Presenting is quite a difficult art to master. After finding three great articles with their own unique perspectives on the topic, a quick cheat sheet has been created with the main take-aways.
1) Prepare your audience.
Tell them what they should pay attention to most and what they will be hearing about through the duration of the presentation.
2) Use less than the allotted time.
This keeps the audience from losing attention and allows time for questions at the end to ensure understanding.
3) Utilize silence.
This is best stated by the author herself, "When you are playing catch and you throw the ball to someone, you find yourself waiting- will the other player catch it, and how? You don't throw ball after ball without looking to see if the person caught one of them. When you make a statement, it's like playing ball- you have to wait in silence to see how people receive it. Don't keep throwing more and more words without giving your audience the chance to catch each sentence" (Claudyne, 2012).
4) Remind the audience of the benefits of the information.
This helps remind attendees that the information applies to them and will refocus them.
5) Be relatable.
Use humor, tell a story, or start a conversation. The more you assimilate yo your audience the more they want to pay attention to what you have to say.
6) Eat.
People love food. It's also exceedingly difficult to focus on anything with a growling stomach. There are also foods that promote attentiveness and memory that would be great to try.
7) Ask.
Ask for feedback, thoughts, comments, questions, and concerns. These not only make audience members feel important, but helps to keep them engaged if there is a chance they may be asked to contribute. Interaction is a sure-fire way to keep attention.
8) Be positive.
Start by recognizing the achievements of others. Set a tone of positivity and appreciation to carry through the meeting.
9) Remove tables.
Also best said by the author, "A table can be a crutch for some meetings; taking it away to leave only a ring of chairs (or do away with the chairs and have a standing or walking meeting) can energize the room. It can create better conversation flow, allow people to move around more, and create the psychological sense that everyone is on an equal level" (Marr, 2014).
There are plenty of other creative ideas in these articles, so the original links follow:
Claudyne. (2012, August 16). 12 Most Engaging Presenter Behaviors... to Keep Your Audience Awake. Retrieved August 3, 2015, from www.wilderpresentations.com: http://www.wilderpresentations.com/uncategorized/12-most-engaging-presenter-behaviors-to-keep-your-audience-awake
Hedges, K. (2014, January 28). Five East Tricks To Make Your Presentation Interactive. Retrieved August 3, 2015, from www.forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2014/01/28/five-easy-tricks-to-make-your-presentation-interactive/2/
Marr, B. (2014, October 14). How to Make Deathly Dull Meetings Fun Again. Retrieved August 3, 2015, from www.entrepreneur.com: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238510
