Public speaking skills-part 2

The importance of brain filtering system to the speakers

Public speaking skill is an ability with which we can change people’s lives. We talked about some of the basics in public speaking skills and how to design our presentation and now it’s important to talk about brain filtering.

In this article, we discuss mind filtering which is essential in presentations. This topic will help you realize what makes the audience filter your talks, which one to listen to and which one to ignore. This particular public speaking skill will help you with the audience analysis.

It’s vital that our talks don’t get filtered in the audience’s mind because we have to have a presentation to which the audience listen.

Our brain prefers to ignore the useless info and use the brain filtering system because it receives many data from everywhere. The brain doesn’t want to process all these data at once.

We have to know what to do so that the audience doesn’t filter our talks. Our information must be memorable, not something that they will forget the minute they leave the seminar.

The first thing to know is that we have to make the audience feel we are not from another planet; we are just like them.

For example, I talked about a public speaking skill once, and the audience thought it’s not the right for them, and they can’t adjust.
After a while, I noticed that they’re Turkish and they believe what I suggest is not useful in their culture. They thought these talks come from another world and they didn’t realize and enjoy it, so their brain started using brain filtering system and filtered my speech.
But when I pointed out that we can use this particular public speaking skill in many cultures, they paid attention again.

Other data which will get filtered is the similar and steady talks. When you walk on the street, you see many trees but they all are the same so you pass, but if one of them is different (different color or you see it’s damaged) you stop to check it out.

When you see a different tree you notice it. we have to be noticeable to stop the brain filtering.

We have to impress the audience. We have to surprise them. but remember, the method must be something which won’t weaken our position.
Sometimes we have to raise our voice, some other time a lower sound may impress them. Of course there are many ways to impress the audience and I just talked about voice as an example. The speaker can do something special too.

Another thing that makes the audience’s mind filter our speech is an understanding.
If the audience thinks we don’t understand them, they don’t listen to us. So we have to show them that we know their situation and their dilemmas.

The audience must feel we understand them so that the brain filtering won’t be triggered

Once, I went to a computer company. I had to talk to them about sell force and teach them some methods.
A little while later my examples got close to machines and cameras. Suddenly I saw their small reactions, and I understood that they think it’s not about their topic anymore. I changed the subject again and made examples of computers more. I found out they paid more attention immediately and they took notes.

So we have three ways to make the audience think we understand them:
1- show them that we have an understanding.
2- Surprise them
3- Make a good impression so that they accompany us from the beginning.