How can a public speaker make the speech more about the audience and less about the speaker?
Your audience doesn’t really care about you. There are exceptions. If you are a celebrity and they are a raving fan, then they might want to hear all about you.
Let’s assume that you aren’t a celebrity and the fans you do have care more about themselves. So how do you show your audience that you are talking about them and not about you?
Simple. Use the word “you” much more than the word “I”.
Even if you are telling your story – put the audience in the story. Say “Imagine that you were there when we…”
Some more phrases to put your audience in your story:
How would you feel if…
What would you do in this situation…
Here are your choices…
You walked into the store and…
He looked at you and said…
A couple of tips to keep in mind:
Don’t use “you” when suggesting a negative trait. Instead, use a general term – many, some, others….
“You” is the word you want to use the most. “I” is the word to use the least. “We” is better than “I” but not as good as “you”.
And there you have it.
Put your audience into your story by making it about them. Now you have their attention