Most public speakers<\/strong> are very “absent-minded.” I don’t mean that typical presenters<\/strong> are “absentminded,” in the sense that they<\/strong> forget things. \u00a0I mean that most speakers<\/strong> talk about people<\/strong>\u00a0who are “absent.” They<\/strong> use words that put people’s minds\u00a0on groups<\/strong>\u00a0and individuals<\/strong> that aren’t in the room.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Just look at the subjects in each sentence. In order, I used these words: Most public speakers, typical presenters, they, most speakers, people, they, groups, individuals, etc.<\/p>\n Who are these so-called “people?” Without even thinking about it, “most people” fall into this trap of talking about “people” who are absent. None of the “groups” on that list are present in the room.<\/p>\n When you talk about groups and individuals that are not present, it’s very abstract, and that makes it easier for the listener to miss the relevance of what you are saying. Often when you speak “absent” mindedly, the listener just tunes you out completely.<\/p>\n Here’s how you can take your public speaking skills up a notch. Let’s rewrite the\u00a0opening example, from a “present-minded” perspective.<\/p>\n In other words, instead of talking about hypothetical people and individuals who are not “present,” let’s refer only to people that are\u00a0“present” in the room.<\/p>\n In this case, you are reading a blog. Only two people are present “in the room,” ME, because they are MY words in your room, and YOU, because YOU are present in whatever room you are in right now.<\/p>\n In a public speaking situation, here’s how I might replace hypothetical, nameless, imaginary, absentee individuals with ME or YOU.<\/p>\n Sometimes it’s easy for ME<\/strong> to be an\u00a0“absent-minded” speaker. \u00a0I don’t mean that I’m<\/strong>\u00a0“absentminded,” in the sense that I<\/strong>\u00a0forget things. I mean that when WE<\/strong>\u00a0are speakers, it’s easy to talk about people who\u00a0are “absent.” This happens when YOU\u00a0<\/strong>use words to reference people who\u00a0aren’t in the room.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Sometimes you have to refer to “other people,” but the language becomes much more relevant and engaging when you\u00a0reword it as much as possible from the perspective of someone who is “present.”<\/p>\n“Absent” Mindedness<\/h2>\n
![\"people-220284_640\"](\"http:\/\/michaelspeaks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/people-220284_640.jpg\")
<\/a>That last\u00a0paragraph was very “absent-minded.”<\/p>\n
\nWho is this nefarious group of “they?”
\nCan you look into the audience and point at “most speakers?”<\/p>\n“Present” Mindedness<\/h2>\n
<\/a>“YOU,” the listener is always present. “I” the speaker is always present. “WE” the group of us both is always present. Any other group or individual is only present if you can point at them and name them.<\/p>\nDanger Will Robinson<\/h2>\n