Business presentations are an important tool for any startups. It is an opportunity to educate your audience, make a case, and get key information across to an assembled group of people. However, the problem is that presentations do not always go to plan, so it is important to take steps to engage your audience and keep them interested from start to finish.
Death by PowerPoint is never a good move. PowerPoint presentations are a standard way of presenting complex information in bite-sized morsels, but they can be incredibly boring if you are not careful.
Nobody wants to sit through several hours of tedious slides accompanied by a boring monologue. It’s enough to send even the most committed individual to sleep within half an hour, so if this is your usual presentation modus operandi, you need to rethink your approach.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Engaging an audience is the key to success in presentations. The more interested the audience is, the more they will be listening to what you have to say, and the more positive the outcome will be. Engaging an audience is not always easy, especially if the subject matter is very dry, but it can be done if you plan your presentation well – and here’s how.
1. Make The Presentation Interactive
The more you can encourage your audience to interact with you; the more engaging the presentation will be. People tend to pay attention more if they know they might be asked to participate in the discussion.
To increase audience engagement, ask questions. Encourage the audience to throw questions at you right from the start, or throw questions out at your audience and wait for a response. Sooner or later, someone will come back at you.
2. Use Video Content
Visual content is a powerful tool in any presentation. Images and videos can really bring a presentation to life, particularly if the subject matter is emotive. Tablet enclosures are very useful if you want audience members to view video content during a presentation. You can place tablets in an ergonomic and accessible position for each audience member, so people are not tempted to move their tablet around while you are talking.
3. Ask Thought-Provoking Questions
Asking thought-provoking questions is one way to get your audience really thinking about the subject matter up for discussion. General questions are good if you want the presentation to be more interactive and engaging, but to take things to the next level, post up a thought-provoking or divisive question right at the beginning. This will create a buzz and shake things up a little.
4. Canvas Opinion
Ask the audience for feedback when you make your points. You could even pick out individuals and ask them directly for their opinion, although this works better in smaller groups. Canvassing opinions and feedback is an important tactic, particularly towards the end of the session, but be prepared for negative feedback. Please keep the conversation going throughout your presentation: the more engaging you make the discussion, the more your audience will take on board what you are telling them.
If you are interested in even more business-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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