Does any sales speaker go out of their way to be deadeningly dull? If
not, does being a bore just come naturally for some presenters? It
appears so. You have no doubt attended more than one speech or meeting
where you wish you had stayed home. Or where you were able to catch
up on last-week’s lost sleep.
Some sales speakers could teach the class on “How To Be Dull For Fun
and Profit”. As one training expert put it, boring should only be for
oil drilling companies.
What makes a speaker dull? Here are the 53 reasons audiences give.
- Talks about themselves incessantly
- Feigns interest, or has no real interest in the audience
- Gives a book report, or material is not engaging
- Gives the audience nothing to do but listen
- No Q and A session
- Poor handouts or none at all
- Does not follow handouts
- Makes no emotional or intellectual connection with the audience
- Uses weak humor, or has none at all
- Speaks far over or under the knowledge level of the audience
- Uses foreign phrases (Latin, French, etc.) that no one understands
- Tired, old content
- Little or no audience interaction
- Tells few stories or none at all
- Uses excess data and facts
- Uses other people’s stories or old ones
- Over-uses technology
- Speaks too quickly or too slowly
- Uses too many facts, figures and statistics
- Speaks too much to the head and not enough to the heart
- Too academic and professorial, gives a lecture
- Uses too much jargon and too many acronyms
- Uses arcane and obscure vocabulary words and phrases
- Has annoying and distracting personal habits and mannerisms
- Speaks to the educational level of only one audience segment
- Allows limited or the same people to dominate with questions and
comments
- Uses the same presentation techniques repeatedly
- Uses stories and examples that have no point or relevance
- Speaks in a monotone
- Uses pet phrases incessantly
- Uses inside jokes and material the entire audience does not understand
- Poor speech structure and organization makes the talk hard to follow
- Can’t be heard in the back of the room
- Speaks to only a few people in the room, usually in the front
- Makes poor or no eye contact
- Hides behind the podium
- Does not use adult learning principles
- Stands like a tree with no gestures
- Repeats the same gestures over and over
- Uses examples and metaphors the audience can’t relate to or understand
- Gives information the audience already knows
- Gives information the audience does not need or want to know
- Continually gets side-tracked
- Uses boring and badly-produced media
- Uses lack-luster language
- Overly-controlling and full of rules for participants
- Makes references to obscure, arcane facts and statistics
- Has too much dead time between segments and modules
- Reads all the words on slides and powerpoint
- Does not know the presentation technology and botches its use
- Reads the speech
- Overly-focused on minutiae
- Is bored and lets it show
Want to avoid committing these deadly dull and boring speaking sins?
For starters, know this list. Then build your speaking repertoire of
skills so you have variety, breadth and depth so no matter what else
you do, you are not BORING. Go forth and be dull no more!
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