Making Your Presentation Unique

I have learned throughout the years there are means for making your presentation stand out among all other presentations and it doesn't require a lot of work in advance of when you speak.  There are also means for making it appear you are in command when you are in front of a group of people whether it be 15, 30 or 300.  Some thoughts, then along those lines.

Video clips are becoming easier and easier to incorporated into a presentation and I have used them from day one.  They provide a break from the slide to slide routine of a Power Point presentation. They provide a degree of entertainment.  They can provide a tremendous learning tool and a connection to what you are trying to explain especially for those of us who are "visual learners. "    A two minute video clip also gives the speaker a two minute break to collect his or her thoughts and set the stage for the next segment of the presentation.

Tell a story.  People have an easier time grasping a comment if they can relate to something you are talking about.  I spoke to a conservation group one time and told the story about looking for salamanders in a creek near my home to make the point about how area landowners protected the land and water so the water was habitable.  A woman after the presentation thanked me for the story and told me about looking for frogs in the creek near her home.  A story helps a speaker make a connection with the audience.

"And now for something completely different" is a phrase made popular by the British Comedy Troupe Monty Python a few decades ago but it can really make your presentation memorable.  I gone to the back of the room to speak and have found more people paying attention when I am there as opposed to being in front of the room.  I have asked small audiences to come out into the hallway to make a point during a class.  I have used props that provide a visual demonstration of a point or help an audience connect some dots.  And of course getting audience participation beyond raising a hand and asking a question is a tool everyone should use to raise up the level of engagement....even if its a banquet speech.

People will find public speakers engaging, information and worth their time if they find there are nuggets of value that they can take away from an event.  By employing these about ideas I believe you will find more people wanting to hear your remarks and more people talking positively about them once you are finished and they are on their way home.  They'll be exited and you will have one of those feel good moments that can sometimes be elusive in this day and age.

The blog is back Thursday.  Be well.