Presentation Skills
Articles for Speakers

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A Sound, Sound System

Tom Antion
Washington, D.C.

If it is hard to hear, people won't listen. As a humorous
presenter you must have an excellent sound system because some of
the time you will be talking while your audience is laughing.
Stand-up comics need good sound too, but they are a little
different because they tell a joke, then people laugh (they
hope). They tell another joke, then people laugh. A humorous
presenter will be rolling right along making points, showing
product features, telling stories, and dropping one-liners and
must be heard all the while.

A humorous presentation demands a better sound system than a
serious talk. In a serious talk, words can be missed and the main
message can still be very clear. In humor it doesn't work that
way. If key words are missed in a joke or story, it will ruin the
humor. No one will laugh and you will look like a giant goober.

The need for a thorough sound check is another good reason to be
in the room early. You need to check the microphone to make sure
it works. You need to check to see how far your mouth should be
from the microphone. You need to know how loudly you should talk.
Realize that during your check the audio level should be very
loud. People will absorb the sound once they get into the room.

Make sure the sound system is carrying to all parts of the room.
If someone speaks prior to you, try to go to the back of the room
to see how he or she is coming across. If you have someone at the
presentation with you, have them signal from the back of the room
if changes are needed after you have started.

If the amplifier controls aren't handy after you have started,
you can adjust the sound by changing the distance between your
mouth and the microphone and/or increasing or decreasing the
loudness of your voice. Try not to use the latter method too
often so you don't strain your vocal mechanism.

Next issue: To Laugh or Not to Laugh--That is the Question.

"We live in a world of entertainment. If you have hard hitting
business content and need a way to inject appropriate humor to
keep people with you, this is the book that will teach you how to
do it."
Bob Pike, CSP "The Trainer's Trainer"
Editor Creative Training Techniques Newsletter
President Creative Training Techniques Companies


Note: This article is part of an eleven part series excerpted from
Tom Antion's new book, Wake em Up: How to Use Humor and Other
Professional Techniques to Create Alarmingly Good Business
Presentations. Anchor Publishing, 336 page softcover, $24.95 +
$4.00 S&H, (800) 448-6280 x 1 or FAX to (757) 431-2050 To Order Click Here