When I graduated from college, I took a job working for a non-profit organization. Part of my role required me to raise funds. I will never forget my first fundraising meeting. I spent the weeks leading up to the event preparing a powerful presentation. The day arrived and the board room was prepared. We had invited 15 top business people to attend and were expecting at least 10 to show up. As the arrival time came and went, I was left standing in a room with 6 business executives who were eager to get started. I couldn’t wait any longer since it was time to start. I walked over to my computer ready to begin my rehearsed presentation, and it hit me. This was not the environment for a presentation; instead, it was time for a conversation. I quickly shifted gears and began to have a discussion with these business leaders. I shared stories of the students and leaders, and then allowed the leaders to ask questions to get a better understanding. At the end of the conversation, I made the financial ask and all but 1 of those business leaders donated to the organization. Had I conducted a formal presentation instead, it’s likely that the business leaders wouldn’t have felt a strong enough connection to the cause.
At Ethos3, we believe that sometimes the best presentation can come in the form of a conversation. It doesn’t happen often, but as a presenter, it’s important to know when to read the room and when it’s time to ditch the rehearsed delivery and exchange it for a friendly conversation. Here are 3 signs it’s time for a conversation rather than a presentation.
Your audience is smaller than expected.
There will be times when your audience is smaller than anticipated. In these moments, it can be easy for a presenter to get disheartened. Rather than fall prey to the discouragement, embrace this moment as an opportunity to have an impactful conversation rather than delivering your structured presentation. This will eliminate the elephant in the room that the audience is smaller than planned. And, even better, by turning the presentation into a conversation, you’ll make your audience feel like they are getting an exclusive, insider edition to your content.
Your audience has a lot of questions.
Sometimes early on in a presentation, you will realize your audience has a lot of questions. If these questions are distracting you from delivering your prepared content, it may be time to switch gears and begin a conversation rather than a presentation. This will allow the questions to flow naturally rather than in a disjointed and interrupting way. Being flexible to your audience’s needs will keep them more engaged and invested in your content as well.
Your content doesn’t feel like it’s landing.
Sometimes despite your preparation, your content will fall flat with your audience. In these moments, you have a choice: persevere onward and hope that it gets better or shift your strategy and start a conversation. In this scenario, a conversation will allow you to read the crowd as you go and share stories that will bring the content to life.
It can be hard to make a change this drastic on the fly, but at times, your presentation will rely on it. Read the room and know when it’s time to call an audible; your audience and your content will thank you for it.
Unsure of where to start with your next presentation? Contact the team at Ethos3 today.
