Speaking to Senior Citizens: Getting Your Message Across

I've been speaking to senior citizens lately, people who live in retirement communities. This can be a tough audience to reach. Attendees may have an "I've heard that before" attitude, short attention spans, or fall asleep. As a speaker, my goal is to keep audience members awake and get my message across.

Yesterday I spoke to residents of a Catholic retirement community that offers independent living, assisted living, memory care, and nursing care. I gave my talk in the chapel, a large room for a small group. When attendees entered the chapel, most of them sat in the back. With some persuasive words, and a few jokes, I convinced them to move closer.

Do you speak to community groups? Have you spoken to retirees? These tips will help audience members understand your message.

Re-think your title. A week ago I gave a talk at a retirement community. Originally, the title of my talk was going to be "Getting Your Book Published." Some residents were writing books, but most were not. The Activities Director changed the title to "Self-Publishing and E-Books." This title change worked, and doubled the expected attendance.

Check the seating. Older adults, and I'm one of them, like to sit in comfortable chairs. Some people sat in the back of the chapel because the chairs were padded. As one woman said, "These chairs are more comfortable than pews." To foster communication, you may wish to arrange chairs in a semi-circle.

Make eye contact with every person. This is one reason I asked people to move to the front of the chapel. When you make eye contact the person feels like you are speaking directly to him or her. Eye contact also emphasizes the point you are making.

Use a microphone. Many older adults, including me, have suffered a hearing loss. I was going to speak without a microphone, but a staff member quickly changed my mind. "They will never hear you," she said. 'You have to use the mike." I've used clip-on microphones, podium mikes, and standing ones.

Provide handouts. Your handouts will help attendees to remember your message. If you have several handouts, photocoy them on different colored paper. Handouts can be publicity for you. I gave the extra handouts to a volunteer librarian, who promised to display them in the library. Make sure your name and website address are on all handouts.

Vary the pace. One attendee kept falling asleep during my presentation. To get her attention, I switched the order of my presentation, and passed around books I had written. The woman woke up and stayed awake for the remainder of my talk. I also told a few funny stories to keep audience members alert.

Offer to speak on other topics. As I was leaving the chapel, the activities director and I had a conversation about other topics I speak about. "I have presentations on affirmation-writing and getting a book published," I explained. "If you know of a group that would benefit from these talks, please let me know."

Speaking to senior citizens keeps me on my toes. I often gain more from the audience than they gain from me.

Copyright 2012 by Harriet Hodgson