How to lose listeners & alienate your audience!
“How do I start my presentation?” is a question we are asked all the time. Whether it’s addressing a large audience at a conference or presenting to a small team at work, if you get the opening wrong you could end up losing the audience before you begin!
Below are 5 ways NOT to open your presentation:
1. Wear a long gloomy face
Definitely do not smile. If you do there may be a risk of them thinking you are an open, friendly person and you definitely can’t have that!
2. Tell a filthy inappropriate joke
It’s generally quite difficult to tell a “normal” joke well in front of an audience, let alone a filthy one! Remember not everyone has the same sense of humour as you, and you could end up offending the audience before you start!
3. Apologise for your boring topic…
… and make sure you do it in a dull, monotone voice. This gives them a licence to snooze, check their emails or start tweeting about what a rubbish presenter you are.
4. Ask a question or make an assumption that makes them feel really stupid and inadequate
Sheer genius!
5. Tell them your name, who you are, where you are from and so on
This one might be a bit controversial but think about it – EVERYONE does it, how dull is that! Instead why not ask a question, tell an anecdote, share a startling statistic or use some other attention-grabber and then tell them your name etc.
You want to stand out for the right reasons – do the opposite of 1 – 5 and you just might make a few friends and influence your listeners.
If you’d like more tips on how to stand out from the crowd, click here to download our FREE 5 Ways to WOW guide.
