James,
Definitely the common theme I hear in your post is knowing your audience. I believe when you start with this you will always be in a good position.
Ryan
Liza,
I apologize for the delayed response, I've been in the process of moving.
I commented to someone else that when you come from the standpoint of knowing your audience & always keeping them as your focus, I believe you have won at least half the battle. Great ideas.
Ryan
Cheryl,
Great ideas. And I'd add, don't be afraid to tell the audience what is in it for them.
Ryan
Thank you for the transparency. I'd say we are all very guilty of this at times.
Ryan
Cheryl,
Great point & so true! I'm glad you mentioned this because audience size can definitely be a factor. Don't be afraid to tailor to audience size & in fact that can be very helpful.
Ryan
Power Point Presentation is the best tool
Kenji,
Power point can be a great tool. What other options do you see, especially if there is not an option for power point?
Ryan
Handbooks, Flyers, even DVD with the presentation to check later
Perhaps the best way way for me to customize my presentation is to better understand what my audience has experienced in their classrooms prior to attending the presentation. This will allow me tailor the presentation to meet their different needs and to create more effective presentation dynamics.
We need to gether information about our audience, and then consider the methods that can catch their attention.
Walter,
I think this is a great idea. As you said, spending the time to find out what they have previously experienced allows for that tailoring. Not only does it make the content more meaningful, but also the participants really will appreciate your taking the step to do this.
I agree Shawn... We also need to rate their reactions so we can try to evaluate their moods, interests, and knowledge. Once we figure these things out we will then be able to adjust our presentation to gain all of their interest.
Scott,
Good "in the moment" strategy. I'm curious, what do you do ahead of time to analyze the audience & really customize the presentation during the preparation phase?
You need to know who your audience is, that is the basics. If it is a larege group at least know why they are there and that will answer the question and if it is a small group maybe going as far as knowing each individual would be great. I guess the thing to ask yourself is; is my presentation going to reach the audience and acheive my goals as a presenter. The only way to know that is to know your audience or at least why they are there.
The best way is to know your audience as well as what other speakers will be presenting.
Speaking from personal experience and as a minister, it might be disengaging to some of those in the audience to speak from a charismatic view to those who might be mainstream fundamentalist and vice versa.
Audrey,
Absolutely. What I have also found is to inform the audience of why they are there as sometimes, they may not even fully realize why they are there. Sometimes, we are told to go to a meeting & we comply.
Ryan
Agreed Marva & thank you for the personal example. I think this is a good illustration to always find out about your audience. In this instance you may be told you will be speaking to a "church group" & you think you know what this means. But, by your example, what kind of church group? Thank you.
Ryan
It's important to keep your audience engaged and not just read from your notes. Likewise with Power Point slides, it's hard for the audience to stay focused if the presenter is simply reading the slides to them. Pausing and checking in with the audience is a great way to gauge their level of understanding or if they have any questions. Overall, I like when the presenter stops and interacts with the audience I think it is a great way to stay connected during the presentation. Each audience is different so if your reusing presentations be sure to review and plan how THIS audience is going to understand the presentation.
I like the idea of researching the audience and possible questions and issues that may arise.
Absolutely, I think we must have a good understanding of who the audience is. I teach business classes in the online forum. I have different levels of students so I need to be sure to check in with them during the presentation to verify they are understanding the material or if they have any questions.
