One of the more advanced presentations skills that you should aim to acquire is learning to speak to the interests of the audience.
Most presenters speak about what’s important to them, not what is important to the audience.
People with advanced presentation skills approach each presentation in a different manner. They first ask themselves – “what does the audience actually care about?”
When you break it down, any audience usually cares first and foremost about themselves. They sit there with their problems on their mind.
For example in business presentations speakers will often highlight things like how long they have been in business or how many offices they have worldwide. Often times, the people in the audience simply don’t care about these things.
What they care about is – can you solve my specific problems?
When you are writing out your presentation ask yourself the dreaded “so what” question. I can guarantee you that members in the audience are asking themselves how you will add value to their business.
The second advanced presentation skill that I want to emphasize are the value of stories. There is a reason why Hollywood is a multi-billion dollar industry with a global reach – people LOVE stories. It goes back to the cave man days of sitting around a fire and nothing has changed.
People hate facts, figures and formulas. What they remember long after the presentation is complete are stories that were relevant to their lives and their problems.
Stories are remarkable for business presentations for several more reasons. First of all, stories create visual images in the mind. Usually, when you tell a story, you are forced to use adjectives and vivid imagery.
Another great feature about stories is that they are emotional. Good stories create an emotional response in the listener and when it comes to your presentation you want to stimulate the emotions of your audience.
Those with advanced presentation skills have usually mastered the art of telling a great story that is well structured, has a theme and also leaves the listener with a message.
The third advanced presentation skill that I would like to emphasize is the value of learning to speak with a smile.
What does a smile mean? It means that the speaker is both relaxed and confident. It also serves another purpose that is highly relevant in business presentations. It makes the speaker seem approachable. You want to leave the audience with the feeling that they can approach you with all their silly questions about your product or service.
The next time you observe a nervous presenter I want you to ask yourself whether this person is smiling or not. I can almost guarantee you that a person struggling with public speaking anxiety will not be smiling. You want to distance yourself from the people who appear nervous and that is another reason you want to smile during your presentation.
