***How to Address an All-Female Audience

My first piece of advice is to relax and enjoy it. With a doubt, an all-female audience is much easier to address than an all-male audience. Women are quicker to voice their approval and to express laughter. And, it is their response to your words or your message that can boost your confidence and make your presentation that much easier and fun to deliver.

What is fascinating about speaking to women is that you can become much more personal with them in your talk than you can with an all-male audience; and, there are not many subjects you cannot cover with a female audience. [Incidentally, an audience in which the majority in attendance are female is considered a female audience. While men are slower to laugh than women, if enough female voices are raised in laughter then the men will join in.]

Your anecdotes, as well, can be much more personal especially if you are a female speaker. I often discuss how I was able to fall asleep during a double stereotactic breast biopsy when I am talking to an all-female audience (especially if my audience is primarily baby boomers). However, I would never broach the subject were my audience all men.

Because I talk about voice and presentation skills, I will not begin my delivery about the sound of the speaking voice when I am addressing an all-male audience. Instead, I will open with a joke about public speaking which always makes them laugh. Were I addressing an audience primarily of women, however, I would open the same presentation with a question about the vocal image they project. In both scenarios, I am able to grab the attention of my listeners by the type of opening I use which is entirely dependent on the makeup of my audience.

As I continue to speak to the women, I use anecdotes that can reference men or women because women are interested in hearing about both sexes. With the men, however, I base most of my anecdotes about the success I have had with my male clients and customers. And, in the ‘before’ & ‘after’ video on the homepage of my website, I use a man as my first example. Women will be interested in seeing both men and women when it comes to the voice change; men, however, would prefer the first example to be a male.

Knowing the differences between your male and female audience is extremely important in successful public speaking today. Take my advice and gear your presentation to the sex of your listeners.