Instead of paying attention to your presentation, your audience can daydream about their upcoming vacation, scroll through email on their phone, text their friends, or indulge in a variety of other interesting activities. Just because your audience is sitting in front you, perhaps even looking at you, there is no guarantee that your audience is actually listening to you.
Similarly, there is absolutely no guarantee your audience is enjoying your presentation. If audience members are nodding and smiling at you as you speak, they could just be nodding asleep and smiling about their daydream vacation. You will need to work hard to have a breakthrough with your audience during your presentation. Don’t assume your presentation material will be interesting to other people just because it is interesting to you.
How can you create a presentation that your audience will actually enjoy, and perhaps even love?
The answer: When you craft your presentation content, continually ask yourself, So what?
That singular, critical question is essential to the success of your presentation because many audience members will think some version it when determining the value of your presentation material. The format of the question might change, however the idea is the same.
Whether audience members are thinking, What’s in it for me?, or Why does this matter?, the question is the same: Why should I care about this presentation? If you do not answer this question, some audience members will probably think your presentation is a waste of their time.
To ensure your presentation answers the question So what? for the audience, embrace these 4 simple tips for developing your presentation content:
1. Be clear.
Clarity is the foundation of all attention-grabbing presentations.
To create presentation content that is clear and easy to comprehend, write a one-sentence summary of your presentation topic before launching into the development of your presentation.
When you write your one-sentence summary statement for your presentation, sculpt your sentence for your specific audience. Don’t be a generalist with your defining, one-sentence statement. Instead, develop your message specifically for the people you will be speaking to on the day of your presentation. From your word choice to the specific perspective you choose, construct the mission statement of your presentation for your target audience, and only your target audience. This first step is your start to answering the question, What’s in it for me? for the audience.
2. Stay on track.
As you craft your presentation content, reference your one-sentence summary regularly to ensure that you are staying on course and not straying into tangential, non-essential ideas. Since you wrote your summary statement with your target audience in mind, let this defining sentence be your anchor throughout the development process.
The first step towards developing the supporting content for your one-sentence summary is to identify 3 main points you want your audience to remember. Your 3 main ideas will not necessarily be the ideas that resonate with you the most; the 3 big takeaways of your presentation should be selected specifically for the audience. Ask yourself, What 3 points will be the most meaningful for the audience?
Once you have the 3 core ideas of your presentation, as well as your one-sentence summary, you can start to give your presentation content some flavor by adding supporting ideas, facts, stats, and stories.
3. Obsess about your audience.
Remember, you need to drive home the value of your material throughout your entire presentation. If you would be unable to respond to an audience member who asked, Why should I care? in response to a particular piece of your content, delete that element of your content. Every point should be relevant to your central message and your audience.
When considering your answer, think about what keeps your audience up at night:
– What are their problems, concerns, and challenges?
– Can your insights and ideas solve a problem for them?
4. Be your toughest critic.
Once you have ensured all of your points will be meaningful to your audience, review your content from perspective of an audience member with an opposing viewpoint. Keep a devil’s advocate mindset.
For example, it might seem like no one could argue with a presentation that proposed the idea of giving away food to prevent hunger. However, don’t forget the saying, Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man, feed him forever. Sharing food is a noble mission, however there will still be someone who disagrees with your solution to the problem. Develop your content to sway audience members with opposing viewpoints.
Why should someone who disagrees with your message care about what you have to say? Can you answer What’s in it for me? for audience members who are not fans of your message? If you can, your presentation will be a roaring success.
Summary: Clearly answer So what? for the audience. Support your presentation with facts that will resonate with your audience, including any disagreeing attendees. No presentation is exempt from this requirement. Get real, and cut the fluff.
