Public speaking; how to grab people’s attention

I was at a business presentation a couple of mornings ago, along with about 100 other people, and there were two things that struck me. Firstly how relaxed and informal the key speaker was and secondly when the Q&A session came around, there was absolute silence from the audience.

Now I’m not a natural at standing up and making a presentation but whether you're addressing your team in a weekly meeting or headlining at a large conference, it's easy to get butterflies before public speaking. The last thing you want to see when you look out at your audience? People checking their smartphone, yawning, or just staring at you blankly.

It’s terrifying for some, but incredibly easy for others, so if you’re due to be that person soon; here’s how to avoid losing the audience:

Make your pitch personal
Telling stories is a great way to draw people in. Personal stories and self-directed humour are most effective. Facts, stats and other information are great, but a story acts as a vehicle to put that data into a digestible form.

Start strong and build on the momentum
A great intro line, interesting stat or news headline can help hook your audience. If your presentation is at a breakfast meeting, you might try and find a statistic about the number of breakfast meetings held each month/year or how many people skip breakfast for meetings.

Use props to pull them in
Some people are visual learners, so a physical prop, a PowerPoint presentation, YouTube videos and/or maintaining eye contact can help them concentrate. For instance, you might show that there is a new smart phone app that is relevant to what you’re talking about and you can give a demonstration of it.

Interact with your audience
Get your audience involved, and help them appreciate that not listening isn't an option. Get them to do something physical. For example, if you're talking about work-life balance, have people stand on one foot. Instruct them to post something on LinkedIn, ask for a show of hands, or break them into groups for smaller discussions. Whilst we all come from different backgrounds, try and show that you have an understanding of their world. Be personal. Make eye contact. Use people's names. Encourage questions and participation.

If you can integrate some of those thoughts into your presentation then in no time at all you’ll be a natural standing up and delivering to your best ability.

However, the total silence in the Q&A session did surprise me and I was the sole hand in the air. Even after a lengthy and informative answer there were no further questions, so we all adjourned for coffee. This gave me the opportunity to mention my surprise to a few fellow audience members and they all confessed to feeling awkward about wanting to ask a question, even though they might have wanted to do so. At some point in the future I suspect that they too will have to stand at the front and make a presentation and I sincerely hope that by then they have gained the confidence to do so.

As ever we’re keen to hear from you, let us know your thoughts at blog@chestertongray.com or tweet us at @chestertongray