7 Steps to Making your Audience Central to Your Presentation
If you have ever opened the door to canvassing politicians, you might have noticed a similarity in their approach. Ring the doorbell, hand you the literature and ask for your number one vote on polling day. Politics- local or national- is a tough job. I admire anyone who puts themselves forward for public office, and I don’t envy them the task of canvassing door to door for weeks on end.
When we had Local Elections a couple of years ago, one candidate stood out for me. My husband answered the door, so I overheard the interaction. Instead of the usual asking for the vote, this candidate asked was there anything my husband wanted to know about him, or about the Council. This change of tack impressed me, and it’s a lesson we can learn when delivering a speech or presentation.
This candidate recognised that the interaction at the door wasn’t about him. It was about the audience. The candidate showed an awareness of the voter and was open to addressing any concerns the voter might have. During our presentations, we need to show that same awareness of our audience. What are their concerns and interests? If we are telling our story, it needs to relate to the audience. If they can’t identify with it, then they won’t listen.
Making the Audience Central to Your Presentation
1. It Begins with Your Preparation.
Think about the audience- who are they; what are their concerns. What previous knowledge do they have about your topic? What questions might they have? What resistance could they have to your ideas?
2. Why Should They Listen to You?
How can you clearly demonstrate that what you are offering will be of benefit to them? According to a study from Microsoft Corp, our attention span is as little as 8 seconds! If your presentation doesn’t quickly show how it will be of value to your audience, they will tune out.
3. Speak Their Language
Keep jargon to a minimum and use as little data as possible. Keep your presentation easy for them to understand. There is no benefit in bombarding the audience with lots of information. If they need more, they can ask!
4. Involve Them!
Create opportunities for them to engage with your presentation. This could be done with relevant stories, questions or humour, for example. Now that remote and hybrid meetings are commonplace, it is more important than ever to create opportunities for audience engagement.
5. Have Audience-Friendly Slides
If you’re using slides, make them easy for the audience to read. That background colour you choose might look great, but if the audience can’t read the font against it, then you’re wasting your time. Make sure the text is large enough to read in the room where you will be presenting, or that is easy to read on a small screen. Slides should help the audience to better understand, or remember, your presentation.
6. Eye Contact
Make sure that you connect with the audience by having eye contact throughout your presentation. This will help you create trust with the audience.
7. Be Heard
You need to be heard clearly from all parts of the room. Do a soundcheck in advance so that you know the volume required, or if you need a microphone. If it is a hybrid meeting, make sure that you can be seen and heard by all participants.
Related Reading: 3 Top Tips to Make Your Hybrid Meetings Successful
If you follow these steps, you are showing care for your audience, and you are setting yourself up for a better presentation. As for the politician- even though I didn’t meet him, his approach made me more open to reading his material and considering him for a vote. Open up your audience to receiving your ideas.
If you would like to see how I could work with you or your team to help create and deliver presentations with impact, contact me for a no-obligation discovery call.
