How Speakers Use Audience Hot Buttons

Dr. Gary Arnold's Book
How the Top 1% of Speakers and Coaches Do Internet Marketing
Paperback: ISBN:978-1-57867-041-3; eBook: ISBN:978-1-57867-043-7

In order to have an audience respond positively or buy into your speech, it is important to push their "hot buttons". Hot buttons are emotional cues that people naturally respond to, leading them to agree with an idea, purchase a product or take some other action. If a speaker's message appeals to an emotional need or desire, it is much more likely to motivate the audience than a message that appeals only to the intellect.

Some audience hot buttons are:

Master of Your Domain: People want to get control of their time, their money, their relationships and their life. By using this hot button, a speaker tries to convince audience members that they will gain control over some aspect of their lives by buying into a message. For example, financial planners share information and offer products that provide tools to help individuals master certain elements of uncertainty in their finances. Speakers on healthcare topics appeal to the desire to control the potential for illness by offering methods for maintaining or improving health.

Self-Improvement: We are always looking for ways to feel better, be healthier and have more fun. Self-help sections of bookstores are often among the most popular, because most people feel that they could use some improvement in an area of their lives. Weight loss programs are a great example of self-improvement programs with mass appeal. Speakers who make audience members feel that their lives will be somehow better for having heard a particular speech have pushed this hot button.

Status: Speakers who appeal to the status hot button motivate audience members to believe that they will have greater respect and standing in the community as a result of information provided in the speech. For example, a speaker may offer "insider secrets" for a particular profession or area of interest, which may give audience members an edge over the competition.

Emotional Connections: In general, people desire connections with other people who are like themselves. A successful speaker will tap into the group mindset and help the audience members feel that they are part of something that is larger than themselves. Emotional triggers may include a sense of belonging, shared personal and corporate goals, and the audience members' support systems, such as associations and families and communities on the job and off the job.

There's never enough time: On this topic, a speaker's job is to show the audience that there is enough time, always. Probably the number one stressor in modern life is the inability to exercise good time management skills. With the recent slump in the national and local economies and increased layoffs, people have had more thrust upon them. Stress levels have skyrocketed. Explaining time management concepts can help audience members to gain control of their time and their lives and better connect with the goals of their company.

Speakers who demonstrate a gift for using hot buttons to communicate with their audience are rewarded with the gift of having their audience listen and better grasp the meaning of their messages.