Variety is the Spice of Your Presentations!
“People have a need for variety, so if you have the same cookie-cutter product or service, you’ll have nothing to compel customers to choose you versus your proven competitors.”
– Cameron BensonI was shopping in the local grocery store the other day and noticed the wide variety of foods. I have shopped in this grocery store many hundreds of times and just did not notice this variety.
This got me thinking. Have you ever been doing something for a long time and found yourself being bored? It could be studying for a test, raking leaves in the Fall, or several other things.
Humans like variety in their lives. It attracts them. How much variety do you have in your presentations? This article focuses on three things you can do to provide variety in your presentations to increase engagement with your audience.
Use Different Presentation Methods
A rule of thumb in public speaking is the average adult has an attention span of 20 minutes. Now, what does that mean for you as a speaker?
It means every 20 minutes, you need to change your presentation method. So, what do I mean by presentation method?
Various presentation methods are available to you, such as lectures, showing videos, taking questions from the audience, and using breakout discussion groups. This is not an all-inclusive list. With a bit of imagination, you can think of and implement a number more.
Another good reason to use different presentation methods is audience members learn in different ways. The three ways people absorb information can be divided into kinesthetic, aural, and visual. All presentation methods are in at least one of these groups. Below are some examples:
Kinesthetic – audience members learn best by physical movement
Aural – audience members learn best by listening to the speaker, a recording (either a sound recording or from a video), or each other
Visual – audience members learn best by seeing the speaker, slides, or a video
So, using different presentation methods will spice up your presentations. Another way to spice up your presentations is to engage your audience by asking them questions.
Questions For and From Your Audience
Asking questions of the audience is the “bread and butter” way to gauge if your audience is engaged or not. You will be able to discern their engagement by the answers to your questions from your audience.
Suppose an audience member’s answer to your question stays on your presentation subject, gives enough details for you to know they were listening and understanding your presentation points, and ends with their opinion. In that case, you know your audience is engaged.
If an audience member’s answer to your question strays from your presentation subject, is sparse on details, and no opinion is offered, you will know your audience is not engaged. Therefore, you need to try something different from what you have been doing in your presentation.
There will be members of your audience that come into the presentation venue with questions waiting to ask you. Within time constraints, I give my audiences the latitude to ask me questions at any time during my presentation. Many speakers feel this disrupts their presentation, and to a certain extent, it does. However, there is a great benefit to you as a speaker to know if your audience is listening and understanding your main points.
Using different presentation methods and engaging your audience by asking them questions spices up your presentations. A third way to spice up your presentations is by telling your audience relevant stories.
Use Relevant Stories
I have talked about using stories many times. However, repetition is a speaker’s tool they can use over and over again to “hit a point home.”
People in general and audiences in particular love stories. There is one big difference between telling stories in casual conversation and telling stories in your presentations.
Stories told in casual conversation sometimes do not relate to the conversation. Has someone in conversation ever told you, “Hey, let me tell you this story.” It happens to me all the time. The story may be or may not be relevant to our conversation.
One of the few Iron Laws of speaking is that if you tell a story, it ALWAYS must be relevant not only to your presentation but also to the very point you are covering when you tell the story. This is something less experienced speakers miss. The story they are telling may be relevant to their presentation subject, but it does not relate to their point at the time.
Personal stories have the most significant impact on your audience. You are instantly credible because you have lived the story. This being said, we are limited in our stories because we are just one person. There is nothing wrong with using others’ stories as long as you attribute the story to that person.
Opening and closing your presentation with a story is always a winner. It is particularly a great way to end a presentation leaving your audience with something to mull over in the rotisserie of their brains, as Earl Nightingale was fond of saying.
Humans crave variety in their lives and in the speakers for which they listen. So give it to them, and they will love your presentation.
In your presentations, use different presentation methods, ask your audience relevant questions, and tell them relevant stories.
Variety is the spice in your presentations!
Call to Action
Use various kinesthetic, aural, and visual presentations to appeal to your whole audience
Ask your audience relevant questions to engage them and discover clues as to whether they are listening and understanding your presentation
All audiences love stories; tell your audience a relevant story, personal if possible, to enthrall them
“No pleasure endures unseasoned by variety.”
– Publilius SyrusFrank DiBartolomeo is a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and award-winning speaker, presentation and interview skills coach, and Professional Member of the National Speakers Association. He was awarded Toastmasters International’s highest individual award, Distinguished Toastmaster because of his outstanding work in public speaking and leadership.
Frank formed DiBartolomeo Consulting International (DCI), LLC (www.speakleadandsucceed.com) in 2007. The mission of DCI is to help technical professionals to inspire, motivate, and influence their colleagues and other technical professionals through improving their presentation skills, communication, and personal presence. Reach Frank at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com and (703) 509-4424.
Don’t miss Frank DiBartolomeo’s latest book!
“Speak Well and Prosper: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Better Presentations”
Available now at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com