Many people give presentations ranging from PowerPoint slides to an online presentation through Zoom to even a teleprompter. Whatever form your presentation takes, there are certain things that you should always remember.
It is important to grab your audience’s attention and keep it until the end of your presentation. One way to do this is by finding a person in the audience and making eye contact with them at the beginning of your presentation.
Get to Know Your Audience
A presentation that doesn’t resonate with listeners will quickly lose their attention. That’s why it is important to spend time getting to know your audience before giving a presentation.
Find out who is in the audience, including their age, gender, cultural, educational and professional background. Learn what they value, believe and are committed to.
This information will influence your approach to the topic. For example, you would communicate differently with a group of friends than you would with strangers at a party. The size of the audience also plays a role in determining how interactive you can be during your presentation. Larger groups often require a Q&A session at the end of your talk.
Know Your Topic
Presenting can be a terrifying prospect for some people, while others relish the opportunity to speak directly to an audience interested in their research or academic field. Regardless of how you feel about presentations, they’re often an essential part of professional life.
When preparing for your presentation, make sure you do enough research to fully understand your topic. This extra research can also help prevent you from accidentally providing your audience with inaccurate information, which can be a huge embarrassment and damage your credibility.
Your presentation will probably contain visual materials, such as PowerPoint slides, that you’ll use during your talk. Choose a format that’s comfortable for you to deliver, and don’t fill a slide with too much information.
Know Your Audience’s Level of Knowledge
It’s important to understand the level of knowledge your audience has on the topic. This is not only important for the information you present but also the tone and phrasing you use to convey it.
Depending on the audience, you may be talking to a group of experts in your field or novices who are new to the subject matter. Knowing this information can help you avoid presenting basic information to a highly knowledgeable audience or speaking too high of a level for a novice audience.
It’s a good idea to rehearse your presentation in front of a colleague or friend and ask for honest feedback. This will allow you to practice how you intend to deliver the speech and make sure that you have enough time to speak at the pace needed.
Know Your Audience’s Needs
Whether you dread giving presentations or love them, they are a vital part of professional life for researchers and academics. They are the perfect way to share information with a targeted audience and gather feedback on new ideas.
Presentations are typically structured to convey a message in a clear and understandable way. This helps the audience to retain information and make informed decisions about a topic.
A logical structure allows the audience to follow the speaker’s flow and ensures that each point builds upon the previous one. Effective presentations also include images, slides or videos to reinforce or amplify the information being presented.
Know Your Audience’s Expectations
The audience members are attending the presentation for one main purpose- they want to be informed. If the presenter can convey this information in a clear and concise manner, then the audience will leave with a wealth of new knowledge.
To best communicate the material, the presenter should consider what format will be most effective for the situation. This may be PowerPoint slides, a handout or a written script to read from a teleprompter.
It is important to remember that the audience will be able to read your body language and facial expressions. If you are nervous, this can be picked up by the audience and will make them feel uncomfortable.
Know Your Audience’s Desires
Many people feel uncomfortable giving presentations, but it is a necessary part of many professions. Presentations are a great way to get your research out there and make valuable connections with other professionals.
It is important to know your audience’s desires and how best to communicate with them during your presentation. It is also important to practice your presentation and ask for feedback from friends and colleagues.
When presenting, it is important to speak slowly and clearly. Speaking too quickly can cause your audience to lose interest and may be hard to understand. It is also important to pause between each paragraph so that the audience can follow you.