When you have a presentation coming up, you may be wondering how best to keep your audience’s attention, no matter how big or small it may be. As you’ll likely have some important points to get across, making sure that all the information is not only delivered, but taken on board as you’d like can be extremely important.
How can you improve your overall presentation?
Source: franticallyspeaking.com
Some of the first things to consider are how you are presenting yourself and your work. To ensure that you engage your audience from the very start, break the ice with a question that directly relates to the project you are there to share. This will encourage the people present to not only be active in the event, but also to think more about the subject you’re talking about. Be sure to keep the lines of communication open by asking questions throughout and add a Q&A session at the end for worthwhile feedback.
3 interactive ways to engage your audience when delivering a presentation
1. Use a scientific poster
A fantastic, interactive way to present your work to your audience is a scientific poster. This is an illustrated summary of research that combines the benefits of oral presentations with the detailed information of a manuscript, all while being succinct, to the point and visually appealing. The most impactful design will have an attractive title and opening summary, but feature minimal text in favour of diagrams, charts and insightful supporting imagery. When a scientific poster is well-designed, it can be easily understandable for those already in the field without the need for long explanations, while prompting meaningful discussion.
2. Add other visuals and audio effects
As we now consume media in a whole new way, it can be important to cater to shorter attention spans and bring the focus back to your presentation if you feel like specific areas may be a bit long or complicated. A great way to do this and increase interaction is to add moving images like GIFs or music and sound effects to elicit a positive reaction. Music has the additional benefits of evoking emotion and creating points of reference in terms of remembering important points of the presentation.
3. Use social media
It may seem like a strange suggestion, but one of the most interactive ways to engage audiences is to incorporate social media platforms into your presentation. Twitter can be a great example, as you can create hashtags relating to the information you are sharing so that both those at the event and those in the industry can get involved. When you do this, the conversation is likely to continue even after the presentation is over, and you will have the ability to get some worthwhile insights into how well your work was perceived.
The higher the level of interaction, the greater the impact
Source: smallbusinessforum.co
It’s no secret that the more people engage with your presentation, the bigger the impact is likely to be. You will likely be bringing your work to your audience with a host of goals in mind, so getting the right reaction will be crucial to getting to where you want to be.
