I Promise Everyone Will Want to Listen to You!
"What if my audience is immediately bored?"
"I"m so scared. It's possible no one will really want to listen to me, right?!"
"What do I do if everyone checks out on me?"
”Is it okay to throw in an activity or make a couple of jokes on the fly to keep everyone engaged?"
"How do I keep everyone from losing interest?"
"What should I do to 'wake up' my audience?"
If you have questions similar to these, you are not alone. The best advice I can give everyone is to plan your presentation so there is no opportunity for the audience to get bored. Be proactive so you are not having to pull something out of the air to wake up your audience and, most importantly, so your audience doesn't need waking up in the first place. I know. I know. *slowly shaking head with eyes closed in affirmation to nonverbally say "I feel you"* This, you may think, is easier said than done. Not really. Trust me.
I will share with you the structure I use, and it never fails. Never. And this structure, this pattern is now yours. Use it, and I firmly believe you will keep your audiences interested.
welcome (This is the equivalent of four words: “Welcome to the session.” That’s it. Do not prolong this.)
thank the audience for coming (Again, make this quick with a sincere “Thank you for coming.” At this point, you could be bold and have an activity to engage the audience and find out ask questions such as "What do you already know about the topic? What is a problem you want solved? What have you always wanted to know about [relative to the topic on which you will present]?" Thank the audience for sharing, and let the audience know you will return to/build on their responses shortly. Or if I have a large crowd five to ten minutes before the official start of the session, I will answer questions the audience has right there on the spot, then start the session at the official start time.)
give a reason for them to lean in and listen (Provide a series of statements that ring true for the audience members, e.g. “There are some people to whom you could listen for hours on end. Perhaps it’s a comedienne. Perhaps it’s an anchor on the evening news. And you think to yourself “If only I could have a smidge of what she possesses, then I could be unstoppable!”)
share what the audience will know or be able to do by the end of the presentation (At this point, you answer the question of why everyone should listen to you. Continuing with our example “By the time we’re done, you will know how to start presentations in a way that makes people want to listen to you. You will know the question you should never ask in your presentations. Finally, you will know the biggest mistake speakers make when they practice and how to avoid it, setting up yourself and your audience for success.”)
provide and explain agenda items, showing how you will achieve the aforementioned (e.g., "We will accomplish this by examining X, review Y, discussing Z ...")
give your name and a one- to two-sentence statement explaining how what you do helps members do their work, e.g. "My name is Bridgett McGowen, and I help professionals be the most engaging, dynamic, incredible communicators ever!" (Avoid giving a title because titles mean nothing, especially to those outside of your organization ... well ... possibly to those inside your organization, too! And notice I recommend the presenter wait until AFTER letting the audience know how its time will be spent, and I recommend against reading a bio because the audience is more important than the speaker. The audience wants to know what it is you will do that will help everyone seated before you live better, work better, perform better. Some will argue sharing a bio is about establishing one's credibly; however, I believe credibility is established when you give the audience something it can use, when you immediately demonstrate you have value to offer.)
explain how you will handle questions (Will you take them throughout the presentation or only at the end? If you wait until the end, then at least 1/6 of your total presentation time needs to be allotted for questions, e.g., if you have one hour to present, then allot 10 minutes for questions.)
involve the audience, if you did not already do so at step 3, and thank the audience afterwards for sharing (Ask questions such as "What do you already know about the topic? What is a problem you want solved? What have you always wanted to know?" And remember to allow for some silence after asking the question to give the audience members time to think, process the question, and arrive at an answer.)
highlight any great points made by select participants, save some (write down or mentally save them) to pepper into your presentation later, and answer any questions that may have come out of the audience involvement
share no more than 10 minutes of information (This is not a hard and fast rule; read here about strategies for effectively sharing information with audiences without boring them.)
have 3-5 minutes of audience interaction (Have the audience use information you presented to think of what it will do differently now that it has this information.)
repeat numbers 10 and 11, continuing that pattern throughout the presentation, saving enough time for questions if you opted to take questions at the end of the presentation (Move about the room as appropriate; decide at what points you need your body language to say "I am in charge" or "listen to me.")
address questions that were not addressed throughout the presentation that you are able to address; read here for how to effectively address those that may be a bit more challenging
thank the audience with your words, not with a slide, and end on an energetic note (Avoid providing additional information or saying "If I had more time, then ...." Read why this is important in my discussion on "FoMO" - or fear of missing out - in this post.)
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