The Audience in Presentations
What is the most important part of any presentation?
When asking this question in my corporate training I would get answers like: the subject, the structure, the PowerPoint.
Rarely if ever did I get the real answer.
The audience in presentations is the most important part of any presentation.
Not you, not your PowerPoint skills and not how great you are as a presenter but the audience.
Why are they the most important?
Because that is who the presentation is for.
It may be the case that you want that audience to do something for you after the presentation but if you do not give them due diligence , you won’t be getting them to do anything !
So who are your audience?
This is the second question you should be asking yourself. Are they future employers? Are they colleagues.? Are they future customers?
Who are they in the organisation? What mix of female and male? How many people?
Do whatever you can to find out these answers and to know your audience.
What do your audience want?
The third question you should ask yourself.
First things first…….. what would you want from a presentation? Think of the worst presentation you have ever attended.
You probably were shoved in a room that was too full and wondered why you needed to be there and how long it was going to take. You probably were bored and unfocused.
The answers are quite simple to what an audience wants.
They want to be acknowledged, to feel important…. Make sure to shake their hand and thank them for coming and taking their time to attend. Use their name if you can when acknowledging them.
They want to be comfortable…. make sure they all have a seat. Ensure they can see either you or you and the screen, if using PowerPoint. Make sure the room is not too hot or cold. Make sure to tell them how long they are going to be there and what to expect during the presentation.
There is nothing worse than an uncomfortable audience when you want them to do something for you.
Every presentation and every audience is different. If you have any specific questions regarding your audience, please feel free to comment below and I will help the best I can.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
12 Comments
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Darcy
atWonderful piece of knowledge here, Karen. Thank you so much! And I couldn’t agree more! I had to do dozens of power points when I was in college, and most of my grades weren’t on how well the presentation was built, but how well I “entertained” and explained my knowledge to the audience. I was fortunate to already have some performing experience, so presenting was easy for me. But it is not for everyone, and they could really learn a lot from this article!
Keep up the great work!
Karen
atThank you for your comments Darcy. You are right we are all judged not on structure but how well we entertain and I hope my readers realise they can all entertain by being their unique selves.
Mondez
atExcellent article. In my career I have had to give countless presentations to a variety of audience types and sizes. Sure the content in the presentation has to be relevant, but the audience engages based your ability to deliver it in a way they can absorb it. It is always about the audience. After taking a toastmasters class for 3 years we learned how true that statement really was. Great information and excellent points.
Karen Noone
atThank you for commenting Mendez. A toastmasters class, now that is some achievement.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
brad
atInteresting article and read. In my job I have to give presentations to potential clients, and have always had a difficult time with being in front of a crowd and doping the presentation.
This has given me some new pointers to implement.
Thanks
Brad
Karen Noone
atThank you for your comments Brad. Nearly everyone has to deliver a presentation of some kind in today’s world and it doesn’t always come easy. More pointers to come. Take a look at my page on improving your communication skills.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Linda
atGreat article, Karen! I believe that many people can benefit from this article because we all have to deliver a presentation from time to time. I think that I was great at presenting, and it was easy to me. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot. I needed to make a presentation in school and university, and even for some projects. I remember that some presentations were boring, and it was hard to watch and listen. So I am sure that these pointers can help people who struggle with delivering their presentation.
Thanks for sharing!
Karen Noone
atThank you Linda. You are right it is very difficult to sit through, let alone learn anything from some presentations. Take a look at my page on PowerPoint in presentations to read about the worst way to bore your audience and how you can improve.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Joseph Barnaby
atThis is a great article and not many people realize that have to entertain or keep their audience engaged and interested. I went to college for high school education and audience is the key. For instance, not everyone learns the same, you have to have ways to teach to several different learning styles. You brought up some wonderful questions you need to ask before yo u are in front of that specific audience. Excellent article, I enjoyed reading it thanks for sharing.
Karen Noone
atThank you for your comments Joseph. You are right about different learning styles ans will be covering that in a post, sometime soon.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Yvonne
atI’m with you there. The audience is the most important part of the presentation. The audience need to feel valued and comfortable before they warm up to the presenter. Thanks for sharing!
Karen Noone
atThank you for your comments Yvonne and hopefully you will find more interesting articles on my site
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen