5 habits of great presenters
Have you ever been a talk where the speaker has the audience absolutely captivated? They’re knowledgable, they’re interesting, and you can follow along the whole time? You can do it too! The presenters you admire have 5 habits in common that you can adopt today to better keep your audience’s attention and help them remember your story.
Habit 1: Great presenters are always prepared
Great presenters don’t need a script (or at least they don’t sound like they have one) because they know their content backwards and forwards. If they get interrupted — whether it is by a question or a heckler (!) — they can handle it and then pick right back up where they were. If they need to cut their talk short, they know the take-aways they need to hit and what they can skip to get there.
To do this, you need to make sure you have a strong understanding of your message and what you want your audience to take away from the presentation. This is prep work! You should know it before showtime because it will guide your whole presentation. So don’t forget to do your homework.
Habit 2: Great presenters always know their audience
The information presented in their talk is specifically tailored for whoever they’re talking to. They are technical for technical teams. They are efficient for executives.
Be sure you know who you’re speaking to. An audience mismatch is a surefire way to lose their attention.
“…But what if I don’t know exactly who I’m talking to? My boss, teacher, etc. just told me to cover this topic!” Ask! Someone you are working with knows, I promise. It is always better to have a quick conversation about your audience than to guess who they are, guess incorrectly, and then waste 5, 10, 15, 30, even 60 minutes of their time.
Habit 3: Great presenters always make music
They vary the tempo, the pitch, and the volume of their voice to maintain the audience’s attention. They repeat things for emphasis. They repeat things for emphasis.
You can draw attention to certain point in your talk by slowing down. You could increase the volume of your voice, or even raise the pitch! Or, you could say things again. You can definitely say things again.
If you keep everything monotone, nothing will be emphasized. If nothing is emphasized, how will your audience know what is important? What are they here to learn?
To be honest, this is one of the trickier techniques to implement. It takes practice. Lots of practice. People often get nervous and sprint through their presentation.
Take your time. You’re going faster than you think already.
Habit 4: Great presenters always confidently use their space
They move around! They use their hands.
When it is your turn to talk, all eyes are on you. If you stay still or hide behind a podium, that’s what gets the audience staring down at their phones. That’s what gets them thinking about what’s for dinner.
If you move around, people are actively watching you. You’re keeping them awake! Be the conductor of the audience: show them when they should be excited (Use your voice! Or your hands! Or both!). Show us when we should be excited! And show us when we need to calm down.
Habit 5: Great presenters always know what they don’t know
This is especially important for maintaining your credibility in Question & Answer scenarios, but it also applies to your talk track.
If you get a hard question and you need to think about it, think about it. Take a second to formulate your answer. You will provide your audience with better and more digestible information if you can get to the point rather than feeling around for it.
If you don’t know the answer at all, don’t pull things out of thin air. It’s okay to say you don’t know if you can fix it later, perhaps by following up individually or by deferring to an expert on your team.
Try this out!
These are 5 habits you can take up today to be a more confident, memorable speaker. Give them a try and let me know how it goes. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email or reach out on social media @CountdownCommunication.