Christie JungeA Plus Solutions Inc. · CEO | Profit First Professional

Connect with Any Audience: Mike's Top Tip

6 Aug 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:45

In this short presentation, the speaker (Mike) argues that the primary responsibility of a public speaker is to create a connection with the audience before merely transferring information. He explains that standing on a literal and figurative pedestal gives the speaker instant authority, which can both help and hinder audience receptivity. To counteract the negative effects of perceived superiority, he advocates using self‑deprecation and humor to make himself relatable, thereby removing the pedestal and fostering a sense that the audience "gets" the speaker. He illustrates this approach by testing self‑deprecating remarks onstage and noting when they succeed.

Chapters

For me, public speaking, we have a few responsibilities. It's to transfer information, but first there's to transfer connection. And I find, at least for me, the greatest way to build connection is self-deprecation, humor, where people say, "This person's relatable and they get me." It's actually to take ourselves off a pedestal. When you or I walk on stage, you literally are on a pedestal. You're literally standing above people. They're looking up at you. And I think that's a very difficult position to be in because you have instant authority over the audience. There's good things to that, that people are more apt to listen to someone they think has authority. But we're also resistant to someone who thinks they're greater than thou. I gotta rip off that bull right away and clear that out. So I use self-deprecation. As I'm doing public speaking, I test things out and say, oh, that's self-deprecating, that worked.