How To Leave Your Audience Speechless The Next Time You Do A Presentation
Written by Nihal Bellary
How many times have you give a presentation that has genuinely impacted you audience. There are very few speakers that can hold a person’s attention for the entirety of a presentation and then pass on knowledge that is beneficial to anther person. In this article, I will show you a 4 step framework in order to create memorable presentations.
Before we dive into any techniques, I need you to understand that there are always one or more outcomes that occur after you complete your presentation. These outcomes are what are felt by your audience and they are:
- Informed
- Entertained
- Educated
- Persuaded
Every time you do a presentation always start by thinking what the end outcome of the presentation is and then structure it in a way that meets the criteria. Now, let’s move on to the 4 essential keys that will turn you into a presentation master.
1. The Content
Start by looking back at the 4 main goals (Inform, Entertain, Educate and Persuade). Pick one and start developing a script from that point of view.
For example, if you have an informative type of presentation you need to make it easy for your audience to grasp the topic you are talking about. Try to state accurate facts and other details that allow your audience to form a strong idea of what you are talking about.
One thing you must remember is that the complexity of the language you use is dictated by the people in your audience. If you have an audience comprised of five year old children, you would have to use simpler language and concepts than you would with thirty year old people.
So adjust your content if there is a drastic change in audience demographics in order for them to understand the presentation better.
2. The Presentation
Whenever I do a presentation, I go to a website called slidescarnival.com and use their templates to deliver content in a manner that grabs more attention. A bland single colour slide is no longer engaging to an audience.
The presentation software is probably the most important piece of tech you will need as you can display all sorts of things e.g. images, sales graphs, etc. So, you need to polish your slides in order to keep your audience’s attention.
3. Gestures And Movements
The content and presentation are two things everyone talks about but people rarely tell you about gestures and movement, even though it might be the most important.
The fastest way to look as if you are confident on stage is by employing some movement. Try to move a few steps around the stage, slowly, this gives the impression that you are comfortable on stage and some eye contact with your audience will really sell it.
You can also make hand gestures, which you can use direct your audience to something. Hand gestures also create engagement that you would not usually get by keeping your hands, by your sides, for the entire presentation.
They way you move on stage and present yourself may not look very important, but if for example there are tech problems and you cannot get your slides to work, all you can do now is use gestures and movements to provide momentum to your presentation.
If you’re just standing there in one position for the whole presentation it will get very boring.
4. The Voice
Now, this is my last tip and it will be the most powerful in your arsenal. Every time I do a presentation, anyone who ever comes to give me feedback always compliments me on the clarity of the way I speak.
Your voice has the ability to capture the attention of everyone in the room, and if you use it properly it will certainly make your presentation more enjoyable. To achieve the perfect voice, I use a few vocal exercises that were developed by a man named Julian Treasure. He has done many TED talks about the human voice, so if you want to know more about the powers of your voice check him out.
In general, watching TED talks is a good way to learn new presentation techniques that will widen your knowledge about giving presentations.
To Conclude
After you have created your content and produced a professional presentation, practice giving out your presentation to yourself a lot of times. As you practice, start to add hand gestures and movement so when you go on stage and give your presentation, you know what to say and how to say it.
