There’s an old trick in the screenwriting trade.
It’s called the pat the dog/stroke the cat moment.
(Yes, really!)
The idea is to quickly establish a main character as someone worth caring about.
So, if they should pat a dog, or stroke a cat, we immediately understand they are a kind and good person.
Already we are feeling empathy with them…
Which then helps as they plunge into the action and drama of whatever comes next.
We're with them, rooting for them, drawn into the story in just the way the screenwriters want.
Fascinating, you might say (hopefully), but what has this to do with potent presenting and public speaking?
The answer is to really make an impact, you need to establish a rapport with your audience.
And a patting of the dog, or stroking of the cat moment of your own can help.
At this point, I should say that such interactions with pets has become a cliche, and is very rarely seen now.
I don’t expect you to start talking about the dogs or cats you’ve adored in your presentation.
But what you can do is to introduce something into your spiel which builds empathy in the audience.
And this trick works particularly well in storytelling, which, in my view, should be a part of any effective presentation.
Here are a couple of examples:
I sometimes talk about the importance of values in life.
The story I tell goes back to the early days of the pandemic.
There was great concern in the business world, amongst all others, and I wanted to do something to help.
So I put on a series of free webinars on crisis communication, working with the excellent Cambridge Network.
They were immensely well received, and generated lots of interesting contacts and opportunities for me.
My values, such as helping others, created the opportunity.
And by mentioning such altruism early in my presentation, I start to establish a rapport with the audience.
The idea is that I shift myself on the emotional spectrum from being just another speaker, to a human being, and a decent one at that.
Which gives my talks more of an impact.
For another example, sometimes I talk about my origin story.
I come from a humble background, my parents were newsagents, and I went to an ordinary state school.
That's not always what’s expected from someone who leads a course at the University of Cambridge, runs his own business, and worked as a BBC TV news correspondent.
I introduce the story by telling an audience that my main charitable work is visiting state schools, such as my own.
The aim is to encourage the students to aspire to better futures than they may otherwise have considered.
It’s all true, but in terms of effective public speaking…
Again, it helps to establish me as more than just another speaker.
A human being, one who's trying to make a difference in the world, and that helps to build a bond between me and the audience.
In summary, I don’t pat dogs, or stroke cats, and you don’t have to either.
But…
If you can find a way to establish a rapport with an audience, your public speaking will always be more powerful for it.