Paid to Speak, the first book published (2011) by the National Speaker’s Association is an excellent book for anyone who wants to start a speaking business. I liked it. Though I’m already familiar with many of the tips and topics in the book, it was a good review and I did learn some new things. The first chapter, after the introduction, starts out describing something that I’ve learned can make the difference between an okay safety meeting/presentation and one that is excellent.
The chapter, written by Glenna Salsbury is about “Eloquence” and it starts out by explaining how important it is to have as few empty seats as possible. Glenna, a very successful speaker, writes:
“You may be wondering why the seating issue is so critical. The answer? The energy is lessened or even lost entirely when there is dead space in the room. Energy is sustained and even increased when people are shoulder to shoulder—warmth and friendship are enhanced by physical closeness.”
If you are going to host a safety meeting at your site or are giving a talk at a convention, have slightly less seats than people if possible. Then bring in more chairs if all the ones in the room get filled up. If you can’t do that because the chairs are anchored, then make an obvious barrier around enough seats to ensure your audience fills most of the seats available. This is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you have a successful session.
I believe that’s one reason why it is the first topic in a book written by some of the best professional speakers in the business.
‘till next time.
Richard
