now a subsidiary of Harper Collins Publishers) can be credited to have started the recordings of literature as far back as 50 years ago.
Going further, he said Caedmon was just a small company way back then in New York, which started recording the audio of great authors and poets of the 1950s. Specifically, he said one of the earliest recordings were by greats such as Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, Fitzgerald and Robert Frost.
What happened then was that they were simply recorded while doing their own works and made as vinyl records.
But these early recordings can arguably pass off for the first collection of audio books ever.
However, the transition of these book recordings into audiocassette tapes didn't happen until the late 1970s up to the 1980s. From thence, it blossomed until audio books in audiocassette tapes came to be accepted by all and sundry.
For whatever reason however, the audio book phenomenon didn't really kick off until the 1990s.
And with the transition from audiocassette technology into CDs, more people have become interested in audio books.
With the advent of the Internet and its paraphernalia, audio books have now transited from vinyl records, audiocassette taps and CDs into downloadable digital formats that can be listened to with a desktop computer, laptop computer, PDAs, etc.
If you are still interested in "going back in time" you can get the original book recordings that started this audio book industry.
Impossible?
Not really.
Some of those early 1950s analog recordings by Caedmon which were performed by the greats of those days can be purchased today on the Internet.
For example, recently I was able to browse the Internet thoroughly and found the original recording of "The Lord of the Rings" as read by J.R.R. Tolken.
You can find that classic you have always dreamt of in audio book format if
posted by Unknown at
Friday, December 03, 2010
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