Most presentations are all business. Every now and then, a savvy speaker will open their presentation with a personal introduction to add a touch of warmth to what would otherwise be a relatively cold method of communication. I applaud those speakers, however an introduction that includes a personal story, or some facts about the speaker’s interests and experiences, is still lacking a critical component: authentic interaction with the audience.
If you talk at an audience for the duration of your presentation, not only are you going to bore to tears all of the extroverts in the audience, but you are also missing out on a golden opportunity to develop with the audience the type of genuine connection that leads to truly phenomenal results.
To get the most out of the opportunity you have been given as a speaker, don’t make your presentation all about you. Instead, use a portion of your presentation to let the audience talk about themselves.
Why You Should Let People Talk About Themselves
Science has proven it feels good to talk about ourselves.
Harvard neuroscientists have found that talking about ourselves gives us the same signals of pleasure in the brain as food or money, according to Fast Company.
If it didn’t feel good to talk about ourselves, then people would’t do it. However, people are talking about themselves the majority of the time. On average, people spend 60 percent of conversations talking about themselves—and this figure jumps to 80 percent when communicating via social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, according to Scientific American.
It is clear that people like to talk about themselves, and also why they tend to do so. At this point however, you might be wondering why and how to use this information during your presentations.
The why is easy. The good vibes you create by providing audience members an opportunity to talk about themselves will likely be repaid to you in the form of a happier, more attentive audience.
The how is more complex because it will change from presentation to presentation, however here are some suggestions to help you start brainstorming.
How To Use This During Presentations
If you’re speaking to a relatively small audience, kickstart your presentation by going around the room and letting every attendee share something special about themselves.
If you’re speaking to a large audience, the exercise above might not be practical. In such cases, consider letting audience members share personal information with other nearby attendees for a short amount of time. These types of exercises work best if you can tie the topic of the chit-chat into the topic of the presentation, however that is not always necessary.
To ensure this audience-focused exercise leads to a happier audience, carefully frame the conversation prompt so it results in positive responses. For example, Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman conducted an experiment in which he provided a series of two conversation prompts to two groups.
The first group was asked:
1. about their lives in general
2. then about their romantic lives
The second group was asked:
1. about their romantic lives
2. then about their lives in general
The results? The participants in the second group had a more negative report of their lives in general. Presumably the challenges of the dating scene clouded their view of their loves overall.
If the goal of letting audience members talk about themselves is to get the audience in a happy, positive state, then your prompts need to be designed specifically for that outcome. Frame your questions so that audience members respond in a way that makes them feel energized and upbeat. You don’t want your audience to feel bad about themselves. You want to empower and uplift audience members.
If you carefully craft your conversation prompts to ensure a positive response, you will be getting the most out of the good feelings that typically result from letting people talk about themselves.
Considering the high that people might be on after chatting about themselves, you might want to end your presentation with your audience in that elevated mood. For example, if your presentation is about content marketing, consider ending your presentation by asking attendees to share one of their most successful content marketing strategies with the audience in 60 seconds or less. This will ensure that your presentation has some real life examples, stories, and also gives your audience a mood boost. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Conclusion
Find a way to let audience members talk about themselves at some point during your presentation. You can start by requesting personal introductions for every attendee, or you can end by allowing attendees to share some of their experiences with other attendees. Don’t get too caught up on the how, though. Give it some thought, and then just go for it. If you build audience-focused interactivity into your presentation, your audience will love you for it.
Resources:
The Neuroscience of Everybody’s Favorite Topic
Why You Should Help Everybody Brag About Themselves
Presentation Skills for Introverts and Extroverts
