15 Rules of Presentation Engagement
Posted by BeaconLive, October 12, 2011 11:01 am
- Your presentation is not your book, your company or your service. Don’t sell when your audience is already there. They may have already paid to attend, purchased the book or use your service. They are attending your presentation to see what else you have to offer. Provide them with an experience that they can’t receive elsewhere (like by reading your book or using your service).
- Display your statistics carefully. Always keep in mind; if you are presenting complicated statistics, then you’re already familiar with the study. If you feel it’s important enough to present the content to your audience, then they likely don’t already know the details of the study. Also, save complicated statistics for follow up emails so the audience can look them over and study them as they need to.
- Using a webcam emphasizes the human aspect of your content. When presenting, look into the camera as if you were looking into the audience. This will allow the audience to feel engaged with what you are saying.
- Talk to your audience, not at them. When you read from a script, your voice will sound monotone, without the natural inflections that occur during a conversation. Speaking in a conversational tone allows the audience to participate mentally rather than zoning out.
- Don’t make your audience wait for the promised content. The Webinar Blogger, Ken Molay, has a great blog discussing why you should Just Start Already.
- Don’t use the inverted pyramid style of writing for your presentation. This is designed to provide all the pertinent information up front, with the idea that the audience will drop off before the conclusion. On the flip side, don’t wait to give a grand finale. Dispense your main points throughout the presentation so your audience wont checking their Facebook while you discuss the bulk of your materials.
- Provide a roadmap for your presentation prior to beginning. This allows the audience to grasp your though process and know what to expect ahead of them.
- Provide your audience with worksheets or a copy of the PPT slidedeck prior to the presentation so they can take notes or follow along.
- Provide a Q+A session following your presentation (and be sure to leave time for it). This allows your audience to actually engage with you and their fellow audience members on subjects that may not have been covered or that they need clarification on. Also, keep in mind; you may need to supply your moderator with a question to get the questions rolling.
- Create a #Hashtag for the presentation, and let your audience know about it prior to the event so they can chat with fellow audience members. Allow them to engage with each other, after all, they share of common interest.
- Ask your audience what topics they want you to focus on during the registration process. The tailor your presentation to what they want to learn about.
- Utilize Polling and Survey tools to ask questions to the whole audience, and share the results. Having them preform an action keeps them on the same page as you.
- Use multiple presenters to give the audience a new voce to listen to. Show a video clip or play a sound clip to grasp your audiences sensory. Studies show that a persons attention wanders when your comfortable with the sound. Introducing a new sound will at the least, peek an interest.
- Ask your audience to create a mental picture, or give them a task that requires thinking outside of memorizing what you are saying.
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