Powerful Pithy Presentations Tip #3: Engage Your Audience
Welcome to Powerful Pithy Presentation Pointers!
There’s usually little time to seek out a great coach or take a class to help you prepare for that all-important “make or break” presentation you found out about last week!
But the ability to craft and deliver powerful, pithy, presentations is the most important tool used in the business community for getting things done! Your presentation will make the difference between your success or failure!
The goal of Powerful, Pithy Presentation Pointers is to deliver one memorable, easy to implement presentation tool at a time! Then you can practice it 100 times and make it your own!
Powerful Pithy Presentation Pointer #3: Engage Your Audience
Are you concerned about feeling anxious while looking at your audience with that “glazed over look” on their faces as you talk? Here are some ways to keep them engaged:
- Use anecdotes or stories to anchor your key points.
- Illustrating your key points with stories will guarantee that your audience will remember your message and share your information!
- Put complicated information like graphs, charts, policy detail, etc. on handouts. Then give them out at the end of the presentation! Unless you are teaching from that handout, you want to keep the focus on you and getting them to “buy in” to your concepts presented. Then, when they return to their respective offices, they will be motivated to study the detail.
- Include appropriate humor. Add impromptu comments at the beginning that may include information relevant to that audience. Weave humor into your remarks. This helps the audience relax and like you!
- Save time for Q&A. Rehearse answers to questions you think they may ask! You can ask relevant questions, but avoid the “yes/no” types! Give people time to think! Sometimes it is appropriate to turn the question back to the group for ideas or offer to find the answer and get back to them!
- Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! And remember, visuals are only there to support your presentation!
Dee Taylor-Jolley, MEd
Trainer/Speaking
Presentation Skills Expert
“If all my talents and powers were taken from me by some inscrutable providence, and I had my choice of keeping but one, I would unhesitatingly ask to be allowed to keep the power of speaking, for through it, I would quickly recover all the rest.” -Daniel Webster
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