Whether you are in the audience, the conference host or the speaker – everyone desires to keep the audience interested in the discussion. 

After working with multiple speakers, below are four tips that you can apply.

1.     Surprise them with an unexpected intro.

Lead in with a strong opening line that makes them perk up to listen, such as  - 

·         “Do you know what it is like……”

·         “How would you react if I were to say to you…..”

·         “384,000 people right now are…….”  (provide an emotional shocking number that relates)

This can cause curiosity and interest for them to want to hear more, or understand how what you are saying relates to the discussion.

2.     Storytelling – whether in your opener or right after your opening statement.

People love stories and feel more connected by them.  It is a great way to have a message stick and have them retain what you are trying to share.

Using an emotional story element if the topic is relevant - it can pull them in quickly and be impactful.

You could even ask them to use their imagination and transport them to connect further with your presentation by saying –

·         “Close your eyes and picture this for a moment….”    (You can add humor by including witty comments after saying  – “Don’t worry, your cell phone will still be in your hand when you open your eyes.”)

Then lead into your story that relates how it would affect them. 

Note – adding humor can transform a crowd; however, don’t force it and tell jokes if you are not a comedian and it seems you are trying too hard.

A different approach is to use a bit of history with a story which may not seem related to the topic, but then tie it into how it connects to them and the topic.  For instance,

·         “Do you know what happened today, on this exact date in history?  I found this interesting that today in 1892 XYZ started the very first XYZ product that lead to the invention of XYZ.  That’s amazing, and what will we be inspired by or accomplish after today’s presentation on XYZ to make our own history.”

3.     Be short and to the point.

Be mindful of the crowd, length and time of day when you are presenting.  We can only absorb so much information before we ‘close our ears.’

No one enjoys someone dragging a point out and saying “we will cover just the top three topic points today”, but then takes 30 minutes and 16 bullet points with deep explanation to cover only the first topic point.

 

4.     Interactive props.

Getting your audience to participate from the start and throughout your presentation can help keep them ‘on-their-toes’ if they think you may be directing a question or prop their way.

We have had speakers use beach balls, Catchbox mics, hacky sacks and other tools to have audience members to share a question, idea or have them be an example of a topic.   It certainly helps make people put their phone and tablets down to stay alert.

Also, inserting a short video presentation in between your presentation to highlight points is another effective way to change it up for the audience visually and mentally.

 

Each presenter has their own style and preference with their own additional helpful tips to keep an audience’s attention.  Try what works for you, and success will be when you see more faces than tops of heads.