Janice Brown pressed the clicker and advanced to her second slide.
She turned back to the audience and continued. “As you can see…”
Janice was nervous.
There were only about 25 people in front of her and this made her more jittery. She could see every wince, every uncomfortable shift, and every check of a wrist watch.
She turned towards the screen and read her bullet points from slide two. She suddenly wished she hadn’t created a slide deck with 40 slides. They only had an hour!
On occasion she looked back around at her audience, but she knew she had lost them. The longer she talked the more smart phones got used. The atmosphere was gradually becoming more and more uncomfortable.
Janice turned back towards the screen and read faster.
Have you ever delivered a presentation like this?
Have you ever struggled to keep an audience engaged?
Here are 4 tricks to keep your audience interested in your presentation (and why I’m never using a laser pointer again)…
- Start with a story
- Add some incongruent juxtaposition
- Frame for the audience early
- Use open loops
Table of Contents
1. Start with a story
Human beings are hardwired to pay attention to stories.
For thousands of years story-telling has been a fundamental communication method.
The amazing things about story-telling are:
- Your audience will naturally listen to you
- Your audience will remember much more about what you told them
When I have facilitated seminars about the importance of active listening I have used stories to get the point across.
Instead of lecturing about what active listening is, I tell a story about problems I have experienced through not using active listening. During the story the audience is engaged and the message sinks in.
2. Add some incongruent juxtaposition
Instead of using the typical presentation starters, like “Who wants to…” or “Who likes…” or “I’m going to show you…” try starting with what seems like completely unrelated information.
The purpose is to hook the audience and keep them wanting more.
For example, start with:
Ladies and gentlemen, today I want to talk to you about how a sudden stroke and subsequent heart attack helped me to finish the Benson project before the deadline.
The above sentence would have the audience wondering how near death experiences and the Benson project are related. That wonder keeps the audience engaged as they wait to find out.
3. Frame for the audience early
If you keep the focus on what’s in it for the audience your presentation has a much higher chance of engaging them.
Why is this?
Most business presentations you are forced to attend are delivered as information sharing sessions. An information sharing presentation will let you know about a new project, a company restructure, more work that you need to do, or all of the above.
Rarely do business presentations focus on how the audience can benefit.
Framing your presentation from a audience-focused-benefit perspective will keep their interest. Instead of talking about the features of your new system, talk about how your new system will save the audience time.
4. Use open loops
Ever been unable to sleep at night because you’re thinking about all the work you couldn’t finish?
You can’t sleep because you’re thinking about all the open loops you have back at the office.
As humans we have a natural need for closure. When a story or task is left open we have a tendency to remember it. We more easily forget stories and tasks that have been closed.
Take for example comedian Billy Connolly. Throughout his standup comedy routines he tells stories that only get half-finished because they branch off into other stories. As a result his routines have a lot of open loops. By the end he always resolves and closes all of the loops, but as they stay open you can’t help thinking to yourself, “I wonder what’s going to happen to…?”
In other words, open loops keep you listening and wanting more.
Used in your presentation, open loops are extremely powerful. The longer you can keep your audience engaged, the more chance there is of them taking action at the end of your talk.
If you’ve read this far, maybe you are wondering, “Why is Dave never using a laser pointer again?”
I will most definitely use a laser pointer again, I just wanted to prove that open loops work.
Read more about open loops here.
Try one at a time
Don’t overstretch yourself by trying to incorporate all of these techniques into one presentation. Pick one technique and apply it to your next presentation.
Following your presentation evaluate how it went. Use this evaluation to decide whether you will keep, modify, or discard the technique.
Read more about audience centered speaking here.
Best of luck!
Allan Koki says
Excellent tips Dave! Indeed you had me hooked from the beginning because my internal presentation team was wondering, “now what’s the issue with laser pointers?” So I was carefully and attentively devouring your article only to burst out in laughter when you closed the loop, and yes, all the aforementioned was already well taken in! Thanks again for these great tips! I appreciate that we should not out ourselves trying to implement all the four tips. However, as we master the basics of each tip, we can get more confident to creatively try all four, and the laser pointer too :-)!
Beverly J Shepherd says
Excellent suggestions and tips! I will try to incorporate the ‘open loop’ next time I present! We also use stories to capture the crowd and it works so very well. We also utilize flip charts along with Power Point slides to reinforce certain points and ensure we don’t ‘read’ instead of teach.
Great stuff – thanks!
Bev Shepherd
Hadia Nassim says
Thanks for sharing. Great Tips.
Tom McCauley says
I’ve given many PowerPoint presentations and learned the following:
1. The audience can read as well as you and maybe even faster
2. The audience doesn’t like looking at the back of your head and trying to hear what you are saying when you’re talking to the slide.
