Six Ways To Engage An Audience.
Worry about how someone will respond when you’re presenting?
Engaging a disengaged audience.
The best presenters in the world are not exempt from unruly audiences.
It’d be easy to get flustered as a presenter when audiences act in surprising ways.
A simple toolkit, and knowing what to expect as a presenter, can help.
When audiences act unusually, there’s often two things at play:
They haven’t opted in to the content/idea.
They’re overwhelmed.
This guide covers six ideas on how you can handle tricky audiences, if it happens to you.
The six rules of disengagement.
There are six reasons an audience will become disengaged.
They are …
Benefit: there is no benefit to me.
Credibility: the info lacks credibility.
Source: the presenter lacks expertise.
Reputation: learning this jeopardises my job.
High stakes: I worry about getting this wrong.
TMI: Too much information.
Let’s take a look at how you can use these six rules to your advantage.
1: Outline the benefit.
Whenever you present, audiences want to know:
Is this for me?
How does it benefit me?
The earlier you can make it clear what’s in it for your audience, the more they’ll pay attention.
Adding a ‘why you should pay attention’ sentence at the start of your presentation can be hugely beneficial.
Examples:
‘Today’s presentation is the latest software update. This will give you everything you need to confidently answer questions with customers.’
‘Today’s update is about the project status. If any stakeholder needs a quick update, you’ll be able to share the latest information.’
Make it explicit how they benefit from the start and notice how your audience behaves.
2: Ramp up the credibility.
If your content isn’t credible your audience will disengage. What your audience is craving is evidence the content you’re presenting is legit.
Ask yourself what ‘proof of credibility’ could beef up your presentation.
Examples of credibility:
Third-party credibility e.g. research validated by a credible third-party, such as a reputable media source, university, or community.
Your credibility e.g. you have been personally successful with the content you’re presenting.
Borrowed credibility e.g. a person or company the audience respects has been successful with the content/tool.
Which of the above could be useful for you?
3: Be explicit about your expertise.
If you aren’t seen as credible by your audience they will disengage. Reasons audiences might not see you as credible:
You don’t use the tool/skill you are teaching.
You appear too different to them, and as a result they believe they can’t relate.
They have a preconceived notion of you (and don’t see the value you can offer).
To apply this principle be explicit about how you know what you know, and own what you don’t know. You can build trust early with your audience by being upfront.
Examples:
Your lived experience in this topic.
Your experience using the tool/skill.
Owning what you don’t know e.g. ‘I’m no STEM specialist, but I know what people find interesting and I can help you share what you do so others will find your work just as interesting.’
4: Build on what already works well.
If your content threatens someone's reputation or status, they’ll push back.
Reduce the fear that you’re right and they’re wrong (a fear of some audiences) by making it explicit they’re in control.
Framing your content as an addition to what’s already working well can be a useful way to diffuse push back.
What you’re doing is subtly reminding them that nothing they learn in your session threatens their reputation or role. Your content is simply an opportunity for them to build on what they’re already doing successfully.
5: Lower the stakes.
If the stakes feel too high for your audience, they’ll shut down. Reasons they can shut down include:
They think they need to be a pro in what you’re presenting immediately.
They think something bad will happen if they don’t get it right/perfect.
Reduce fears of getting it ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ by using affirmative rather than corrective language. This reduces the binary of right and wrong, and instead helps them remember their inner wisdom and autonomy.
Examples:
Instead of ‘the right way to do it is’, try, ‘the modern way to do it…’
Instead of ‘the wrong way’, try ‘the most updated way’...
Instead of ‘do everything after this presentation’, outline the first step.
Breaking down what people can do in stages after your presentation helps people feel less overwhelmed and more empowered. This lowers the stakes of getting it ‘wrong’.
Could lowering the stakes for your audience by using less directive language or smaller steps benefit you?
6. TMI (Too Much Information).
Your audience will only retain a small percentage of what you share.
If they only remembered 20% of what you shared, what would that 20% ideally be? Then, ask yourself whether the remaining 80% helps them remember the 20%, or distracts them.
Be ruthless with your editing using the 20% principle.
If you find yourself getting too attached to the content you’ve spent time preparing, that’s normal. Ask yourself whether you can afford them to remember something that’s not in the 20%. See if that helps.
Recap: the six engagement strategies.
The six steps to engage audiences are: benefit, credibility, source, reputation, lower the stakes, reduce the information and/or build in more time.
If you had to choose one … could there be an easy win for you?
Do you need employees to engage audiences more effectively?
These fundamentals help even seasoned pros nail their presentation skills. Download an info pack or book a zero-obligation chat to learn more.