A great presentation is not simply about having the right content and structure. By the time the presenter walks into the room, that content should already be locked in. The real challenge is what happens next: connecting with the audience and making sure the message lands. That means understanding who you are speaking to, adapting your approach and overcoming the obstacles that can get in the way of creating a genuine connection. Get that right and your presentation has a far greater chance of making the impact you intended.
Often in the run-in to a key presentation many presenters are still fully focused on their content (and most probably their slide deck) which is something to have locked-in, in advance. As the day approaches the vital area for a presenter’s energy and concentration needs to be on the best way to connect with the audience. The message being delivered needs to hit-home and create a significant impact, if it doesn’t land and achieve its intended outcomes then an opportunity has gone amiss. There are plenty of obstacles which may stand in the way of achieving the intended goals and here I look at what they are and how they can be overcome.
Understanding Your Communication Style
There are four distinct communication styles, one of which is a person’s natural style; the communication style that they were born with and the communication style which dictates how they speak, write and behave. Knowing your style and what that means to you, but far more importantly, what that means to other people, is an extremely helpful piece of knowledge. People will be either iMA High Red, iMA High Yellow, iMA High Green and iMA High Blue. Everyone is one of these four iMA colours. To find out which iMA colour/communication style you are click here.
Once someone knows their communication style/iMA colour they will know how it is they come across to their audience. Each iMA colour represents 25% of the population so you have an instant connection with those people. Now it is time to focus on the three other communication styles so that they are also catered for. This is helpful, of course, to members of the audience which in turn is very helpful to the presenter.
Connecting With All Styles of People
Different strokes for different folks.
As mentioned above there are four distinctive communication styles (iMA High Red, iMA High Yellow, iMA High Green and iMA High Blue). For a presenter it is easiest to communicate and land a message with people of the same iMA colour, and therefore more of a challenge when getting a message across to those of the other three communication styles. I am not suggesting that the presenter should come away from their natural strength, what I am suggesting is that they take all four styles into account and aggregate the presentation so that there is something for everyone. When the presenter is not using slides (which hopefully they are not) the audience is able to tune into their speaking pace and stay engaged. Slides add a level of complexity as the pace of changing the image becomes an issue for the different styles of people. More generally the assertive communication styles (High Red and High Yellow) will require you to move your slides on at a fast pace whereas the two non-assertive communication styles (High Green and High Blue) will require you to move your slides on at a slower pace; a speaker can’t win! A struggle is then created between the presenter and audience and the connection is lost.
Fake It Until You Make It
Connecting with the audience is far more straightforward if the audience has no fear that the presenter is not going to provide them with a bag full of value and that the presenter looks comfortable and confident on stage. The important thing for the presenter is making the audience feel that he or she is comfortable and confident. In a reasonably short period of time the presenter will genuinely feel both comfortable and confident stood in front of an audience delivering their talk. Until those feelings come to pass naturally, pretending to the audience that they are confident is the key.
Body language is transmitted subconsciously to the audience, so standing close to the front of the stage or to the front row, with straight legs and feet set at 5 minutes to 2 o’clock, conveys confident outwardly. With a minute or so the presenter can feel the room acknowledging their authority and confidence. When that happens the speaker does indeed feel more confident and is able to take one further step forward, towards the audience; sealing the deal!
Next is eye-contact. As any presenter’s confidence grows they will find eye- contacting the audience becomes second nature. In the mean time a presenter can skilfully give the impression that they are looking directly at members of the audience by just looking at their eyebrows. Those sat watching and listening will be certain that you are indeed looking them in the eyes.
Last but by now means least is dealing with nerves. It is often said that nerves are a good thing because they hype you up for the occasion. I fundamentally disagree with that sentiment. Being very nervous is unhelpful, uncomfortable and undermines all of your efforts you have made while preparing. For a long time the fight, flight or freeze scenario is difficult to ignore and defeat. However, it can be outfoxed. As the adrenaline kicks in, talk yourself into believing that you are excited rather than nervous (repeat the mantra that you are not nervous, you are excited in your head). It works. The benefits are significant, allowing the speaker to be calm, clear thinking and less likely to be concerned with thoughts of anything going wrong.
Now that the presenter has; body language, eye-contact and nervousness sorted out, the presenter is ready to take to the stage!
Numbers Count
I talked about making subtle adjustments to a speech to accommodate all four iMA colours. It is also worth adjusting the approach to the delivery dependant on the number of people in the audience. It may sound counterintuitive, but the bigger the size of the audience the easier it is to present to. When the members of the audience can see all of the other audience members it does potentially cause a problem. It is possible that one dissenter may express their disapproval, non-verbally, with facial expressions. That person may well be the only person in the room who has a negative response to the presentation, but their influence has a chance of spreading to others who, up until this point, were happy with what they were hearing. An equivalent person in a bigger group goes unnoticed. For smaller groups the presenter will need to pivot and talk directly to each participant in-turn, involving them by asking questions and allowing for interruptions and questions to asked, that way the presenter can create impactful connection with the audience, while demonstrating confidence and authority.
In Conclusion
Those potential stumbling blocks which get in the way of a presenter properly and effectively connecting with their audience can all be overcome. Getting body language right so that the audience senses confidence, comfort and authority; rehearsing the body language by faking the confidence in front of the audience until it kicks-in for real. Until eye-contact becomes natural, give the impression of eye-contact that the audience is convinced by and the presenter is not put off by. Overcome nervousness by turning nervous adrenaline into excitement.
What’s left is strong memorable stories, causing a significant reaction and not using slides. What a presenter then has in front of them is a fully engaged audience who the presenter has successfully connected with. Finally build to a crescendo (perhaps invite the audience to repeat a mantra out-loud) get a big round of applauds, acknowledge the audiences’ appreciation and then get off!!!
