I’m decent at presenting, thanks to my high-school speech coach and many years of practice. But it’s amazing how much there still is to learn. Case in point – a few years ago, a friend gave me this a good tip: When you’re presenting, picture yourself at a cocktail party. Instead of being in a meeting room (real or virtual), imagine yourself at a bar. You’re standing there next to your partner and both of you are talking to a couple people you don’t know that well.
In this situation, your presentation is your partner. And the audience is the people you’re just getting to know. Your goal is to engage everyone in an interesting conversation.
To do that, you need to look at your presentation (partner) regularly, but not all the time. That would be odd. And kind of rude to the other people. So at least half the time, you need to be looking at the audience (your new friends), so they feel included in the conversation. That’s the first key. It sets up a more natural dynamic. You’re not talking at them.
The second key is to notice how the audience is reacting as you talk. Does it look like they are paying attention?
If they are, then stay on track and work to engage them further. Maybe the purpose of your presentation is to sell something, like a product or an idea. Now might be the time to (gently) make the “ask.” When I was presenting to architects, for example, our goal was to engage someone in the room on a project opportunity. So I might ask if any of them had an issue relevant to the challenge we were discussing.
But if it looked like people’s eyes were glazing over, I’d make a change and do something to shift the energy in the room. It might be a quiz. Or a funny personal story. Or even a physical prop that highlights a key takeaway. If you plan for it, you can have a few diversions ready. The third key is that taking a “party” approach to presenting also helps keep the stakes lower for you. After all, most social gatherings are a little less stressful than talking to a room full of strangers, especially with a cocktail in hand.
