P- PRACTICE
Even with a short amount of time, you can find practice opportunities in the shower, the car, while jogging, or as you eat breakfast the day of your presentation. The key here is to either review the words in your mind or say the words aloud when nobody else is around. You are most audience-aware and even nervous at the beginning of your talk, so knowing those opening sentences will give you a boost.
This helps you immediately PULL in the audience because you can make better eye contact with them and connect immediately.
U - UNIQUELY INVOLVE THEM
As soon as you establish your main point or theme, get them involved with a question, a show of hands, or simply large group "all at once answers to simple questions. For example, you could ask, "How many of you are aware of the new developments in this product? Then you can complement their knowledge or move into another involving question, such as, "which of these would you say is the most important for you?'
Just spending a few minutes at this early point will connect them to you and your topic. It will give you a sense of where they stand.
L- LOCATE 2-3 INTERACTION POINTS
Involvement doesn't stop after the first few minutes. No matter how long your talk, find a few more spots to connect by asking another general question or (for larger audiences) to chat with a partner about a key issue or point. If you keep general questions non-threatening and easy, it is also easy for a group to call out responses. For example, "What do you think is the main challenge facing this roll-out? Partners will always come up with something for you to react to - whether they agree or don't agree. Next, expand on the answers you get and have fun with them, if appropriate.
L- LEARN TO TRUST THEIR NONVERBAL REACTIONS
Audiences give you constant clues that indicate how involved they are in your message - or not. Be honestly aware, and when you see them flipping ahead through handouts or leaving the room frequently or rolling their eyes, stop and listen to them. Ask them to arrive at more questions for you, check to see what they're honing in on, ask for their opinions, split them into groups, point out brochure copy, put them at flipcharts to summarize - do anything to shake them up. Then be ready to modify your plan, your outline, or your agenda, and be humble!
Audiences want to be PULLED not PUSHED. With these four P-U-L-L techniques you can give them what they want and need - key take-aways they can apply in life and work.
2008 Cyndi Maxey.
Cyndi Maxey, CSP is a Chicago-based speaker, author and coach specializing in presentations skills. For more great tips, books, e-books, and free articles on speaking and communicating, visit www.cyndimaxey.com or email her at cmaxey@cyndimaxey.com.
