How to Deliver Technical Content to a Non-Technical Audience

“The Curse of Knowledge: when we are given knowledge, it is impossible to imagine what it’s like to LACK that knowledge.” ― Chip Heath, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and co-author of the book Made to Stick

Have you ever witnessed a technical presentation delivered to a non-technical audience?

Did the speaker realize the audience was non-technical and explain technical concepts in everyday language?

Or did the speaker miss entirely that the audience was non-technical and proceeded to confuse everyone in the audience?

Let me make this clear. When I say technical content, it could be information from any profession unfamiliar to the audience.

If you are ever having to convey technical information to a non-technical audience, try the suggestions below to make your presentation meaningful to your audience.

Simplify Your Content

Have you ever taken the time to step back and realize there is a lexicon for every profession?

Think about the terms you use when interacting with others in your profession. A few examples might be:

• Satellite link budget

• Life cycle cost

• Preliminary Design Review

Is your audience familiar with the terms of your topic? Probably not.

Be aware that your presentations conveying technical material to a non-technical audience will take longer than when presenting to colleagues because you must explain the terms you use. This takes time. You need to plan for it during your presentation creation and delivery processes.

Be very careful to “strip out” the jargon of your profession from your presentation.

You should break down complex ideas into “digestible ” parts for your audience.

Use metaphors and analogies familiar to your audience to make your points. Sure, this takes more time, but if you don’t, you run the probability the audience will completely miss your message.

So, simplifying your technical content is one good way of getting your technical message across to your audience.

Two other good ways for you to convey technical information to your audience are using visual aids and demonstrations.

Use Visual Aids and Demonstrations

You have heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It’s true.

Use graphs, infographics, and images to represent data and processes visually. These can help convey complex information in a more accessible manner.

Using graphs, you can visually show technical data, show trends, and more easily portray the data.

Infographics (a visual presentation of information in a chart, graph, or other image accompanied by minimal text) often give an easily understood overview of a complex subject.

If you correctly choose images that portray the point you are making in your presentation, you will save time and convey more of your message to your audience.

Show your topic’s technical content in action through live demonstrations or videos. This can make the content more tangible and easier to understand.

When you do this, your audience members will hear your content and use their sense of sight to see your technical concepts in action.

So, simplifying your technical content and using visual aids and demonstrations are good ways of getting your technical message across to your audience.

However, unless you engage and interact with your audience, you may still not get your technical message into the minds of your non-technical audience members.

Engage and Interact with Your Audience

At the beginning of your presentation, tell your audience you encourage them to ask questions during your presentation. Many speakers prefer not to do this. They have timed their presentation not to include questions. Questions will cause them to go longer. Not allowing questions during your presentation is a big mistake.

There are several reasons to encourage your audience to ask questions during your presentation.

The biggest reason is you are there to answer questions about what is essential to your audience and not what is important to you.

Sure, you need to have slides, but if the audience wants to go in a different direction concerning your topic, as a speaker, you should go where the audience wants.

Remember, you are there to satisfy the wants and needs of your audience—to deliver information they can implement to better their lives. Don’t forget this.

We have delved into the power of story in these articles. There is a reason movies, books, and conversation are as popular as ever. Everybody loves a good story.

Use this basic human want to enhance the understanding of your technical material.

Your ability to weave a relevant story, preferably personal, into your presentation will always be a hit with your audience. Remember, everybody loves a good story.

There are whole books written about the power of story in presentations. Just search on Amazon.com or Google “power of story in presentations” and see how many books and references you will find.

So, simplifying your technical content, using visual aids and demonstrations, and engaging and interacting with your audience are good ways of getting your technical message across to your audience.

Ignore these at your peril!

Call to Action

• “Strip out” the jargon in your presentation and replace it with the lexicon your non-technical audience understands

• Use as many visual aids and demonstrations of your technical content as possible

• Give your audience permission to ask questions during your presentation

“That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” – Steve Jobs, American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc.

Being a confident, engaging, and effective technical speaker is a vital personal and professional asset. With more than 40 years of engineering experience and more than 30 years of award-winning public speaking experience, I can help you reduce your presentation preparatory time by 50%, overcome your fear of public speaking and be completely at ease, deliver your presentations effectively, develop your personal presence with your audience; and apply an innovative way to handle audience questions deftly.

Working closely with you, I provide a customized protocol employing the critical skills and tools you need to create, practice, and deliver excellent technical speeches and presentations. Let’s connect and explore how I can help you become the exceptional speaker you were meant to be. Please reach out to me at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com or 703-509-4424 for a complimentary consultation. Schedule a meeting with me at calendly.com/frankdibartolomeospeaks.