Presentation Tips: 8 Ways to Captivate and Engage Your Audience
By Darlene Price
Memorable speakers
have one thing in common: they know how to create a connection with their
listeners. Here are 8 proven presentation tips to engage and involve your
audience:
1. Record their wish
list. In the first few minutes of the presentation, be sure you clarify and
verify what’s most important to the audience. What’s on their wish list to
solve or accomplish? You may say something such as, “Your burning issues are
the most important ones to address today. In addition to the ones listed here
on the agenda slide, are there any others you would like for me to add to the
list?” Write them down on a flip chart and be sure to either address them
during the presentation or promise to follow up.
2. Play a video or
audio clip. Insert short clips so the audience can learn from clients, experts,
or leaders. A well-produced video is an excellent addition to a presentation.
It provides variation in the format and allows the audience to see remote
facilities and hear from different speakers. The video may include customer
testimonials, a special message from the company president, or a promotional
corporate message, to name just a few possibilities.
3. Use creative props.
The CEO of a large insurance company who was an avid tennis player brilliantly
used a tennis racquet to drive home the key points of his strategy at an
employee meeting. Metaphorically he talked about “acing the competition”;
“rallying” with partners; winning a “grand slam” through good customer service
and quality products. Year after year, other speakers were compared to this
leader’s creative ability to rally the troops.
4. Set up a
demonstration and invite audience members to participate. If you’re selling a
product that’s small enough to transport, you should demonstrate the key
features and benefits during the presentation and then invite the audience to
give it a try. The executive vice president of sales for a major computer
company wanted to convince a group of prospects to convert from their old
laptops to his company’s new tablet PC product. He overcame their skepticism
and objections within thirty minutes: after demonstrating the product, he
handed a tablet PC to each member of the audience and asked them to perform
tasks as he narrated a guided simulation. They experienced for themselves the
ease of use, the timesaving features, and the convenience. He closed the order
that day, became the vendor of choice for his new client, and sold more than
2,000 units to the company’s sales force.
5. Conduct a quiz or
host a game show and give away prizes. Leslie, the vice president of public
relations for a major beverage company, had a vision to produce a one-of-a-kind
marketing campaign that would teach the public about her company’s impressive,
long-standing history and build brand loyalty. Focus group studies indicated
customers were confused about the brand and lacked top-of-mind awareness. When
she delivered her presentation to skeptical and frugal decision makers to gain
the necessary funding, they doubted the need for the campaign. In a whimsical,
nonthreatening way, she conducted the same quiz with them that she had
conducted with focus groups. They failed the test! She proved her point about
lack of brand awareness and convinced them they needed to invest dollars to
fund her campaign. A simple quiz helped her walk away with the order! You may
also consider using one of the many game show software products available.
These tools enable you to turn routine reviews and dry presentations into
funny, TV-style quiz shows that boost attention, participation, and retention.
6. Play
fill-in-the-blank. Ask listeners to guess certain facts or data, or leave
blanks on your slides and ask them to fill in the missing words. This level of
audience participation keeps people engaged and active in your presentation.
7. Focus on benefits to
the audience. Ask them to confirm the benefits that are important to them.
Throughout the presentation, notice when listeners affirmatively nod their
heads, take notes, or smile in agreement. Use this opportunity to check in and
say, “Sue, I can see you like the idea of reducing downtime by 15 percent. How
would this benefit affect your particular department in terms of dollar
savings?”
8. Tell a story to illustrate your
points. Of all the tools in your kit, telling a well-crafted story is among the
most powerful. In fact, storytelling is so important that there’s an entire
section dedicated to it later in this chapter. As you begin to think about your
story, consider these questions: What were your pain points? How did you
overcome them? What’s unusual about your particular journey? What are your
lessons learned?
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