You may have seen articles and books with titles like The Seven Principles of Public Speaking, The 12 Innumerable Laws of Public Speaking, andFive Fundamental Truths of Giving Presentations. All of these articles contain valuable information. But in this article, I want to boil the advice down to one idea: the fundamental principle of public speaking, if you will.

It’s all about the audience! Yup that’s it. It’s all about the audience, whether it’s one person at a desk, 11 people in a meeting room, or 217 people at a conference.

Now you may be thinking, “Of course it is. That’s obvious.” But is it really? Do most people focus on their audience or themselves? In my experience, the vast majority of us focus on ourselves.

Think about it. What do most of us think or say when we go to give a presentation? “I hope to do a good job.” “I’m nervous about doing this.” “I really hope I don’t forget what I want to say.” “I hope you like what I have to say.” “My heart pounds and my hands sweat when I speak in front of others.” Do you notice something? The common thing is that each statement focuses on the speaker.

How Changing Your Focus Benefits You as a Speaker

When you focus on yourself as a speaker, you build up a lot of unnecessary pressure. It’s bad enough that each of us is programmed to be nervous when he speaks in front of others. And then you add that extra stress. Not good.

When you focus on your audience—more precisely, when you focus on how you can serve your audience—a lot of the pressure is taken off and giving a presentation becomes an exciting opportunity, rather than a drudgery.

I’m sure you chuckled or challenged the idea that presenting can be an exciting opportunity. But look at it this way. You are giving the presentation for a reason. You have something to share that others want or need. You have been asked to speak because of your knowledge, accomplishments, position, or other reason.

Are you still going to be nervous? Of course, but not as much and not for the same reasons. Think of a pitcher who is pitching in the World Series for the first time. He’s definitely nervous, but he’s excited to be there, and those nerves usually go away after the first pitch or two. And when that game is over, you can’t wait for your next opportunity. Will he be nervous again? Definitely! Will he let that stop him? No!

How the shift in focus benefits the audience

Here is the sobering fact. The audience is more concerned with what they get from listening to you than they are with you. Isn’t that cool? Absolutely!

Your audience is there to get information, inspiration, and/or ideas from you. Knowing, understanding, and keeping this fact front and center helps you create and deliver a presentation that meets these expectations. As a result, they get what they want, need, and expect, and you’re under less pressure to provide it.

speaking skills

Giving presentations is not a natural talent. There are things you need to know and do in order to best help your audience. But that is not what we are discussing here. Up to a point, as long as you develop an audience-focused presentation and deliver it without a lot of distractions, you’ll be fine.

Your audiences aren’t there to see the next great speaker. They are there to learn, to be challenged, to be inspired. So take this to heart: A presentation that serves the audience and is delivered well is far more valuable than one that is delivered expertly but misses the mark.

That’s… the last principle of public speaking. It’s always, always, always about the audience!