How do you connect with your audience , especially a large number whom you want to engage with your talk right from the word GO ? . Here is a good example :-
We were attending a 10 month long staff course at the Defense Services Staff College at Wellington , Nilgiris , South India in 1975 . There were 300 officers from the Army , Navy and the Air Force including many officers from Foreign countries . During this program , we used to have many guest speakers from the Defense services , Industry and Politicians and diplomats from various countries and such lectures were arranged in the central hall of the college and attended by all participants and faculty members .
In one such program , our guest speaker was Admiral N Krishnan , who commanded the Indian Naval Forces during the 1971 war with Pakistan in the Eastern Front . He was a short officer with may be the minimum height required even for the Navy . Admiral Krishnan walked to the podium in the stage and tested the mike before speaking . Instead of asking the customary question ” can you hear me at the back ? ” , he asked a question ” can you all SEE me at the back ? ” . The hall erupted with laughter and the mood was set for a very interesting talk with a lot of jokes and anecdotes .
Admiral Krishnan established a great rapport with the audience that day with one simple opening remark as given above . A very effective communication skill indeed.!!