According to recent surveys, nearly half of the respondents reported doing something other than listening during a presentation by a coworker — popular responses included sending a text message (28 percent), checking email (27 percent), and falling asleep (17 percent). To say the least, it can be difficult to keep the attention of an audience, let alone to get your message across when it comes to presentation.
Some of the best ways to keep your audience engaged are to make them feel a part of your story. There are a few easy things that you can do to get your audience interested in your presentation, by making it more interactive — here's how.
Telling Stories: Stories, according to professional public speaking coach Nathan Gold, are brain fuel when it comes to the presentations. Storytelling is the most common way of captivating the attention of the viewers, regardless of where they come from or what they are doing for a living. When you start telling your story, people automatically tune in, because they want to know what happens next. You can go beyond just dropping a few anecdotes into your chat. Using Nancy Duarte 's storytelling strategy after watching hundreds of TED talks: Pose the status quo and then show the road to a better way. In following this process, you are building a dispute that needs resolving.
Adding Videos: With more than 6 billion hours of content viewed on YouTube alone each month, it's hard to believe that only so few presenters use it in their presentations. Videos are a perfect tool for offering a really entertaining presentation. In an audience, videos can provoke emotions which would otherwise be very difficult to elicit. Find the clip that will put your viewers in the right mood, and make your story better. Apart from this, Edmodo Classroom has its own resources of short clips that can transform your presentations.
Asking questions to the audience: Presentation consultant and best-selling author Carmine Gallo pointed out that after just 10 minutes of the presentation, the audience's interest drops to zero. That's Okay, 10 minutes. To get their attention back, Gallo advises creating subtle breaks within your voice. Take a break from your talk, and connect with your audience from time to time. Ask for their questions and already integrate them throughout the presentation. Tools such as Slido allow members of the audience to ask questions anonymously so even shy people can take part in the conversation.
Using Props: You don't have to offer a product demo for using props during your presentation. Props are a perfect way to help wire the viewer to comprehend the message in many ways. So carry props onto the stage and display them at the right point to help the guests imagine what you are verbally portraying. In her emotional TED lecture, the neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor put a real human brain on stage to illustrate what happened to her when she had a stroke. With this show, she reached the crowd and left the crowd in utter awe.
Breaking the barriers: Each of the representatives of your audience arrives in a completely different mood to bring to you. A quick ice-breaker will place everyone on the same page and give them the strength to present. Make your group do a quick exercise to reset their minds and refocus on your conversation. Ask people to stand up and introduce themselves to their neighbors, for example, or have them suggest two or three questions they 'd like to hear answered during your conversation. Starting with an ice-breaker, you'll show your audience that your talk will be collaborative and will include their participation.
Sharing triumph with everyone: Don't rob yourself of all the glory. Share the scene with other presenters or members of the audience to help you narrate the story and make the whole experience more interactive. Steve Jobs never pulled off the entire presentation by himself; he has always invited many speakers to help him introduce their new product, including designers, investors and other executives. Do likewise. Bring someone onstage from the crowd, and get them to do something important and enjoyable. The technique should always be coordinated in advance with the volunteer.
