Jordan was ready.
Research and practice squared away, he was as prepared as he was ever going to be.
This was Jordan’s first presentation but he was confident. With so much preparation, who wouldn’t be?
Sales figures and marketing campaigns weren’t the most exciting topics, so Jordan planned to get them in and out quickly. Fast presentation. No extraneous detail. On point.
The organizer was finishing up his intro, introducing him. Jordan took a deep breath and stepped on stage.
Days later, Jordan would wonder what went wrong. Why did his audience range from forceful pushing back to watch-checking ambivalence?
Here’s the thing:
By most standards, Jordan delivered a great presentation. Practiced, logical, audience-focused.
So what went wrong?
Why was Jordan’s audience so angry or apathetic?
Jordan’s presentation was great. He followed all the rules.
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Despite dotting all his i’s and crossing all his t’s, Jordan failed to connect with his audience.
Here are 3 methods you can use to connect with an audience, even if you’re doing a business presentation.
1. Share a story
Stories are the number one way you can engage and connect with your audience in a presentation.
When most people think of stories they think of the kind of stories they hear in a TEDx presentation. The “I survived a heart attack and this is what I learned” kind of story.
But it doesn’t have to be like that.
Stories that will engage your audience just need to be simple anecdotes. What has happened to you that’s related to the point you want to get across.
Want to introduce a new computer system? Start with a story about a problem you had with the existing system.
Want to inform the office about a new dress code. Talk to the funny complaint you received about the current dress code.
2. Be less than perfect
One of the biggest killers of your presentation is the desire to be perfect.
Practicing like crazy, until you can remember your script word for word. The perfect delivery.
…or so you think.
Trouble with being perfect is it’s not natural. Nobody’s perfect. As such, reciting a script perfectly is going to make you sound unnatural, even robotic, as a presenter.
Connecting with the audience means being human. Being human means not being perfect. Sounding like you are confident talking about your subject matter. Sometimes making mistakes.
Making mistakes is okay.
That’s awesome news!
Knowing you can deliver a presentation naturally while occasionally making mistakes is freeing. It’s enlightening.
Next time you deliver a presentation know your topic but be yourself. If you make a mistake remember nobody cares and most people didn’t notice.
3. Speak conversationally
Finally! If you want to connect with your audience you must speak in a conversational way.
Nobody wants to listen someone drone on and on about a topic.
What do you think? Let’s chat in the comments below.
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Irish says
I strongly agree with you. Creating a rapport with your audience and helping them feel involved can make a huge difference.
Ronald Maher says
I don’t know, all these Presentation Skills Courses, the 3,4,5,10 steps to an affective presentation, the absolutes of Do’s and Do not’s, how to plan an affective presentation, etc.
What confuses me, in all the hundreds of presentations with groups of 25 to 2500 speaking on various topics depending on what I or the Company being represented wanted me to directly address, I never planned the presentation, nor did I ever walk up with a written outline. Something about this off the cuff program must have engaged these groups, as I was always asked to return, over and over again.
Here is what the secret was for me, and I’m offering this one time offer only once for FREE! Are you ready for this complex, never to fail, system that I used successfully for over 30 years. Get you tablets out, I’m only going to say it once. There is no fluffed up package with ongoing perfect terminology and content. In fact, you could probably find it on the bathroom wall.
Here it is: I NEVER GAVE A PRESENTATION TO ANY GROUP, THAT I WAS NOT ABOULTELY CERTAIN, NO ONE ELSE IN THE ROOM WAS MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN MYSELF AND THEIR WAS NOT A SINGLE QUESTION, THAT COULD NOT BE ANSWERED.
If you’re not that confident about your knowledge on a particular topic, why are you the one giving the presentation. Now we’re having fun, you can address the topic in a way you know is going to be most comfortable to the room. Every room changes and if you don’t adapt your presentation, to the room, people begin to get bored, fall half asleep, constantly look at their watches, and take 10 bathroom breaks.
What is it about today’s Business world that creates the simplest of understandings and try to turn them into Rocket Science. It’s like putting this long Italian drawn out name, for spaghetti and meatballs. It’s simply Pragmatic, why would someone be the “PRESENTER” of a topic that needs to carry 15 pages of notes to provide the information.
Dave Mac says
Thanks for your detailed comment, Ronald.
I agree with what you’ve written, especially this comment: “If you’re not that confident about your knowledge on a particular topic, why are you the one giving the presentation.”
Cheers,
Dave
Alice says
Another important point is to make sure you reread any handout or information you project on a screen before you show it to your audience. Especially if you write in all caps. Knowing the difference between “their” and “there” makes a listener wonder about your basic skills. We all tend to be careless in our personal emails, but being a professional requires proofreading materials.
Patricia Fripp says
Totally agree with your great advice. One of my other don’ts is sloppy language.
Don’t say “stuff” be specific. One of the frequent questions I ask my executive speech coaching clients is “Specifically what do you mean by thing?”