Lecture and Workshop Presentations: How To Make Them Pop

When creating a presentation, the main goal is always the same: keep people’s attention.

Tell a story that not only interests your audience, but also relates to them. Good presentations are memorable. They contain graphics, images, and facts in such a way that they’re easy to remember. A week later, your audience can remember much of what you said.

Winning over the hearts and minds of a distracted audience can be easier said than done, and it requires a strong presentation that makes both eyes and ears perk. Incorporate these 3 elements in every presentation you create to make people forget about checking their texts and emails for 5 minutes:

1. Research your audience, not just your subject

Different things matter to different people, and knowing what matters to those you are trying to reach is essential to creating a presentation that resonates. Potential employees care about things like company culture and benefits whereas potential investors care about cash flow and business development.

Begin your presentation research by learning about your audience. Find out what matters to them. Are they big-picture people, or number crunchers? Jokesters, or no nonsense? By knowing your audience, you can design a presentation that appeals to them.

2. Catch and keep their attention

Eight seconds. That is the length of the adult attention span. Eight seconds, and your audience’s collective mind is already wandering. So, you have eight seconds to convince them to stay with you, and to keep paying attention. This is where knowing the audience’s interests makes a huge impact.

3. Tell a story

There’s a reason so much of human history comes in story form. The human brain is naturally responsive to storytelling. Stories also arouse human emotion, which positively correlates to retention. For a story to work, you must make your audience want to know how it comes out. So, use three-act structure – set the story up, increase the stakes, and wrap it up with a satisfying resolution.

These 3 principles will take your next presentation to the next level if you incorporate them when preparing for your next talk.