Do You Remember My Presentation?

If your audience remembers one thing, you’ve done a great job. If they remember two, you’re a genius! So how do we get them to remember even just one point? There are a few simple tricks that you can use to engage your audience, deliver a memorable presentation, and leave them with one thing worth remembering:

1. You need to know what you’re talking about. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But for many presenters, they fall in love with the act of presenting their topic and share many “lovely” but essentially useless details, and forget that their audience is wondering “where is he going with this?” Crystallize your topic into one Big Idea (the umbrella reason for saying what you’re saying) and let your audience know what it is.
2. Figure out the one thing you want your audience to remember (we’re not going for two yet). Think of your audience as gold fish. They only remember things for 30 seconds and then they’re gone. Tell them the one thing they need to remember, then repeat it, rephrase it, repeat it and then, reintroduce it. Stories are helpful too.
3. Tell me a bedtime story. Rich, engaging stories with emotion, humour, and a moral response are the ultimate method in communicating ideas. Think through your past experiences and find an example: if you can’t find an example then you probably shouldn’t be speaking on that subject. The weight of your word is often found in your life experiences. Rule of thumb: no story = no experience.  No experience = no expertise.  No expertise = why should I listen to you?
4. Get visual. Use props to reinforce your message. They are often hook points that reengage the audience’s attention. If you can, throw them out to the audience and break the invisible wall between them and you. Note: never build a presentation around a prop, they are there to compliment your Big Idea, not become it.   Check out the visuals that Tim Brown uses in this Ted.com talk on creativity:

What methods do you use to give great presentations?  Go here for more presentation tips, or look at our most popular blog post ever – 19 Offensive Presentation Techniques.

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