Tip 650: Engage Your Audience
From the Public Speaking Workshops: Engage Your Audience
We’ve been talking about speaking in public. About giving presentations.
Let’s talk about giving interactive presentations.
Interacting with your audience, engaging with your audience, brings multiple minds and multiple views into the presentation rather than just one.
The worth of the presentation multiplies.
We suggest a five-part process to interact, to engage, with your audience:
Ask a question. Something as simple as “What do you think?” or “Your reaction?” or more in depth as “How might this improve quality?”
Pause. Two purposes here: The pause gives your audience time to think and gives you time to observe their reactions. Notice those who are making eye contact and nodding—or shaking—their heads. These are the ones you want to engage.
Never, ever, ever, embarrass someone by calling on them when they’re not ready to answer. That’s not presenting; that’s bullying.
Call. Some with ideas may readily volunteer, but, if there’s silence, call on one of those making eye contact and nodding—or shaking—their heads. Listen carefully to what they say. Identify their critical ideas. Respond with your body language.
Reward. “Good answer!” or “Yes!” or “Excellent!” Even with an out-of-left-field answer, reward with “Wow. I’ve never thought of it that way. You’ve made me think. Thank you.”
Encourage. Keep the dialogue going. Foster more feedback. “Keep going with that!” “What else would you add?”
By interacting—engaging—with your audience, you’re putting eight or ten or twenty-three minds to work instead of just one.
And that’s a good thing. A really good thing.
We love this stuff.