In my intensive, but interesting, intellectual struggles to hone my public speaking skills, I came across a (be)dazzling book titled Secrets of Successful Speakers by Lilly Walters. Ideally, I can plainly posit. It is one of the tantalising texts talking about the art of public speaking, which I have savoured and devoured ravenously in order to satiate my fat appetite for the written word. Indeed, it is a great text I can recommend to fellow public speakers because it focuses on how to motivate, captivate and persuade people while going lyrical as the sage on stage.
Nassim Taleb advised, “A good book gets better at the second reading, a great book at the third reading. No book is quite the same when you reread it.” Therefore, in the recent past, while re-reading that heroic book, I was regaled by a certain captivating chapter titled Develop the Right Talk for the Right Audience – Customisation. In that soul-stimulating section, the awesome author writes about four personality types that public speakers should think about as they warm up to deliver speeches. The types of audiences include: Compliant, amiable, driver and socialiser.
- Compliant audience
They are analytical and thinkers. These personality types manifest in audiences whose careers touch on quality control, accounting, engineering, computer programming, architecture, system analysis, dentistry and all technical plus hard science professions. As a serious public speaker, you should know, it is not easy to persuade such ilk of people in case you do not give them wealth of information on how you researched and arrived on your conclusion. They learn well by reading. Meaning, charts and graphs appeal to their giant intellect. Then, they find it difficult to decide if you do not give them detailed processes to follow.
- Amiable audience
They are relaters and feelers, but steady. When people in your audience are in careers such as counselling, teaching, social work, psychology, nursing, or human resource development, and such, they will have strong ‘relater’ tendencies. Ostensibly, they enjoy and respond to warm commercials on TV showing a family in a restaurant, where the waiter gives a toy to the smiling child, and a beaming, happy group. These images tickle such people. They like to feel that their families are warm, safe, happy and chirpy. Again, this group hardly learns easily from graphs, charts, or long, involved deep discussions of statistics. Even if everyone needs some logic to persuade them, such a group does not need as much of the long process as the first group we cited. A group participative exercise where everyone hugs each other, works very nicely with this calibre of people.
- Driver audience
They are dominant. Audiences with professionals such as stockbrokers, independent consultants, principals, managers, corporate CEOs, or drill sergeants – are typical directors. Advisedly, use lots of action when talking to such people. Be concise. As you give them quick “one-minute manager” methods to get the job done now. Summarise your points pronto. Do not swing swiftly to talk to this group about personal enhancement, development, discovery or recovery. They may not be ready to appreciate when you strive to get close and personal. Instead, just suggest good ideas and insights for business strategies. Then, avoid pointless humour. Make sure your humour and wit makes a specific point that connects with the presentation. In most cases, they do not want to know the details of the long process you used in order to arrive on your conclusion. Instead, they are eager to know how they are going to save or lose, and what they are going to do about it. Therefore, sum up the talk – the quick talk – with a clarion call for action: the one they can delegate to their staff.
READ ALSO:
KUPPET Vihiga aspirants demand key documents ahead of January 2026 elections
- Socialiser audience
They are expressive. You find such people in audiences whose careers are glamour-tinged or high-profile sort of jobs. Such careers include: sales, acting, public relations specialists, et cetera. Chances are that they lean towards the analytical personality. Somewhat, they crave for crucial chances to talk and perform. In order to win them, give them exercises that make them talk. Actually, they will be glad and grateful to surge to stage to take the microphone. Albeit, as you wend that way, make sure that you give them time limit. Then, straight lecture does not bear much fruit with such audiences. In most cases, they do not want to listen to you. They yearn to listen to themselves. They do not like to hear long processes, detailed facts and figures. A room full of such personality type can be very challenging to talk to – it is like trying to present to the Tower of Babel hubbub we read about in the book of Genesis.
By Victor Ochieng’
The writer trains people on the Art of Public Speaking. vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
>>> Click here to read more informed opinions on the country’s education landscape
