…I learned from a band that plays for 5 year olds.
I had a wonderful summer evening with my family, listening to the much-acclaimed (by my kids) Jeffrey and the Bossy Frog Band play an outdoor free concert as the sun went down. It was great.
Here’s a list of things that Jeffrey gets right:
- Engage your audience from the get-go. Get them to answer questions. Get them to stand up. Get them to participate.
- Have a really cool name. Even if you’re just one guy with a bunch of blow-up dolls, be more than just a guy on stage with a banjo.
- Be wildly enthusiastic. Love what you do.
- Never apologize, qualify, or otherwise stall. Jump right in.
- Tell stories.
- Treat your audience with respect.
- Have a message that everyone in the audience (no matter how much or little they know about what you’re doing) will understand. For example, count how many pieces a flute has and then put it together.
- Never shoot down a comment from the audience. A person participating is a person who’s engaged. (Even if they shout out “frog!” when you ask for their favorite kind of bug)
- Be a master of your craft.
- Thank your hosts, and be genuine about it.
- Tell people what they can do if they love you. “Buy a CD, go to my website to see where my next gig is.”
You can get all this stuff and more from Garr Reynolds or Seth Godin or just by paying really close attention watching TED talks. Or you can just pay more attention the next time you go to a great kids’ show.
We get so wrapped up in our elaborate content and message and the fact that we’re giving a speech that we absolutely forget that creating enthusiasm, interest, energy and connection with the audience isn’t optional, ever, no matter what you do and how sophisticated a message you want to communicate.
Go ahead, prep and deliver your presentation as if you’re talking to a bunch of 5-year olds. I bet it will get better.
(And, just for kicks, here’s Rives’ 4-minute riff, “If I controlled the Internet.”)
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