7 ways to keep audience attention during your presentation
November 18, 2009
Reference: Hartley J and Davies I “Note taking: A critical review” Programmed Learning and Educational technology, 1978,15, 207-224 cited by John Medina in Brain Rules
Keeping audience attention is more important and more difficult than grabbing audience attention. A reader emailed me:
“What can I do to keep the audience’s attention through the whole of my presentation. There are always people who don’t seem to be listening.”
What you need to know before your first presentation
July 9, 2009
Giving your first presentation or speech is daunting. I’ve worked with many new presenters and here’s the advice that has made the most difference to them.
1. Content is king
Your audience is there for what you are going to say. Not how you say it.
How to tweet during a presentation
June 30, 2009
The latest academic research on Twitter and conferences addresses the issue of “snarky tweets” during presentations. What should be the guidelines of what is acceptable and what is not? My own experience of tweeting during presentations at Presentation Camp LA highlighted for me the new challenges we face around Twitter etiquette at conferences.
The research
Tony McNeil reports on a survey of 103 people from a conference on learning technology in April 2009: More than just passing notes in class? Reflections on the twitter backchannel.
Should you display the live twitter stream on a large screen?
May 20, 2009
Twitter is now a reality at many conferences. Now the question is: should you display a live twitter stream on a large screen so that everyone (not just the tweeters) in the audience can see it?
Sir Ken Robinson speaking at "Hacking Education" organised by Union Square Ventures. Photo used with permission from Fred Wilson
Having twitter on a large screen can enrich the conference experience. Here’s a report from the Museums and the Web conference 09: [Read more]
Why most attempts at audience participation fail and what to do about it
March 25, 2009
Yesterday I had a skype conversation with Twitter follower Todd (@TJList) on how to include audience participation in a presentation. He’s presenting on getting through the economic downturn to an audience of small business owners. Here was his question:
How can I involve my audience in the presentation? I want the audience to feel like it’s a conversation, not like they are being “talked at” for 45 minutes.
Audience participation is hard to get right. That’s because it’s easy to make these mistakes: [Read more]
8 Presentation Tips for beating Audience Boredom
March 4, 2009
I asked you, my readers, to tell me about the challenges you have with presenting on “boring” topics. Ann Hemplemann wrote to me:
Oh, Olivia, you are ringing my bell on this one! I’m an environmental engineer and educator, and my topics range from dull to confusing. I give presentations designed to help plant operations people comply with complex air quality regulations, which require a lot of technical detail. I can’t say I think the topic is inherently interesting, but I do thing the outcome – improved environmental performance at large facilities – is very important. Thanks for any suggestions you might have!
Amy Sutton is a Human Resources Manager:
I have to do presentations about company policies or new laws that impact the workplace. Often this is somewhat tedious subject matter.
8 things I learnt about using twitter as a participation tool
March 1, 2009
Today, I presented a session remotely at the Presentation Camp at Stanford University, California. My session was on “How to engage your audience with Twitter” and I tried to do exactly that during my presentation.
Here’s what I learnt from my experience:
1. Design your presentation for Twitter
Is Twitter a good thing while you’re presenting?
February 26, 2009
I’ve recently written two guest posts on Twitter and presenting. On Laura Fitton’s Touchbase blog, I looked at the benefits for the audience and the speaker of people twittering while you speak and how to manage it.
On Chris Spagnuolo’s Edgehopper blog, I went to the next step and explored how you can use Twitter to engage your audience.
Both posts have generated a lot of buzz on Twitter and there’s a ton of comments on the TouchBase blog. There’s many useful points in the comments and I have summarized the main issues below: [Read more]
6 ways to engage your audience through the social channel
February 24, 2009
Just as we have a verbal channel for words and a visual channel for images, we have a social channel for non-verbal signals.
That’s the big idea of Alex Pentland’s book “Honest Signals”.
Alex Pentland is a professor at MIT Media Lab. He and his team have used a specially designed digital sensor called a sociometer to monitor and analyze non-verbal signals between people. Pentland calls them “honest signals” because we send them out unconsciously and therefore they’re difficult to fake. His research shows the great influence this social channel has over our communications.
In my work as a presentation trainer, I emphasize the importance of having well-organized, logical and engaging content ie: the verbal channel. When I first started reading this book I felt a little unnerved – would this research refute my approach.
The 10 steps to asking questions so you get an answer every time
February 7, 2009
Asking questions of your audience is a great way to keep the audience engaged. But asking questions is an art. I asked on Twitter what people found hardest about asking questions that engage your audience:
Lee Potts from Breaking Murphy’s Law “Posing the question in such a way that guarantees someone, anyone, will answer and not leave me hanging.”
Brent Dykes from PowerPoint Ninja “How to recover from a question or series of questions that get crickets (i.e., silence)?”
