Four Ways You Bore People When You Present
It's the absolute last thing you want to do, but it happens ... possibly without you even realizing it. Even presentations that have been carefully designed and practiced can have moments of unintentional boredom or can create annoyance in audience members. This happens when speakers inadvertently use phrases, some of which are commonly used in presentations, that make people want to say "Okay. Yeh, yeh, yeh. Keep it movin'" or "That's nice. What else ya got?
"For those of you who don't know me ...." Are you that big and bad to the point you are suggesting everyone should know you? Is your intent to introduce yourself to only those who do not know you? And for those who don't know you, are you saying they're losers? Listen. I know that's not what you're thinking when you say that; however, what in the world does that phrase mean, and why use it? Could the problem be you do not know what to say and are trying to come up with a clever way to introduce yourself? How about this? Simply state "My name is ___." Period. You are your brand, so it does not matter if people already know you or not; always announce yourself, and put in your name and your personal introduction the power they deserve. It's branding. I cannot say (or write) it enough. Every time you see a commercial for a national brand, you see the name of that brand or the logo, and you had best believe the brand name or logo is not coupled with "For those of you who don't know (insert brand name)." (I'm giving you the classic "see what I mean" look right now.) Consistently say, using confident, clear speech who you are, and that's it. Nothing more. Nothing less.
"How this presentation came about ...." Be honest with yourself. If you are sitting in an audience, and the speaker starts down that road, then you will get out your phone and start making your grocery list or checking social media. (And I'm debating on how I feel about this if your social media check involves reading this post ... but I digress.) Now, allow me to back up for a second. If the presentation description indicated beforehand the session would include a historical analysis of the ideation, design, and research of the presentation, then that's a whole other box of grits. Most likely, that is not the case. Your audience came to get real information from you. They want a reason to listen. They want to know their time is about to be well spent. Give them that for which they came. Do not tiptoe through the tulips, roam through the roses, or dance around in the daisies. Immediately solve a mystery. Immediately establish your credibility. Immediately clarify how they will be able to use what you provide in your presentation to make a difference in their lives or the lives of others. But do not start talking about how you were sitting on the patio, stroking the fur of your calico cat named Pork Chop, while sipping on a hot latte from your very favorite mug you purchased at the cutest little shop on your vacation to the Galapagos Islands when an idea came to you about how to ... yeh ... uh huh ... And even if the presentation came about via a more academic avenue or during a more professional brainstorming event, the same thing goes. Your audience doesn't want to hear it. Get to the point. Show them this will be time well spent.
"We tried to work across departments ...." *YAWN* What do you mean you "tried"? Did you do it, or did you not?! First, here's why people say this phrase: It sounds inclusive, kind, and cooperative. It seems to scream "team player!" and "collaboration!" The challenge with the phrase is it includes a wimpy word, and wimpy words put people to sleep. Just say, "We worked across departments." Bam! You're done! Delete that one wimpy word, "tried," and you instantly sound more confident. When you say, "We tried to work across departments," your audience will silently respond with "'Tried'? Hmph. That means I may as well be prepared if my or my team's perspective isn't represented or taken into account. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Movin' on." Say, "We worked across departments," and if a question about which departments comes up, then answer it! If the audience does not like the answer, then oh well! HA! GOTCHA! I threw that in there to see if you were paying attention. Seriously, if your answer is not well-received, then extend an invitation for the displeased voice(s) to join your collaborative efforts next time. For more on wimpy words versus power words and why you need to use more of the latter—as if you really need the rationale behind that, but hey; maybe you do!—see this post. You'll love it. Trust me on this one. (Did you see that power word right there?! Did you see it? "Trust." Smooth, eh?)
"I know I just covered a lot, so are there any questions on that?" This one is similar to "I'm sorry; I know that's a lot of information," but the query is what brings on the boredom. Here's what I mean: You gave an information dump. You did. When you admit that you know you covered a lot, that means you irresponsibly dumped loads of information, going from A to Z—you may have even thrown in a few letters from the alphabet of a foreign language (think "ñ" from the Spanish alphabet or "Ф" from the Greek alphabet)—without giving a care about creating an audience-centric experience. Everyone's head is spinning, trying to ascertain how everything fits together. Or perhaps no heads are spinning, but you've asked a very difficult question—"Are there any questions?—that requires the audience to sort through everything you said; identify the content that gave them pause, created some confusion, or made them want to know more; formulate the question; then confirm the question is indeed one they want to articulate and put out in the universe. You get the idea. So instead of doing all of that, you get the silent looks of boredom. (Read: Go on. Get back on the mic, and let's get this over with.) So how do you stop this in its tracks? I've got you covered: Present one chunk of information, then ask a targeted question that moves the audience affectively, behaviorally, or cognitively. This means you a) Ask a question that has the audience consider how they now feel about the information/topic. OR b) Ask a question that has the audience change or take new action as a result of the information. OR c) Ask a question that has the audience consider how they will change the way they think about and process the information going forward.
You've got this!
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