Public Speaking - How to Create an Entertaining Presentation

People who dread public speaking often believe that their audiences will be bored by what they have to say. While it is highly unlikely that your audience will fall asleep in the middle of your speech, there are several strategies that you can use to create a more entertaining presentation.

Do not attempt to be an encyclopedia. While many people try to impress the audience with their vast knowledge, it is not possible to cover every aspect of a topic in such a short time period. Instead of trying to discuss the history of American cinema in five minutes, choose two or three main points that you would like your audience to remember. Everything you say or do during your presentation should reinforce these main points. List your main points in your introduction, provide the appropriate details for each key concept, and summarize your message during your conclusion.

While statistics are often a necessary part of many presentations, try to avoid stuffing your speech full of numbers. Personal examples are typically more effective than statistical data. If you are attempting to convince your coworkers to purchase software that will improve the productivity of your business, give an example of how the software helped one of your competitors. This tactic is much more effective than simply listing the percentage of companies who use the same software package.

If you must include statistics in your presentation, consider preparing pie charts, bar graphs, or other visual aids to help capture your audience’s attention. Visual aids are easy to create with most standard computer software packages and research has proven that they help audience members retain information. However, it is best to keep visual aids to a minimum. You do not want to spend your entire presentation flipping though posters or PowerPoint slides. Use details to add interest to your presentation.

Avoid vague language and generalities. Describe sights, smells, sounds, and sounds. If you are trying to convince your city council to force your neighbor to clean up his yard, do not just say that it is an eyesore. Say that it smells like sewage or that the rotting garbage is attracting rodents. Make your audience feel like they are at the center of the action.

Audiences love presentations that include anecdotes or human-interest stories. If you have personal experience with your topic, share your story with the audience. If your issue is controversial, show your passion for your subject. Even if you have no direct knowledge of the subject at hand, you can still use interesting quotations from experts to create a lively presentation.

Make sure your audience understands why they should care what you have to say. If you are giving a presentation that discusses why you believe the minimum wage should be increased, explain how an increase will benefit the members of your audience. If you are talking to a room filled with low-wage workers, you should explain how an increase would give them more money to save for the future.   However, if you are talking to a room filled with small business owners, you should explain how an increase would give their customers more money to purchase their goods and services.

Speakers who display positive and enthusiastic attitudes create presentations that are more likely to be successful. Even if you are nervous, do not hide behind the podium when you are delivering your presentation. Walk around the room, use gestures to emphasize your most important points, and make eye contact with each member of your audience. It is fine to use note cards to help you remember your main ideas, but reading directly from your notes is guaranteed to bore your audience.

Whenever possible, get your audience involved in the presentation. Try to think of public speaking as a more of a dialogue than a monologue. Ask your audience questions or provide opportunities for them to comment on your information. If appropriate, let the members of your audience get to know each other through a group activity such as brainstorming a list of solutions for a specific problem or applying an important concept to a real-life example.

Public Speaking - Wowing the Audience