Imagine you’re about to walk on stage. You’ve waited for this moment. You prepared your presentation, timed it, and rehearsed out loud. You begin your speech but as you continue you to speak you see signs of boredom. The audience gets restless. You hear coughing. And worse, you see people on their phones!
Where did you do wrong? You may not know in the moment. But you do know you have to reel them back in. What can you do? Let’s take a lesson from fishing.
Bait your Hook. To grab attention start with something attention-getting. It may be a startling statistic or a story or a promise. Leave your opening remarks by the door and don’t start by announcing your topic. Make your opening line personal to the audience. One speaker who addressed a group of cardiologists, began by saying, “Every three minutes, someone dies of a heart attack.” She got their attention because she was speaking their language.
Cast a new line. During the presentation, do something different. Move to a different part of the room. Talk just to them for a moment. Use humor. Ask them to do something physical like standing up, raising their hand, repeating a mantra in unison. Don’t keep going through your slides if it’s not the right message or if they’re completely bored. Instead, ask them to pair off for a quick exercise. Ex. “Tell your partner your biggest success.”
Pause. It takes time to catch a fish and that means waiting for the right moment. Ask the audience a provocative question Give the audience a moment to reflect. The brain needs time to process. If you talk continuously, you can lose their attention. You may be going too fast. Pausing and reflecting will let them catch up with you. Pausing creates anticipation. Build up to a particular moment in your story and then make them wait for the punchline. The silence will bring them back to attention.
Reel them in. You don’t want a fish to slip off the line so keep a steady pace as you reach the end. Increase your energy and build to a crescendo. Bring back the main point or benefit in a story. Keep your energy high. This is no the time to lose momentum. Remind them of the exciting possibilities. End with a promise or challenge. Give them an emotional experience and they’ll leave fully charged.
Practice these tips to engage your audience and the presentation will go swimmingly.
To elevate your presentation skills contact us at www.diresta.