Your job is not to please the audience; your job is to engage the audience

My dental hygienist was telling me about her goal to finish her degree and enter a graduate program. I asked how it was going. “Well, I was going to enroll in one class…but I heard from other students that it was all lecture. All lecture doesn’t work for me.”

Does “all lecture” work for you…as the learner? How many times have all of us sat in a classroom, workshop, even a “lecture hall” (!) only to emerge wondering if we would ever get that hour back again in our life. Yet it continues to be the coin of the realm at professional meetings, classrooms, and even ‘motivational’ programs that we actually pay for!

The American philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, cautioned that education ought to help us know more and do more… “this intimate union of theory and practice aids both” he concluded. That was years ago and yet for many professionals, the lecture, to know more, overshadows the do more, again and again.

When Nora Dunn of the early Saturday Night Live show attended one of my classes at Columbia College Chicago she advised our acting students, “Your job is not to please the audience; your job is to engage the audience” and then she added that it is in the engagement that we are pleased. Many teaching Kindergarten through University know very well how important it is to stop the lecture only method…our students don’t tolerate it very well…and they tell us so!

But at our professional meetings, how many times do you really get to meet those at your table? Or those at the next table? Or on Zoom how many emails are you able to get through when the lecture begins?

So I invite you to reflect on your experience of learning. Are you like my dental hygienist? Or are you like the tens of thousands this week who will sit and listen and then hear the common statement, “Looks like we don’t have time for Q&A.” Make this a key consideration next time you are the one doing the teaching!

How to Present Like a Pro - Presenting to a blind person

When presenting to an audience where some of the members are blind, use audio description techniques. In this situation it is useful to begin with a brief visual description of you… “I’m Kevin, your presenter today. I’m sitting with a green plant behind my right shoulder and behind my left shoulder is a picture of sailboats as well as the artwork of my 6-year-old grandson. I have grey hair that my stylist calls ‘platinum’…which is why I keep going back to him!”  This sets the scene for them. For each PowerPoint slide, I begin by describing that also, “This slide is divided into four squares, in the first square…” One way to understand the impact is to find a movie with “audio description” where a narrator fills in the action with words in between the dialog. This will help you get ideas that you can then use. For virtual presentations, most blind audience members are able to use the chat function easily with their adaptive software.

How to Present Like a Pro - The ATEM-mini

Keep your PowerPoint to a minimum, if at all. Do you really need it? Is it essential? Does it have to be that fancy? Would a word do instead? Or an image? When we present live, we have the PowerPoint as an added resource to the audience also seeing us in full view. On Zoom and other platforms, we are often reduced to a postage stamp image unless the audience knows how to make us bigger. I learned from Brian Walter to use an ATEM-mini which is a device that allows me to move seamlessly back and forth between my video and my slides. I don’t have to share the screen, I am never a postage stamp image, and it allows me to pick and choose my slides, which is helpful when I realize in the moment that they are out of order!

How to Present Like a Pro - Chat Box Waterfall

Initial interaction is easy if you make it so. If you are in person, it is easy to meet and greet ahead of your presentation. On Zoom you have faces just staring at you, not to mention babies, dogs, cats…or sometimes only the ceiling fan.

A “Chat Box Waterfall” is a great way to get everyone on record, to get them contributing. I learned it from Caelan Huntress and it works every time. Ask a simple question then say the following: “I’d like you to go to the chat box and I’ll give you 60 seconds to type your answer to this question but don’t hit enter until I tell you to…” There is always one who hits enter straight away (of course!) but when at the 60 second mark you say “Hit enter!” you will see a ‘waterfall’ of contributions come in. Then all you have to do is say, “Let’s take a moment and review these” and then as the host you find someone’s entry and ask “Bob, can you tell us about yours? Then when you are finished call on the next person” After a few of these you can say, “Jane tell us about yours and then send it back to me.” This is a guaranteed involvement technique that will forever end the agonizing silence accompanying, “Anyone have any ideas?”

How to Present Like a Pro - When it's all over

How do you handle comments after your presentation? When people come up and thank you, consider saying: “I appreciate you saying that. What did you like/notice/appreciate the most?” That will quickly get to the essentials of what they are taking away, which commonly is less about what you said and more about what they got. This is terrific feedback for us!

Also, whenever you finish any presentation, however short, ask yourself: “What did I do well and what is one thing I might consider doing a bit differently next time?” We can only build on our strengths so don’t be the hardest judge of all.

