Self-Interest

The 9th and last technique is self-interest. The audience will most likely think how will the presentation benefit them. So make sure to go over your presentation and that all the information is useful to the audience! You would not want people to be standing up and leaving or dozing off because you are not giving out useful information.

And with the last technique checked off the list, you will now have a successful, creative, and informative presentation! Hopefully these techniques will help you with your future presentations.

GOOD LUCK!

References

Chaudhry, R. (2013, October 28). Sample/Gimmicks and Self-Interest. Retrieved from Blogger: http://nineaudience.blogspot.ca/2013/10/samplegimmicks-and-self-interest.html

Visuals and Samples

Use visuals! Using visuals is extremely important, as it not only helps with the presentation itself but also helps your audience to follow along. If you are standing in front of the audience with only your cue cards, no one will find the presentation interesting and they will not understand what it is you are talking about.
Some visuals that can help you with your presentation are:

• Graphs
• Charts
• PowerPoint
• Illustrations
• Videos

Here is a video that provides some tips on making great visuals for your presentation:

Using samples is actually another great way to keep your audience involved and interested in your presentation. You give handouts(ex. questionnaires), bring objects/props, you can also play games with the audience, giving out a prizes to the winners/volunteers.

References

WKU Department of Communication (2013, August 19). Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLqhcDc54CY

Questions and Demostrations

Asking questions is a great way of not only knowing that your audience is paying attention but it also allows them to get involved in the presentation
You can either ask :

• open-ended questions : allow some discussion between you and the audience
• ex. What do you think about these 9 techniques?
• close-ended questions/a poll: simple questions that either require the audience to answer yes/no, a single phrase, or give them a list to choose their answer from. 
• ex. Which of the 9 techniques do you have more trouble with?

During the presentation, provide some demonstrations to get your audience more involved. It will increase the attention and allow your presentation to look more interesting, and so ask for a volunteer to help you show the demo! 

Eye Contact and Movement

Eye contact is one of the most important points when it comes to presenting as it tells your audience you are ready to present and allows you to have a connection with the audience as well.
No one wants to see a presenter just reading straight off a stack of cue cards, because not only does it make the presentation boring, but it looks as though you don't know your own presentation.
Of course I'm not telling you to go completely paper-less up in front of the audience, but here are a couple of points that can help you:

• Try to memorize most of your presentation and have your cue cards only as a guideline
• Bring some personality into the presentation. A little improvisations doesn't hurt

And now here's what we all know about eye contact : It can be uncomfortable, and as if presenting doesn't make one nervous enough, keeping eye contact makes it even more nerve-racking. And the knowledge of how important eye contact is, some of us become conscious of it and try to stare even more, however a couple seconds of eye contact and making sure too look at all your audience members can help. But if you are too nervous to that then maybe these points can help:

• Stare at the wall ahead
• Look at peoples foreheads
• Look at a friend or even just the teachers
• If you want to take it a step further then picture everyone in their underpants

Movement is also very important during a presentation. Make sure to not just stay in one spot as it can also make the presentation dull. Try to move around a little, walking back and forth between the aisles of the room, this way you can grab their attention a lot better.

Question

So how do you keep eye contact during a presentation and keep those nerves down?

References

Gonzales, H. (n.d.). How to Keep an Audience Attention. Retrieved from eHow: http://www.ehow.com/how_2308695_keep-audiences-attention.html

A Promise and Drama

A promise is defined as: a declaration given by one, stating that something will or will not be done.

Giving a promise to your audience will keep your audience engaged and interested, a bonus if your audience can benefit from it. If you refer to my previous post, I gave you a promise by saying you will be able to have a successful presentation by following techniques. You probably wondered what these techniques are and decided to stick around to find out. There. The 1st of 9 techniques is already working!

Drama: Greek word for action. A composition presented that involves conflict, interest, emotion and results.

There's nothing worse than going straight into the presentation with no build-up to it. You won't gain any attention from your audience that way. Instead, start off with a story so you can really grab the audiences attention and introduce the topic at the same time, And make sure you aren't too blunt! Have some emotion throughout the presentation. Again, if you look back to my first post, I did exactly that! I brought in some emotion and in a way, introduced the topic. 2/9 techniques are now working!

Introduction

There I am: Sitting, biting the hem of my sleeve and nervous as always, hoping I don't get called next. While listening to these other presenters, so many thoughts have already gone through my mind, and I'm beginning to worry that my presentation won't be good enough compared to the others.
"Does my board look eye-catching? Do I have enough information? Will my presentation be interesting enough to not bore the audience to sleep?". These are the questions that are floating through my mind, and it's why I'm so nervous and flustered every time I have to present in front of an audience. Looks like I'm next. Wish me luck.

Have I caught your attention? Good!

Gaining audience attention can be difficult, but keeping that attention strong during the entire duration of your presentation - even more difficult. Especially when there may have already been a group of other presenters. 

And so, I am here to help! Here's how:

There are a total of nine techniques that can help you gain and keep audience attention:

1. A Promise
2. Drama
3. Eye contact
4. Movement
5. Questions
6. Demonstrations
7. Visuals
8. Self-interest
9. Samples

Follow these techniques and you are surely going to have a successful presentation!

References

(2013). Nine Techniques of Gaining and Keeping Audience Attention. In M. Guffrey, D. Loewy, K. Rhodes, & R. Patricia, Business Communication: Process and Product (4th ed., p. 490). Toronto: Nelson Education.