In the blog last week, we explored the process of preparing an effective presentation. This week we will evaluate simple techniques to deliver an interactive presentation that is sensitive to audience needs and retains their attention.
Here, it is important to note that when presenting, you are just telling a story to the audience that needs to make sense by having an interesting beginning, middle, and ending. It’s nothing especially difficult or something to get nervous about. Of course, we all feel a little nervous at the beginning, but this begins to wear off after a few minutes, so be brave and keep going. One final initial point here is never start by apologising to the audience about yourself or the topic as this makes the audience nervous.
Capturing an initial positive first impression
First, good advice is provided in a quote by Will Rogers in that, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
Therefore, gaining an initial positive first impression by the audience is critical to the potential success of any presentation. Here, it is important to note that the presenter is the most significant visual aid throughout the process.
Apart from the obvious of not turning up late, looking disorganised, or half-asleep, first how you speak will impact on how the audience initially evaluates you. Note that you will lose the audience at the outset if you:
speak too quickly
It is common when nervous. It is like you want to get the experience over with.
mumble or speak too quietly
Mumbling at the end of a sentence can be particularly annoying.
constantly using non-word utterances such as ‘umm’ and ‘ahh’
They can distract the attention of the audience.
read your notes without making eye contact
You may as well send the information.
Put simply, the audience will react and mirror your attitude and body language from the outset. So, be enthusiastic and passionate about your subject and the message. Below are some examples of how to hook, or capture, audience attention and promote a positive first impression.
Techniques that can promote a positive first impression
First, A direct statement
A statement on the subject that emphasises the important to the audience.
A vivid example
An example of the issue that introduces the subject of the presentation
A memorable story
A story that illustrates the subject, or someone, or something connected
An initial brief statistic
A surprising statistic that emphasises the importance of the subject
Finally, A strong quotation
A memorable brief quotation that highlights the importance of the subject
Another way to establish a positive impression
Poorly designed presentation slides cannot only ruin what might otherwise have been an effective presentation, but can also leave the audience confused, bored, and even irritated. Generally, the greater the number of slides and the more each slide is overcrowded with information, the weaker the presentation.
Moreover, the most common way to lose audience interest is to simply read the content of the slides. Instead, include only brief bullet points highlighting the main ideas so that the audience can use them as note-taking subheadings. Also, developing the points listed on the slides will arouse interest in the audience and encourage them to listen to your explanation or development of each point.
Some key tips on the design of presentation slides
Limit the number of slides
Keep it simple
Avoid sentences
Use bullet points
Leave plenty of white space
Choose appropriate fonts and size
Make sure the slides are readable by the audience at the back
Summarise the statistics
Provide complex information by handout
Consider the cultural context of images
Proofread
An essential part of any successful presentation is to highlight the basic organisation, and then clearly signal in advance points at which the topic or direction is about to change. An absence of such organisational signalling can result in the audience becoming lost and unable to follow the presentation storyline. Some examples are shown below, though they need to be adapted to the context, such as whether it is an individual or group presentation.
Introducing your topic
The topic of my presentation today is ……
Then, the importance of this is that…
I shall be arguing that….
Outlining your presentation
I have organised this presentation into the following sections.
First, I will introduce ……
Then, in the second part, I am going to ……
Finally, ……X will be critically evaluated.
If you have any questions, please ask them at the end of the presentation.
Moving to the first issue
Initially, I plan to outline the topic of ……
So, the initial point I’m going to introduce is ……
So, I shall begin with the challenge of ……
Have any of you experienced this sort of situation yourselves before?
Progressing to additional points can be signally by some of the following
Another key issue is ……
Moreover, we now need to consider the impact of ……
Following on from this, I will now move to the subject of X…...
Well, that is enough about X, so I shall move on to the subject of Y.
So, having examined X and Y, let us move on to Z.
Therefore, I will now move on to ……
One further point that needs to be analysed is ……
Summarising and concluding your presentation
So, now we will move on to the conclusion ……
To summarise the key argument……
The main evidence for this is..
My opinion now is that…
Taking questions
Do you have any additional points to add or further questions?
Ending your presentation after the questions
This is the end of my presentation. Thank you.
Displaying appropriate body language
Body language is a very powerful tool. Remember that we communicated by body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what is understood in a conversation is interpreted through non-verbal signalling, not words. – Deborah Bull
So, here also note that the presenter is the most important visual aid during any presentation. Therefore, to communicate effectively to maximum effect, ensure that your appearance, facial expressions, gestures, and stance, the way you stand, are appropriate to audience expectations to create a professional positive impression.
Dos | Don'ts |
|---|---|
Do stand straight Do use gestures Do gesture with open arms Do maintain eye contact Do speak lower, louder, and slower Do smile, but not continuously Do pause between points Do enjoy mistakes (Laugh!) Do keep silent after you ask a question | Don’t fidget Don’t cross your arms Don’t be too formal Don’t dance around the room Don’t turn your back on the audience Don’t giggle Don’t roll your eyes Don’t play with accessories or your hair Don’t talk while changing the slides |
Next week we will address the threat of disruptive members of the presentation audience.
Question 1
Can contrasting cross-cultural body language signals distract audience members?
Question 2
Why is it important not to memorise the language used in a presentation?
Question 3
Is it possible to plan strategies to manage potential disruptive audience members?
We shall explore Question 3 in the next blog.
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