In one recent session I started with a question to the audience as to “who needs this discussion?” and lowered the voice to say ‘ if there is non, why should we spend time!’

Obviously they did not expect this. Hence came a big reply “we need it”

I followed it up with another question “ask me a few questions” as to “what is bothering you” (relating to the topic ,of course)?.

surprisingly I got a set of questions.

And then, you know, “relating” with the audience became that much easier.

Thanks again for the crisp refresher.

Appreciate your comments and thank you for adding to the discussion!

I included this device because I have a colleague who is terrific at the effect and he’s someone I try to emulate.

I recently heard a speaker who used a couple of phrases combined with a pause. For example, he might say “and don’t miss this…” or “are you listening…” as a pre-cursor to the pause. Really effective for underscoring his key points.

*Engage the Audience Whenever Possible*

Suppose your upcoming presentation is slotted for thirty minutes. Is there any
heuristic that says a presentation must take twenty five minutes and leave five
for Q&A? Mix it up! Why not incorporate feedback and questions throughout the
presentation? Even better, allow for open ended questions (asked by the
presenter) during the discussion. For larger audiences, some advanced presenters ask for a show of hands, or other polling device. Social media shows us we live in a world of “engagement.” Your presentation should take this concept into account.

Actually more and more we see “clickers” or other electronic devices that actually graph the responses (much like poll the audience in Millionaire).

Another thing I like to do is have people ask questions in written form at or before I begin and then try to answer them in context.

I also appreciate when you said, “Most speakers lose their audience before they even begin to speak.” Isn’t this the case? We need to bring something compelling to start a presentation — a story, audience engagement via key question, or other device. How one starts a talk is critically important!

Thank you for taking the time to comment!

Sadly, there are presenters who speak about themselves, their company, and their service to an absurdly nauseous degree that, for all intents and purposes, the audience could just as well as be on Mars.

I’ve dubbed these speakers “Shoegazers” after the early 90’s alt-music movement that featured performers (mostly British, natch) who stood up on stage for two hours playing their instruments while staring at their shoes. Their music was droning, and the audience just didn’t exist.

Don’t be a shoegazer.

I’ve seen many conference presenters do a lackluster job because speaking isn’t their gig, but if they followed your advice and even got some feedback from other speakers, they’d come across a lot more professionally.

I appreciate your advice on the personal touch in communications – as you point out, it’s so much more than simply eye contact!

Thanks for this post. It’s a nice refresher. As you say, all marketers must be able to make presentations. I’d add another tip: East coasters like me tend to talk way too fast. We do everything at Mach speed in the Northeast. When giving a speech or a presentation, it’s important not to sound like we’re rattling things off so quickly, it comes off as rehearsed and lifeless. The audience can’t catch it all or doesn’t have the time to absorb what we’re saying. The cadence of a speech is very important. It enables us to be more animated and passionate about our subject matter. This is something I’ve personally had to learn.