5 Essential Ways to Engage Your Audience

Welcome to the first edition of Presentability Matters for 2013. This year will see much debate over presentation content, delivery and style being a national election year, and how effectively our political leaders can engage us with their vision for the nation. 2013 also heralds the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s infamous, influential and inspirational ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. We’ll be taking a closer look at the content of this groundbreaking presentation in a future edition of Presentability Matters. Today though, we give five essential ways to engage your audience before, during and after you speak.   Before Your Presentation  There are many ways to engage your audience before you speak to gain a greater understanding of ‘what’s in this for them.’ Here are two: 1. Survey them. Use a free tool such as www.surveymonkey.com to send out a brief survey by email. Give people a time frame to respond by to give yourself enough time to digest and integrate the answers, then refer to their answers in your presentation. 2. Make some phone calls to attendees beforehand. Ask them questions about what they’re looking for from the presentation and why. This gives you the added benefit of creating a personal connection with an audience member to easily establish rapport on the day. Make a point of seeking them out just before the presentation (at the venue) to further the connection. As long as you keep mindful of their time and space you’re bound to impress with your genuine interest in them. If appropriate, you can also refer to that person in the presentation to let others know there’s a connection to this group beyond simply showing up.  During Your Presentation  3. Think Pink. That is, think like a rock star or pop icon at an event. They localise at least one or two points or current topics of interest. Lookout for daily news and local views on the way to the presentation. See if there’s something you can tie into your presentation that proves or supports a point and is, ideally, relevant to your audience – such as a quirky billboard driving into town or something you’ve noticed in the foyer. This gives you great opportunity for humour without being forced because the joke can be shared purely to break the ice, without resorting to making a forced joke at the beginning of the presentation. 4. Be Your Own Warm Up Guy (or Woman). Meet and greet them on arrival to give yourself a warm audience to speak to. This way you’re building rapport before the event as opposed to spending precious presentation time doing so.   After Your Presentation  5. Have handouts for them with at least two to three actions or follow up resources to take away and put in action. Make sure your contact details are on there, and any other relevant info or links to further position you as a trusted source. If you’re selling to your audience, you’ll want to have a clear marketing piece with a compelling call to action. BONUS TIP: Give email reminders to further the engagement (either through the event organiser or directly from yourself). You’ll need to make sure you gain permission to collect email addresses to do this, however it’s an ideal way to build your database and further the conversation. To find out more about the ways in which we can support you simply contact support@presentability.com.au   Until next time, keep practicing your presentability,  Phil Preston & Michael Neaylon FOUNDERS & DIRECTORS On behalf of the presentability team

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