How to engage with your audience

Relate to the audience (self-interest, experiences)

If interacting with the audience is something that you like to do while delivering your presentation, then this is a great way to get their attention.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to look at your presentation from an audience perspective. Ask yourself questions such as:

• What is your audience interest?

• What they already know about your presentation?

• What would they might learn?

I think by asking these questions and answering them (research maybe needed) will help you understand and get to know your audiences better. Therefore, you will know how to deliver your presentation to keep their attention till the end. By developing creative thinking helps you know what your audience interests and needs are.

Additionally, you can refer to information that the audience already know a little bit about. You can give examples that are simple that the audience uses day-to-day bases. This helps your audience adapt new information much more effectively by adding on their existing knowledge. Also, the way that you deliver your presentation should create a bond with your audience. For example, telling a story that the audience can relate to. That way your audience will be attentive and will not lose interest in your presentation.

This video will give you a visual idea on how to interact and relate to your audience.

Participate (let the audience participate)

One way to involve your audience is to let them ask questions during the presentation or after. I know that a lot of you don’t like the “asking question session” but every presenter has to go through it. Letting your audience participate is crucial to keep their attention and answering their questions keeps their attentiveness.

Second way to involve your audience in your presentation, is by asking one of the audience’s to help you in an experiment or something interesting that the audiences are willing to volunteer for. Let them experience how things are done and how they appear.  Examples of presentations that sometimes the presenter would ask an audience for assistance would be for a science experiment or technology related.

A third way to involve your audience is to create some activities that they can do with each other or ask some of them on the stage to play a game. Avoid playing games that is not related to your presentation and serves no purpose. This can lose the audiences interest and may confuse them for the message that you are trying to convey.

Involving your audience. University of Leicester

http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/presentation/involve