Hot Tips for Speakers : Surefire Ways to Engage and Captivate Any Group or Audience

These tips will help anyone who leads classes, workshops, corporate meetings, or group presentations get the maximum attention and involvement from an audience. Each technique is presented in a manner that allows one to understand, experiment with, evaluate, refine, and take ownership of a valuable new skill. The tips range from the simple, like pausing, to the sophisticated, such as recognizing when a conversation peaks and redirecting it before it goes off the topic. In addition to boosting the presenter's confidence, these steps will enhance group rapport, maximize learning situations, and improve memory.

Rob Abernathy, MA, is an instructor at the University of Phoenix and the University of California at Irvine. Mark Reardon, MS, is the CEO of Centre Point Education, a consulting firm that coaches teachers and administrators in education design.