In the course of conducting a mega-number of seminars over the years, I've picked up some tricks of the trade that may help if you're ever required to make a presentation. Some of them are:
Prepare slavishly. There is no substitute for this. There is no minor audience and no easy gig. Each audience is different, even if they come from the same industry.
Have a simple goal. I can't recall where I got this tip but it is my mantra: You want to provide practical information that is easy to understand and which can be put to immediate use. Beware of information that is simply interesting but not helpful. Be especially wary of information that may only be of interest to you.
Think of the questions that you'd ask if you were a skeptical audience member. Try to weave the answers into the body of the presentation.
Consider surveying the audience at the beginning. Ask them to give you the burning questions that they'd like addressed. Write those on a flip chart. Answer each question in the course of the program.
Keep the presentation as simple as possible. I don't mean talking down to people. I mean keeping the technology under control and having fewer bells and whistles. If the substance and the presentation are strong, in many cases a flip chart and some markers will be all of the equipment you need.
Don't become too smooth. People prefer genuine over smooth.
Remember the funnel and the bridge. Some presentations involve showing how facts lead to a particular conclusion (the funnel) and others show how doing a particular thing (the bridge) will take people to the Promised Land.
Keep it short. It's better if they leave a little hungry for more information.
Give a break every hour and give odd times - nine minutes, eleven minutes - for the breaks. The audience needs to stretch and they'll pay more attention to the return time.
Have passion for your subject. If you aren't interested, why should your audience be interested?
2 comments:
Would also suggest engaging the audience - like asking questions which includes giving prizes of some sort. Or some experiment or illustration of concepts involving volunteers from the audience.
Krishna,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Connecting with the audience is crucial. Using prizes or volunteers can depend upon the topic and the nature of the audience. Some topics are naturals for the use of volunteers and others aren't. Time is also a factor. The prize item is tricky. I know some presenters who've had success with that approach and a few where the audience felt it was condescending.
Following up on your "engage the audience" point: I often break the audience into small groups to discuss relevant case examples or a quiz, then discuss the examples or quiz with the entire group. That works with my employment law/ethics related topics. It would be less successful with other subjects.
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