Keeping an audience captivated is the number 1 goal of any presenter. The content of your presentation takes a backseat to being captivating; no …
Keeping an audience captivated is the number 1 goal of any presenter. The content of your presentation takes a backseat to being captivating; no one is going to pay attention to what you are saying if you aren’t interesting and engaging! Being engaging requires energy and enthusiasm, which is easier to do in person because people absorb it through your body language and facial expressions. But so many presentations today are done across a variety of technology mediums that it become hard to keep people interested. I’ve done podcasts, videos, and more recently a presentation via Skype and received pretty good reviews. Here are tips to keeping your audience enthralled through the use of subtle body cues. Some of these may seem silly or overly obvious, but I’ve seen and hear a lot of bad presenters that didn’t take the time to prep and think about how they were presenting. The result was an audience that didn’t find them to be credible and tuned out.
1. Audio
If I’m participating in a podcast or phone call where I’m not leading it I will ask for questions and topics that will be covered ahead of time. I like to understand the context and then run through answers in my head. Preparing ahead of time helps me to be more articulate and clear in my answers. Small pauses are good but the last thing you want is dead air, to stutter, or use a lot of “ums” and “uhs”. To avoid sounding the like drone make sure there is intonation in your voice.
To place emphasis on a point or explain a difficult topic slow your pace down and be a little more deliberate in your delivery.
Its also good to express positive emotion such as enthusiasm through laughter, raising your voice slightly, ending a sentence up tempo, or speeding up your words slightly.
Of course all of these should be sprinkled throughout a presentation, and should come out sounding natural not rehearsed. So treat an audio presentation like you are having a conversation with a best friend. Don’t try to sound like a sportscaster or fake the radio voice; people want to be able to connect with you and can only do so if your natural accent and voice come through.
Don’t ramble! Its ok to have a mix of short and long sentence and take breaks when speaking. Remember you audience needs time to process what you said.
2. Video
While the key to delivering a good presentation via audio is vocal quality the key for video is facial expression. Your facial expressions should mirror the emotion you are conveying.
Once again positive emotion is emphasized through a smile, and when you want to highlight a point keep a neutral expression and bow your head slightly. Be aware of head and eye movements, overuse of either can be distracting and detract from the point you are trying to make.
Keeping eye contact with the camera shows focus and that you are attentive, but at the same time you can come off as intimidating if you don’t break the focus once in awhile. To do so raise your eyebrows or open your eyes when trying to convey excitement. No need for a death stare…
Also be aware of your overall posture when doing video. The way you sit or stand conveys confidence and credibility.
I know people get nervous when giving a presentation, I still have 30 seconds of fear before any presentation I give. Dealing with technology can exacerbate your nervousness. The key to delivering a relaxed presentation is to prep and practice your delivery.
Finally, once the presentation is done take time to review it. Watching or listening to your presentation isn’t narcissistic, you need to be aware of how you look and sound to improve for the next time.
Have you already tried a number of these tactics? Let me know what did and didn’t work in the comments below!
Receive hands-on help with your presentation skills at our next Femgineer Forum on: “Why You Should Speak at Technical Conferences.” The Femgineer Forum is on Wednesday, September 24th at 6pm at the new Spotify offices in New York City. To RSVP, click here.
