Last weekend I enjoyed my first Coldplay concert.  They are currently on tour in the U.S. plugging their Viva la Vida album.  What can I say?  It was the best concert I have ever attended, and I have seen my fair share of great acts.  Not only did they cover all the good stuff from their current album, but they also performed some of their classics like Yellow, In My Place, Politik, and Fix You (highlighed below).

I have been a fan of Coldplay for quite some time now so it was an experience that left me wanting more.  In fact, my wife and I were looking up tickets last night to see if we can see them again before they leave the states.  We are actually considering using their concert as an excuse to visit London or Dublin this fall.

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H is for Huge
Think big when it comes to your next presentation!  You don’t need to turn yourself into the Incredible Hulk to catch people’s attention (although that wouldn’t hurt), but you should aim to be bigger than life.  Dare to let your alter-ego take over for your next presentation.  Just try not to terrify your audience.

U is for Unusually Sensitive
Unfortunately for Dr. Banner, his gamma ray experiment made him a little too sensitive to anger.  Although nothing will make your audience members morph into green humanoid monsters, think about how your presentation appeals to the senses.  Most presentations target only two: sight and sound.  Boring.  Since people take in the world through five senses, they are more likely to remember a presentation that speaks to all of them.  Audio and visual stimulation are easy enough to accomplish, so think about how to make your audience members exercise their senses of smell, touch and taste.  You don’t necessarily need to put out a box of donuts and ask your audience to relate them to your presentation subject.  Stimulating these senses can be as easy as just referencing words that bring them to mind. Comparing your new line of sweaters to a bag of Skittles gets the point across in a tangy way that it’s colorful.

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Last weekend I had the privilege to join a friend to drive up to Indianapolis to enjoy the 93rd running of the Indy 500.  We were so enthused in the days leading up to the event that we even created a social networking site to help create community around race day and the rest of the season’s races.  It was a day full of compelling racing, great food, and 300,000 raving fans.  It was like nothing I have ever experienced before.  Plus, watching 33 cars reach speeds as high as 220 miles per hour was one that I will not soon forget.

Below are three observations I pulled from this spectacular event.

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The question and answer session is a vital part of your presentation because it allows your audience to clarify points and delve further into issues.  Often times, though, presenters appear rather lost when it comes to controlling these sessions.  The result is that many great presentations end on a weak note.  So how do you ensure that your Q&A sessions enhance your presentations?  Let’s take a look at that issue Jeopardy-style:

A: Presenters should prepare for Q&A sessions by doing this.
Q: What is anticipate questions, Alex?
When you rehearse your presentation, practice your Q&A session too.  Think about your audience and anticipate the questions they might have.  Once you’ve made a list of potential questions, prepare straight-forward answers and run through them.  Spend extra time planning for difficult questions so that you can answer them eloquently.

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