When presenting in front of an audience, you’ll probably think about what you want to gain—and that’s okay. You’ve got a sale to make, investors to convince, minds to change. But to make an impact, all of that must come second. Whatever your needs are, to give a truly successful presentation, you need to align with the audience’s needs. If you can’t, either keep thinking or don’t give a presentation at all. Don’t waste their time and yours.
I am a presentation expert, and one of the sentences I most hate to hear from clients is, “We need to tell them about X without referencing why we’re bringing it up.” But a presentation isn’t a brochure. Your audience can Google an advertisement. When we aren’t our audience’s humble servants, it’s easy to get stuck in arrogance and talk about problems instead of solving them.
Most of us are sick of being yelled at and sold to. In the normal course of the day, we’re dealing with billboards, Facebook ads, pop-ups, and sponsored content. As a result, our ability to block out advertisements can be phenomenal. And your audience will put up this same barrier to block you out if they think you’re being cheesy or self-serving.
The word servant may trigger you. Your ego may get upset. But it’s critical to move past this. One of the less helpful techniques we’ve been told to use to deal with nerves is to “puff out our chests” and prove ourselves with inflated confidence. Trust me, this is bad advice. It only inflates our egos. Confidence is important, but a huge ego hurts a good presentation.
As an audience member, how would you feel if you were watching a presenter who was truly there for you? Who was tuned in to your needs, wants, fears, and questions? How much more likely would you be to respond to their message, take the next step with them, or ask a meaningful question?
Here are four easy steps to help you shift your mindset from being self-focused when you are giving a presentation—and to making the audience your priority.
ASK QUESTIONS TO UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE’S NEEDS
Become an expert in your audience’s problems. Dive in and speak to them directly. If you can’t connect with them one-on-one, then think about them. Ask: What’s important to them? What are their fears and drivers? What do they know? What are their knowledge gaps? Talk, engage, post on LinkedIn—do whatever you need to do to ask the questions you need answers for. It’s very easy to assume we know these things already, but the power of continuously asking questions to understand your audience’s needs is that you will learn how best to serve them.
WORK OUT HOW TO ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE
After you ask questions to understand your audience’s needs, you should establish what is the best way to communicate with your audience. First, consider what their preferred communication styles are and aim to match them.
Next, determine what issues your audience needs solving. It might not be possible to solve all of their issues, so don’t overextend the scope of what you’re offering. Instead, focus on how your solution addresses the issues it does solve. To address their issues, you may be asking your audience to change their way of thinking. Instead, try to guide your audience to the conclusion you want them to reach. Hopefully, it’s one that shows them how you can address their needs. This shows you’re on their side.
PROVE YOU CAN SOLVE THEIR ISSUES
If you know what your audience’s needs are and can meet those needs, show you can do so in a credible and effective way. It’s not about telling people what you can do, it’s about showing them. Use case studies, stories, and products to prove that you can solve their issues. Build people’s confidence to follow you, to believe in you, and to be open to your ideas. This builds a commonality and shared purpose—and doesn’t come across as cheesy or self-serving.
DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE KNOWS
Imagine you’re a novice at whatever topic your presentation is on. View your content through a fresh set of objective eyes. Consider these questions:
- How much of your content has a prerequisite understanding that everyone listening to you might not have?
- Is there anything that you are addressing that needs a prior explanation?
- What assumptions have you set in place about your audience?
- Are you taking steps to make sure that you’ve eliminated the obstacles for an audience to understand?
- When it comes down to it, are you sure your presentation will make sense to everyone listening?
By following these four steps, you can come across as a humble servant while giving a presentation. These steps can help you transform the approach and flow of your presentation. Ultimately, these practices will help you live in your audience’s world, where you can think like them, you can connect, and you can make a true impact.
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