"I Know Your Head's Spinning ..."
“I know your head’s spinning.”
Have you ever heard a presenter say that at the end of a presentation after giving you a whirlwind of information?
And as an audience member, how did that statement make you feel? What was your silent reaction to hearing “I know your head’s spinning”?
You either dismissed it (or didn’t hear it in the first place) and went back to checking email on your phone, or you felt frustrated because you signed up for and attended the presentation with the hope of getting at least one new piece of information or clarification on the presentation topic. Then again, neither may be the case. Regardless, there is one thing that is for sure ...
You did not attend with the hope of leaving with your head spinning.
First, never say that to your audience.
Second, show up to your presentations with an actual plan so you don’t even find yourself wanting to fix your lips to say “I know your head’s spinning” at the end of your presentation. Here’s how.
1. Identify the takeaway(s) you want for the audience. Ask yourself what the ultimate goal is for everyone once you finish with your presentation. For instance ...
Do you want them to become better versed at strategies for using social media to promote their businesses?
Do you want them to have ideas for how to be more inclusive leaders?
Do you want them to know the benefits of becoming published authors?
2. Identify the three to five pieces of information you can provide that will help your listeners reach that ultimate goal. Keep in mind these pieces of information need to be easy to understand or at least delivered in an easy-to-understand fashion. They need to be pieces of information that the audience can immediately use, or they should sound like practices they can immediately and easily put into place. For instance, what are the three to five pieces of information that will help them …
improve their knowledge and understanding of strategies for using social media to promote their businesses?
practice being more inclusive leaders?
understand and appreciate the benefits of becoming published authors?
3. Finally, give those three to five pieces of information and only that information plus a call-to-action (CTA). With the CTA, ask yourself “What do I need them to do now to further the learning?” You can ...
Provide them with a complimentary analysis of one of their social media profiles, then make one or two recommendations for how the profile can be improved.
Direct them to a link to order your book or read your blog, which contains more information that will help them understand/implement strategies for how to be a more inclusive leader, and invite them to your next inclusive leader bootcamp.
Provide them with a complimentary discovery call to explore their book ideas as well as a free download to help them get started with writing their manuscript.
In short, make it easy for them. Show them that you can support them. Give them a good experience during your presentation. And whatever you do, do not make their heads spin.
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Image credit: Mae Mu
A version of this article by Bridgett also appears in Entrepreneur Online.