3. Th audience came to see you and listen to you talk not read.
4. Do not give the audience a handout of the slides before you give your presentation. They’ll just read it and not pay attention to you
What did I decide about presentation based on these experiences
1. Use slides only for pictures (sketches, photos, drawings)
2. Use slides for Charts that cannot easily be explained without the visual.
3. Talk to the audience and watch their reactions. Try to involve them with a question from time to time (keeps them awake and interested)
4. Offer to send each member of the audience a copy of the handout if they leave their card and e-mail address with you at the end of the talk not otherwise. Shows who’s interested and allows you to follow up.
Jeff Peterson says
Thanks for the article Dave. Great information! Good points!
It’s amazing how many presenters DO NOT start with a story. Starting with a story is a powerful way to settle down your audience and set them up for a meaningful and relevant presentation.
I have had great success ending a presentation with a story, too, .
The power of story…nothing like it!
Cindy Stradling says
Very helpful as I launch a new pilot program on Friday. Great tips for engagement – Thank you Dave!
Lucelly Plaza says
These are very interesting and practical tips. Thanks Dave
Antonio Oseo says
Very practical tips. “Open loops” is a new technique for me.
Thanks Dave.
Helen Ann Michael says
Really useful tips that I kind of know but forget to use so thanks for this clear and excellent reminder.!
Agnese Gangadeen says
Great points! One technique I teach my students is placing themselves in the audience and asking what would I want to learn from this presentation, what information would benefit me. Or, singling out potential audience members and asking yourself, what would Susie benefit the most from! How I can I best reach Joe and keep him engaged. Thinking about your audience during the preparation phase will almost always do the trick. Your audience wants to feel that you have taken them into consideration as you put the speech together. Finding a common ground with your audience is the key.
Dave Mac says
Really awesome way of being audience-focused, Agnese! Thanks for your comments.
Dave Webe says
These are very good. They will bring any speech up to the next level. I have one problem with this. I do not like the word “tricks” Reading the comments I saw “tips” used repeatedly. I also saw “points.” I feel that “tricks gives public speaking a negative impression.
Christopher Brantley says
Great content. These are priceless remarks that I can use immediately. Thanks for the helpful information.
OLATOMIWA KOSOKO says
Fantastic tips!
Ever wondered why the word SAFU is not is any dictionary and encyclopedia in the world?
The above tips is the reason.
I know as you read this are now thinking of researching the word. Come back with your findings if you are able to get any.
Thanks Dave!
Vítor Mota says
Thanks Dave.
Very interesting points.
I’m used to apply open loops on training but I ever thot that could work in presentations too. Nice tip.
Regards, Vítor
Daniel says
Great Dave! My next presentation, here in Portugal, will surely be better!
Cheers,
Daniel
Munib A. Shadid says
Thank you Dave for the great practical tips. Whenever possible I used to start with explaining training objectives through questions that measure pre-learning relevant to each objective and collect answers from almost all participants and keep the right answers unrevealed until they discover them during the presentation with emphasis on the right answers and elaboration from my side. I used to relate training objectives to their job competencies (job profiles) and their competency gaps. Usually I succeed in drawing participants attention to the training delivered and get their positive feedback.
John Viner says
Thanks Dave,
I do a lot of training and this piece is a great reminder of lots of things I know I should do but don’t. It really focused my thinking.
Farooq says
Simple yet powerful tips, great bog Dave!
Leah says
Wow, I often go to meetings wondering how it will affect me.and often leave thinking not much or nothing and soon fogetting what the meeting was about and what a waste of time. Good point as many meetings are about them not really affecting me. However stories make it more personal even if it is about them. The open loop and “left field” connections, to grab attention are new to me, but sound interesting also. Great article, thanks.
Lee-Anne says
Great tips! Thanks
Doris Ong says
Thanks for sharing your great tips on how to arrest audience’s attention. I have used story telling and yes，poignant snippets of my real life story in my working journey, across the globe over a span of over 35 years. I will try ‘open loops’ the next time I am facing an audience. Thanks for sharing your pearls of wisdom.
Doug Hickok says
I particularly like the focus on benefit to the audience. When we are presenting, we are selling; the idea, the solution, the change that’s going to happen. It is a key premise of effective selling that we should always be focused upon benefit for the user when they use our information. They really don’t care very much how we deliver the benefit, the “We do this”, “We do that” stuff. They want to know how what we’re saying will add to their work, their careers, their lives.
Charlie Krebs says
I especially like the part on open loops. And that you used an open loop to demonstrate open loops. And your advice on making it about the audience is something we all need to be reminded of every day. Thanks.
Dave Mac says
Cheers Charlie!
Dave Mac says
Thanks for your feedback, Louis!
Man oh man! That’s awesome that you’ve met Billy Connolly. Have seen him live a couple of times over the years… A great man!
Louis Di Bianco says
Thanks again for the great content. My passion and expertise is storytelling, so, obviously, I relate to your tip about starting with a story.
I know about open loops, but I have overlooked them. Thanks for the reminder about this powerful technique.
I smiled when you mentioned Billy Connolly. We both acted in a movie called, “Who Is Cletis Tout?” It’s a hoot, and he is outrageously funny.