Through out a lifetime you witness an array of presentations, whether it be the presentation at the beginning of a school year, the presentation in the classroom, the presentation on the latest technological advances in fighting cancer, or the presentation of the nursing home you’re looking to move into. It seems that you will witness presentations in pretty much every aspect of your life. The presentation is always having one common theme, the theme of selling you something, whether it’s an idea, or a thing; they are all still trying to sell you something. The thing that all the presenters keep in mind is that they must grab your attention, have you relate on some level, and convince you that they know what’s best. The way they deliver this product is key to having a successful presentation.
There are a few major things that one must do in order to have a successful presentation. They must KNOW the audience. If you begin to deliver a product, or an idea, and you do not know whom you are presenting this to, then you can lose the interest of the audience right from the get go. Next, you need to create that STORY. Everyone always can relate on some level to a story that is relevant to that audience (which brings us back to knowing the audience). The delivery of the story needs to be one that engages the audience. You need to always keep them engaged in what is going on, whether it be through Q and A’s, or simply having them ask themselves questions internally through out the presentation. If you have the audience participating either vocally, or keeping to the thought process going, then you will continue to have their attention. Also, you do not need to overwhelm the audience with too much information in too little time. If you are presenting a topic that has various subject areas, break it up. Give the audience time to ABSORB the information prior to moving to the next topic. I know in my past, if a presenter was covering a topic and was throwing too much at the audience, people’s focus began to be lost. You want to keep the audience ENGAGED in the information covered through out the presentation. By understanding the who (the audience), the what (the story), the where (what are the surroundings in which you are presenting the information), and the why (what purpose does this presentation hold), you’ll have a successful presentation.
