Want to know how to give a successful presentation? I can sum it up in one sentence: answer your audience’s questions.
Successful Presentations Answer their Audience’s Questions
I’ve often seen presentations which were captivating, funny and interesting, with great visuals and well presented by the speaker…which has left the audience disappointed and frustrated. Why? Because the actual content of the presentation wasn’t what they expected or wanted.
Above all else, a presentation can only be successful if it gives the audience what they want. Answer the questions they come with, or all of your other work will go to waste.
What Questions does your Audience Have?
In general, most audiences’ questions can be generalised to one issue:
“How is this useful to me?”
Whatever you’re talking about, each member of your audience will usually be sifting through it all to find out how it relates to them and their own life. They will have more subsidiary questions, specific to the topic you’re covering, but most people have to be persuaded that information is relevant to their life, before they will really listen to and think about information.
Other common questions business audiences have are:
- What do I need to do?
- What’s the risk?
- Where’s the evidence?
- How much is this going to cost?
- What do I actually get for my money?
Jim Harvey
