Tweet

Business Presentation Tips - How To Command Attention

Guest post by: Milly Sonneman

Article Overview: How should you command attention while giving a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation? Discover 3 powerful practices that put you in charge of the pace, flow and impact of your story.

Business Presentation Tips - How To Command Attention

All eyes are on you. Yes, it's true. In business presentations, you are in charge. You are the leader. As the leader in a presentation, you are in charge of the pace, flow, and impact of your story. In business presenting, a lot of professionals confuse their audiences by multi-tasking. This is a really bad idea. Instead of giving your audience a clear direction, multi-tasking points them in 15-directions at once.

Let's look at the common (but awful) practice of talking while changing PowerPoint or Keynote slides.

If you talk, change slides and keep on talking, what should the audience do? Should they listen to your words? Should they focus on the slide? What is the right place to look? They aren't sure.

The audience doesn't know what is the top priority. Simply put, if your audience is confused, they will check out. Instead of staying connected to your message, their attention will drift.

Next thing you know, people will be checking email, daydreaming or having side conversations. This is NOT how to command attention.

What can you do differently? Slow down. Do one thing at a time.

Here's the simple tip: Announce where you are going. Pause. Then change the slide. Next, describe where you are.

This is just the same kind of step-by-step approach that you need to take when giving a tour, or managing the attention of a young child. Only now, you're acting as a patient tour guide for your audience.

Here's the break down in precise detail.

Tip 1: Tell Where You Are Going

Announce where you are going in advance. This tip applies to your entire presentation, each slide, and the next action.

For the whole presentation: always give an overview. This helps participants get oriented for the entire journey. Even if everyone is familiar with the topic and you've met before, give an overview.

For each slide: prepare participants for what's in the next slide - before you go there. This is important. The mind can wander. It's your job to tell people where you are and what's coming next - before you go.

For each action: tell people what you want them to do. Announce this in advance.

Then...

Tip 2: Change The Picture

After you have alerted participants, it's time to do what you promised. Change the slide.

If you are not using slides, you can still do this step. Change to a flipchart. Change to a video. Or change to a whiteboard. You also might be changing to an exercise or activity.

Whatever you promised to do, do what you have announced.

Tip 3: Show Where You Are

Now that you are in a new slide, or a new whiteboard discussion -- show people around. Familiarize them with the new part of the presentation.

I like to think of this as playing the tour guide. It doesn't take a lot of time, but it shows how much you care about your audience. It shows you care deeply about their experience.

Are you commanding attention in client and prospect presentations? Get the skills you need to focus attention with visual storytelling.

Related Articles
  Business Presentation Tips - Frustrated With Being Ignored?
  The "Cold Call Presentations" Myth
  136 Effective Presentation Tips by Tony Jeary and David Cottrell
  Confusing Who You are with What You Have Been Through: Learning Self-Command
  Advertising: The Nuts And Bolts Of Making It Work: Step One: Make your Headlines Command Attention
  Four Tips for Better PowerPoint Communicational Impact
  How to Get Things done… Empower Your Goals with Self-Command
  Presentation Skill
  Professional Presentation Skills
  Present the Presentation Confidently
  Get Organised! - a really important sales tip
  Find out the 7 Top Copyrighting Tips
  Nine Ways To Jazz Up Your Sales Presentations
  5 Tips For Giving Presentations That Consistently Sell
  Presentation Tip: Create a Storyboard that Sells
  Presentations - Easy as 1 - 2 - 3
  Present the Butterflies in Formation
  Engage Your Webinar Audience Early
  “Strategic Thinking Applied to Making Winning Presentations to Investors”
  5 Tips For Visual Impact In Marketing Presentations

Article Tags: business presentation, presentation coach, visual story



Related Forum Posts
Business Tips - How about: Tips for managers to handle employees more effectively? Tips on how to deal with difficult customers? Tips on how to deal more effectively with suppliers? The only three I have in mind right now, but will try to come up with something else. Chris
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert
Re: Attention Age Doctrine - Hi Andy, So how did you find of "The Attention Age Doctrine" Part 1? And has following its guidelines yielded any positive results yet?
Advertisement that sales - Plan your marketing programme. It should include commitment to capital resources. If you run a small business, you aren't likely to have a generous enough advertising budget that will allow you to run costly branding or campaign ads. Every advertisement you run must convey to your prospect a solid offer and attractive reasons to act quickly, and result in increased sales and an enhanced image of your company. Good advertising always pays its own way through increased sales and profits, improved cost-effectiveness, reduced selling costs and shortened selling cycles. A useful formula that will help you increase the effectiveness of your advertising efforts is A-I-D-A, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. When creating an advertisement, always remind yourself that it should: (1) capture your prospects' Attention, (2) arouse their Interest in your offer, (3) create their Desire for your product or service, and (4) provide a powerful spur to Action, that is, turn your prospect into buyers. Remember, bad advertising is an unproductive expense, and good advertising is an investment in future profits!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Having It All... With No Sleep

The State of the Sustainable Furniture Industry

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Log On

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.