5 Ways to Get People to Actually Listen to You

5 Ways to Get People to Actually Listen to You

By Maria Tabaka

Your audience must be able to feel and experience your communications.


1. Keep your mouth shut--for a couple of moments.

Don't say anything substantive until you have an audience connection. Note that their first impression is visual, not verbal. . You can gain command by the way you carry yourself, before you even open your mouth. The body speaks before the mouth is open. Avoid rocking, looking down, and fidgeting. Stand and walk with confidence.

2. Get your audience engaged.

Get the eyeballs looking up before you say anything. Move with quiet confidence and smile, inviting people to look up and pay attention. Invite your audience to engage on the emotional level by offering a warm greeting. You might even ask them a question that prompts a response. It can be simple, as in: "How is everybody doing today?"

3. Grab their attention to make it memorable.

People remember the very first substantive that you say. Once you have their attention, jump right in to the most important thing you have to say.

4. Use verbal cues.

Use attention-provoking signals when you move from one part of the speech to the next. For instance, you might verbally number your key points or use other verbal signals like "Let's move on" or "My next topic is..."  Always give the audience verbal cues to look up at you.

5. Recap what matters.

Take all of the substantive points from your talk and group them all together at the very end of the presentation. Remember your provoking signal and say something like, "In summary," then recap everything from your presentation that matters the most.