Editor's Note: >Claudyne offers Point, Click & Wow! free when you purchase her CD: Slides That Win showing over 200 before and after PowerPoint slide examples (put in promotional code: pmaster). You can copy and use these designs. Find out more at wilderpresentations.com.
The title of this book is Point, Click & Wow! But the "Wow" is not because your audience is looking at your slides. The "Wow" is because, at the end of your talk, the audience connected with you. They liked you because you spent time listening to them, not just talking to them. Today there needs to be more human connection and fewer technological "let me show you the latest feature" presentations. The technology features should be used to enhance the connection with your audience. If they don’t, then don’t use them. Presentation slides don’t connect, people do.
You or your company may have spent a fortune buying the latest electronic equipment and creating exciting presentations, but it’s not the equipment or design that counts as much as your relationship with your audience. We have clients who’ve been told, "Please don’t bring a presentation. We’d like you to come and speak." This is due to the fact that people are no longer connecting to their audience. They spend more time looking and talking to the slides than to the audience. Make sure you connect with your audience. Be spontaneous; don’t program every moment. Let your audience’s reactions determine your presentation’s moment-by-moment experience.
You need to be a living and breathing person up there in front of everyone. Show your humanness, and your audience will like you. When you think of your audience first, your preparation and delivery will be authentic. Your audience will react favorably if they sense you have put some thought into caring about their interests. Make this your motto when you present: "First and always I must establish and keep rapport with the audience. It’s me they have come to see and hear, not my fancy computer presentation."
In this chapter you will begin to put yourself in your audience’s shoes in order to create a presentation for them. You will also consider how to customize the talk.
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Focus on Your Audience
Many people are afraid to present. They stand in front of an audience truly believing that the audience dislikes them and wants them to do poorly. They are uncomfortable thinking of themselves as the center of attention. They give the impression of wanting to get the talk done as fast as possible. Such people liked to do 35 mm slide shows because the room was dark and they thought (incorrectly) how they talked and acted didn’t really count, since the focus was on the slides. With the advent of overheads, presenters actually had to look at the audience and realize that people were paying attention to them. This was difficult for many people because very few presenters rehearse their talks out loud before the actual presentation. Because they have no idea how they will sound or what specifically they will say about the slides, they may feel nervous.
At first electronic presentations were being given in dark rooms so the unprepared, nervous presenters were happy again. They thought that nothing counted but their creative laptop slide show. They believed that fancy laptop presentations precluded a need to connect personally with the audience. They also thought that the sophisticated graphics, gorgeous colors, and incredible effects would convince the audience that their products or ideas were the best in the business. This is no longer always true.
Nothing takes the place of a sincere, compassionate presenter who really cares about the audience and their response to the presentation. And now, since most presenters have all the fancy effects, the presenter who stands out is one who is enthusiastic, genuinely expresses interest in the audience’s reactions, and modifies the presentation content accordingly.
The computer is only a tool to enable communication. You, as the presenter, still have to communicate using your voice, your body, and the positive energy that you send to your audience. Yes, it’s great to have a creative laptop presentation. But if you show no true interest in your audience, you won’t get far. This interest comes from your heart and your desire to truly meet your audience’s needs. Because the slides can sometimes be overpowering, you have to work harder to let your audience members know you care about them and about your subject. In particular, you have to work on your voice. Your voice must sound confident and enthusiastic, and you must pause at the end of your sentences so your audience can digest what you have just said. Also, if you are in a dark room, you need to spend some time with the lights on. Your audience must see you and your gestures, or else all they will remember about you is your voice. But you shouldn’t be in a dark room any more. The latest technology lets you have the lights on while talking and showing your slides. But still some rooms have only on and off light switches. Try not to present in those rooms.
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