First you have to know who your audience is. What is their background? Education level? DO you need to explain the content before trying to sell a product? Second you need to know what your goal or objective is. Is it to educate or sell something? If is just education, you would approach the topic in a different way than if you wanted to sell the product. I have done several small group presentations about health and usually at the end I want the audience to buy something or schedule an appointment. I present this material very differently than I would in a school setting where I am only educating not selling. I prefer the education part more than the sales part for sure. Lastly you need to find graphics to stimulate the audience. Graphics can improve retention and make ideas easier to follow. If it is a sales presentation there would also be a call to action at the end but not in an education setting.
The most important factor in customizing your presentation is knowing your audience. If you are aware of their level of understanding of the topic, how they learn (visual, participatory, hands-on), and how long you can take before they become so concerned about what they are missing that you lose effectiveness, you can create permutations of presentations of the same material that would be effective to disperse the same information to different types of groups.
I find that by doing as much research about my audience helps me to customize my presentation.
I just came out of a class of 19 people. One of the students really liked my humor so I could capitalize on our mutual laughter. My other class had no such inclination and wanted every thing cut and dry. There was no such "person" to play off of.
Roseanne,
yes, each audience is different & distinct & shows the need to really analyze each one separately.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Getting to know my audience helps me customize my presentations. If I have a chance I interact with them before class to see what the classroom personality is like. Then I can adapt to the class, if they like to joke around then I lighten up my presentation with a little humor. If the class is serious or has no sense of humor then I add more facts and details. If they seem to be more into multi media (watching videos on their phones before class starts) then I use more pictures and video content in power point format.
John,
these are great ideas & I especially like the idea of getting to know them if possible before the presentation so you can tailor on the spot.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Well, I think we all agree with knowing your audience prior to presenting anything. Where I teach, the students are basically in the 18-30 range with a large majority under 25; and a substantial military presence. Humor, real life events(stories) and a good understanding of the topic is very crucial to delivering your message.20 to 30 minute attention span is about right and knowing when they have that glazed look in their eyes, signals me to make a joke, tell a story or just teach in a different tone of voice: at times using an accent when appropriate. One can't stand in front, do a 4 tile shuffle, be monotone in their delivery, and wonder why the audience tuned out in the 1st 10 minutes. Being able to recognize different learning abilities is paramount to their understanding the material, and retaining the material for their use out in the field.
David,
these are all great ideas & key to helping us have the most effective presentation possible.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
When lecturing in the classroom, I often use quizzes to gauge students' familiarity with the topics at hand and customize my delivery based on those results. During a presentation, I may poll the audience to engage them and get real-time feedback that I can incorporate into my talk.
The best way to customize a presentation to your audience is to choose the most appropriate type of presentation, choose an objective, and choose the appropriate media for the audience.
Steve,
yes, this is an excellent way to gauge those levels of understanding & modify the presentation/approach appropriately.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Laura,
this is so true which means you have to do a strong audience analysis to be best prepared.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think its just very important to research and know the type of audience that you are dealing with. Coming from an art & design school, I know most of our students here are very much visual learners and like to have a good visual presentation to go along with your talk.
Different groups receive information differently. Different presentations must be used for different groups in order to get the same result.
Jennifer ,
great illustration to the point: know your audience.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I like adding pictures, clip art that is relevant to the subject matter. Also, adding effects that keep it from being boring. And prior to a break or lunch add a video, joke or whatever suits the audience to get the audience to laugh or have something to think about.
Sallie,
this is a great idea. Even giving them a provoking question to discuss over a break or lunch.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree, what works well with one class might not work with another class. Reading the students body language can be helpful.
find out who the people are and as much about them as possible so your ready for them no matter what comes up
