Seven Sins of Seminar Speakers

 

Sin  #1

 

Chairperson:  He usurps much time for himself leaving nothing much for other speakers. He has no sense of time nor does he care to monitor others. Generally they are chosen for their age; being elderly they have no control over time or talking.

 

A good chairperson introduces the topic very briefly, introduces the speakers, monitors every speaker efficiently and summarizes neatly and intelligently at the end. He provides opportunity to as many members in the audience as possible to interact with the speakers.

 

Sin #2

 

Thoughtless PP presenter: This speaker prepares PowerPoint Slides that are totally unreadable even by front liners. Many guys simple prepare a long Microsoft Word document and do a mechanical cut and paste of half a page per slide!

 

Good Slides must take care of Size of letters, clutter, and color combination. Slides must cover only points for recollection.

 

Sin #3

 

Clocks are not for me: This fellow takes three fourths of the time allotted to Introduction and hurries through the rest in incomprehensible mumbo jumbo. No sense of time management.

 

Any speaker worth his name should master the trick of abridging his presentation to any time slot given.

 

Sin #4

 

The expert / authority: This authoritative speaker presents an omnibus presentation ("made-for-all-occasion's" type) of some sixty plus slides for a thirty minutes slot and we only hear "Skip", "Skip" through out the speech.

 

Each presentation should be tailor made for the audience, purpose and given a suitable slant

 

Sin #5

 

Nine out of Ten: These guys never use the mike properly. They are audible only to themselves. They imagine others are deaf and can't hear even if they shout. Therefore such a guy makes no effort in making himself heard.

 

A good speaker talks into the mike keeping it at a correct distance; avoids monotony by varying his tone and mode of delivery. Occasionally he cracks a joke – yes occasionally only. If he cracks too many jokes he becomes a joker and not a speaker.

 

Sin #6

 

The insufferable guest speaker during inaugurals: Most often, Chief Guests (Speakers) are invited more for their name, position, philanthropic outlook, political pull etc rather than their suitability to the theme of the seminar. These guys make a quick read through Wikipedia (Encyclopedia Britannica in olden days) and tell the audience what they knew for several decades. Participants will be bored and floored right in the very beginning of the event.  

 

Sin #7

 

VOT : He is supposed to propose a Vote of Thanks. He starts giving another big lecture. Participants are busy leaving for lunch or home but the guy is utterly, utterly insensitive.

 

The Chairman may himself propose a vote of thanks and cut this fellow out cleverly after assessing the situation.

 

Request: If you have attended many seminars you will but agree with me. Please share your ideas about the remedial part to render seminar speaking effective.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr P Vyasamoorthy, 30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278.My blog: http://vyasa-kaaranam-ketkadey.blogspot.com/