Should Public Speakers Retire and Let Their Audiences Take Over?

Robert W. Bly the author of Persuasive Presentations for Business sparked my interest with this article describing why you, the audience member, is more likely to be a better speaker than a professional keynote speaker. I have to say I raised my eyebrows at this and I mostly disagree with his summation on what today's audiences really want in a keynote speaker. However, he has some strong points on the importance of delivering valuable information. Check this out.

So why do I say that you're likely better than all of these highly-trained, dedicated, full-time professional speakers? It's my observation that audiences have grown weary of the clichéd, cornball "professional speaker," especially those speaking on general topics like motivation, salesmanship, leadership and success. Why?

In the good old days, there was a scarcity of information, and audiences were looking to be amused, motivated and entertained by their speakers. In ancient times, going to hear orators speak was a major form of entertainment, along with gladiator combat and plays. Starved for intellectual stimulation, people considered attending lectures a fun way to spend a pleasant afternoon or evening. In the 1800s, one of the most popular public speakers was the scientist Michael Faraday, whose most memorable lecture was titled "The Chemical History of a Candle." Faraday illustrated the chemical principles he covered in his talks with demonstrations, which were often sold out.

Today, we live in an information society, and we're already drowning in content. The speaker is competing with TV, computers, the Internet, video games, movies and many other sources of information and entertainment. A lecture cannot compete with these when it comes to simple amusement. Therefore, today's speaker has to deliver something very specific to engage and win over his audience. In particular, he must deliver valuable and useful content: ideas, strategies, techniques and methods that solve a pressing problem that members of the audience are facing, or help them live their lives better or do their work more effectively. more

I would add that they MUST have valuable and useful content and MUST deliver it in an entertaining and engaging manner or risk loosing their audience all together. This is why great keynote speakers get paid top dollar, because they can deliver the information in a manner that the audience enjoys hearing. When you enjoy listening to something your much more likely to remember it, much less stay awake. Please don't quit your day job just yet!