Five Failproof Presentation Tips
There are two types of people in this world — those that can present in front of crowds and those that can't.
For those that can't, there are five simple tips that will help your audience be engaged with your presentation and simply listen. It's sort of formulaic, but it is proven to work.
Here are five messages (based on the advice of speaker extraordinaire Ed Wohlmuth) presenters need to convey to listeners in order to get their rapt attention.
Tip #1: I will not waste your time.
Within the first few seconds of the presentation, the presenter should let the audience know how long the session will be and why it should be relevant to them. Don’t make any promises that can’t be keep. For example:
"In the next 20 minutes, you’re going to learn everything you need to know about hiring Generation Y employees – from what kinds of benefits and recognition they expect to how many times you can expect their parents to call."
Tip #2: "I know what you know and I know more than that."
Let everyone know - that you know - how much expertise they have on the topic and that you plan to provide more. Here’s an example:
"As you know, HR is working overtime to keep new Gen Y hires knee deep in incentives – and by “incentives” I mean not just electronics and iPods, but the soft rewards they really want like days off and tickets to ball games. How do I know this? I’ve been meeting with our HR department off and on for the last three weeks to discuss this and I attended a two-day seminar on Gen Y hiring practices in November."
Tip #3: "This is my main point."
You want everyone to pay attention while you drive home your most important point. So it’s a good idea to give some indication as to what it is ahead of time. As you begin your presentation, say something like this:
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