How to connect with audiences

04 February 2015 by Justin York

I recently read an article in the ILM online ezine, which I particularly liked, by Hannah Moffat, about connecting with your audience at a conference when presenting. The article is full of useful hints and tips about what to do to keep it interesting. I have found in my experience that while all these useful hints and tips are excellent and all valid there is an underlying unspoken message that needs to be transmitted to make sure the audience are fully engaged and are given the best chance to understand what is being told to them.

These unspoken tips are with us in all walks of life at every turn and are the reason that some people seem disinterested in us and others find us fascinating I am of course talking about our preferences.The preferences of which I write are how we prefer to receive and transmit information and if we get the information in our chosen preference then we are much more likely to receive the message and remain engaged.

Before I highlight the preferences it is important to note that there is no magic here, no hypnotism or brain washing just good old fashioned understanding about how we work as human beings; so without further ado let me highlight just what those preferences are and how we might make use of them;

Visual: it is believed that around 65% of the population have a preference which is visual.This does not mean that we just like pictures although that is most likely the case, we also like the language we hear to be visual, for example you would hear people say 'I see what you mean' or 'that looks great'.

Auditory: there are around 15% of people who class themselves as auditory in other words they like to hear the words which are spoken.This type of preference will not like too many pictures but will like to see the words in bullet point style for example. This preference will use language like, 'I hear what you're saying' or 'listen to what I'm saying'.

Kinaesthetic: the remaining 20% are considered to be this type which is the feeling and thinking individual.This preference prefer the hands on doing or the thinking around an activity.This group of people will use language such as 'I think that' or 'I feel that.....'.

It is important to understand that we all exist on a continuum which we move along depending on circumstances and the context under which we are working.However when we are at rest we return to our own preferential state.In terms of presenting to large audiences, one of the key concepts to consider is mix up the presentation slides; too many words turn off the visual group (who you will recall are the largest) too few will turn off the auditory etc.it's not enough though to simply mix up the slides, the message and delivery are as important as understanding the audience.

Now we have an idea of what makes the audience up we can now start to think about how we connect through the delivery of the presentation. For me there is no other way to do this than by exploiting our own flair and dynamism; when you link this with motivation and confidence you have a package that just needs to deliver the knowledge that you have to the eager audience which sits in front of you (for more information on great presenting get the Ovation app, it's free and very easy to use and understand).Whatever happens they have come to hear what you have to say, some may have heard parts of it and some will have heard none.In my experience everyone will get something from the presentation and those that think they have heard it all before may just get a refreshed view, but most likely they will pick up something from your style that they recognise as missing from themselves.So the first thing for me in terms of delivery and something I always try and avoid is

Reading each and every bullet on the screen - when I see a presentation like this it makes me feel that the presenter is saying the audience cannot read.The bullets are there as the hook, to get their attention it is your supplementary words which bring it alive.

Remember time, the audience will have been told that the presentation will last a set period of time and that they will have time for questions at the end.Make a note of the time that you started, work through the presentation and finish with sufficient time to enable any questions.There is frustration for most when they see a presenter suddenly start to rush through slides, skip slides or continually look at their watch as the time runs out.Don't forget that in some audiences they will have paid for the privilege of listening to you, therefore they deserve to get what they paid for.

I'm a visual person and I speak with my hands a lot; someone once said that I should stop doing that as it was distracting.I tried and realised that what people then see is not me, it's me that brings the knowledge and it's me that is tasked with spreading the word, therefore I still speak with my hands.Nothing wrong with it as long as it's not manic.Always think that we are communicating whether we speak or not, body language says so much.

On the subject of body language, nerves show more than you might think and not just through your voice; so relaxation is the key to removing some of the nerves, not all though, that's what makes you sharp.How can you do that? Well I rehearse my script many times in advance so I don't need to look at the screen, all but a short glance to see which one it is (yes we all get lost at some point) and then when I'm presenting I know the material, I know the timings and I know it's going to go well.

Don't panic, have a paper copy of the slides with you, speak through the slide numbers or if you're feeling right on top of the game, close the laptop, put the papers down and just speak about your passion, which is hopefully the subject you're talking about.

So in conclusion, connecting with your audience isn't all about jokes or speaking with your hands; for me it's more about knowing they will be different they want to hear you and they will listen.All the techniques I have mentioned here do work, and more to the point can be enhanced through training or some motivation / confidence coaching.The next time you present, enjoy it, make the most of it and wait for that positive feedback you will surely get.If you'd like to know more get in touch or download the Ovation app, it's free and Michael Trigg, provides excellent tips on being a great presenter.