Image courtesy of Proforma’s Meetings & Events
Many of us have to deliver sales or educational presentations. These can be nerve-racking when trying to figure out your audience so you don’t lose their attention. Here are a few tips that will keep you in touch, no matter who your audience is!
How you deliver the presentation can be just as important as the material discussed. Your verbal content only counts for 7% of the impression you give to your audience. Whereas the non-verbal cue’s account for the remaining 93%. Broken down; 38% comes from your voice projection and tone while 55% comes from visual appearance (Martin Newman of The Newman Partnership). Just remember, in presentations tone can make or break how smoothly things go.
Follow these rules and you’ll be well on your way to winning over any audience with a perfect presentation!
Be lively – but not aggressive
We have all been in lectures where the speaker is monotone and you are praying the fire alarm goes off. On the other hand you may have experienced the super hyper “I just chugged a Red Bull before I came up here” speaker. Not good. Try going for a conversational and genuine approach so your audience will feel a rapport with you.
Be personal – but not nostalgic
Sharing personal stories to bond with your audience is great. Do not get sucked down the rabbit hole by becoming weepy or angry (depending on your story). People have camera phones and you do not want to be the next Vine sensation.
Be credible – but not oppressive
By all means, have a well thought out plan for your presentation that covers all the key points. However, when you get to a graph showing your numbers as far superior to all the other companies, let the graph do the talking. Humility can and does go a long way.