Originally published in 2012.
As suggested in my previous blog, one of the most important questions you can ask yourself before a presentation is, what does your audience want? There is one very important reason why you should ask yourself that question which I learned from the author Sherron Bienvenu and I call the “else” principle.
“Most people listening to your presentation would prefer to be somewhere else doing something else with someone else.”
Humbling, isn’t it? Once you realise that your audiences have very little interest in you or your topic it becomes clear that keeping them interested requires a lot of work. The best way to keep them interested is by addressing their wants, needs, and concerns.
What do they want? As a general principle, audiences like being entertained (no one likes to be bored) and engaged. But entertaining and engaging them is not enough. They also want something specific from you. How do you find that out? The best way to find that out is by researching your audience. These are a few things you can do:
- Do an internet search about the people or organisation you are going to present to.
- Contact the event organiser and ask them what is it that the audience wants to know from you.
- Ask to speak with people that will be in your audience and discuss their needs and concerns regarding your topic.
Once you have an idea of what they want, it’s time to think about what you can offer them. As the World Champion of Public Speaking Darren LaCroix states, you have a unique experience and perspective about the topic you are going to present. From your unique experience and perspective, what can you offer your audience that will be of value to them? Finding the overlap between their needs and your experience is what will make your presentation effective and keep your audiences interested. So let me ask you, what does your audience want?
Bonus for scientists: the most important question that most audiences want you to address during your presentation is, “why” are you studying that? The second most important question is, “what” are you studying? And the third one which you should touch only briefly and without details is, “how” are you studying it?