How to Present Like a Pro - 3 key questions

The audience has a key question on their mind: “Can you help me solve my problem?” Followed closely by “Can you improve my condition?” And of course, the ever-popular silent audience question, “So what?” These are rarely spoken out loud, but they are front and center within the minds of those staring at you. Make sure your presentation clearly answers these questions and you’re on to a winner!

How to Present Like a Pro - The rugby move

In rugby the ball is tossed backwards as the player moves forward. Keep this in mind and get your audience interacting with each other not just with you. In an earlier post I mentioned the ‘@Lester Holt technique’ where his correspondents send the story back to him by using his name with a question mark after it. That is a rugby move. Another might be you, as the presenter, saying: “Jack give us your thoughts then you can send it to Amy and she will send it to Sharita.” Before Sharita begins, you say: “After Sharita we’ll go to Sam, Agim, and finally to Lilibet.” This allows some preparation for a quieter, more reserved audience. Pulling names out of hat works too!

How to Present Like a Pro - Script the smiles

Always have someone else introduce you with the script you have written for them. On Zoom make it short and sweet…in person a little longer is OK. Audiences do not need to know the companies you have worked for, how much other audiences loved you, or how much this audience will love you. Yikes! Have the script say who you are, a bit about your qualifications, and then something personal that adds a bit of fun. Mine says that “Kevin’s lifelong goal is to ride horses bareback though he has not yet found a horse with the same goal.” You ought to see the smiles and hear the questions I get on that one! We want a smiling audience when we begin, not a bored one.

How to Present Like a Pro - Elegant Simplicity

Keep it simple! Even, actually ESPECIALLY, when the material is exceedingly complex. Never ‘dumb things down’ but always go for ‘elegant simplicity.’ The goal here is to get to the heart of the matter and to create a memory of its essential elements. Often using complicated or unreadable spreadsheets and wiz-bang graphics can hide our essential message.

Dale Carnegie advises “Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.” Every speech, update, homily, sermon, even wedding toast or eulogy would do well to use this formula.

Making it look complicated does not make you look smart. Your one and only job is to help the audience leave with the essentials of the topic, not to be impressed by you. Work for clarity. If newspapers are written for the average person, so too can any of our technical or scientific presentations, especially if to a tech audience. Don’t mimic your professors, go beyond them. Think of the famous quotations you are reminded of from Dr. Mardy Grothe or Bartlett’s…they are wisdom packed into few words that the many can understand.

How to Present Like a Pro - The camera, the camera, the camera!

Every time you present or respond (or simply want to look alive!) on Zoom, look at the camera rather than the image of the person, especially if you are using two monitors. This is crucial to connection. Imagine if the news people on television looked away from the camera to give their report! This is a very, very difficult skill but a vital one. We are naturally drawn to images, to people, to the face. On Zoom, unlike in person, we are not speaking to an audience or a group, we are speaking to only one person…the one looking at us. As an audience member respond by doing the same and watch your connection…connect!

How to Present Like a Pro - The ‘Lester Holt technique’

I have to thank Lester Holt from NBC evening news for this one. Lester’s gang uses it regularly and every time, I am reminded how useful it can be for us. Whenever Miguel Almaguer, Hallie Jackson, Andrea Mitchell, Richard Engel (who is usually far, far away!) and all the others finish their report, it always ends with “Lester?” He then has his cue and picks it up from there. You can do this with your Zoom presentations, asking the audience to do the same…simply choose another attendee’s name and add a question mark to keep the discussion rolling.

I watched a video recently of ten or so professionals having a discussion where rather than using hand offs, they used resounding periods. Almost every time someone finished speaking, there was an awkward moment of silence as they wondered who would speak next.

You can use this same tactic when you are presenting with a partner. I work twice yearly with professional speaker Conor Cuneen, IrishmanSpeaks in a back-and-forth format of lecturettes. Conor is known far and wide as a well-rehearsed presenter…except when he works with me! We both like to present ‘in the moment’, especially for this audience, so use the ‘Lester Holt technique’ and hear our dear names called out with a question mark at the end, keeping the flow going. It works every single time even when I have no idea what Conor was going to say…and maybe he didn’t either!

How to Present Like a Pro - 7 things not to say or do

Here are some things that you should never ever (ever!) say or do in your presentation because they will be hated or ignored by most audiences:

1)      “You probably want to know a little about ME!” (No, they don’t.)

2)      “Before I begin you have to understand that…”(Just begin already!)

3)      “How are you all doing?” (Thought to be an involver, often experienced as an embarrassment by both sides.)

4)      “Can you hear me OK?” while tapping the microphone. (Audio checks should happen with the sound professional, not the audience.)

5)      “Today we are going to….” followed by a list of objectives usually on PowerPoint that everyone can read faster than you can speak. (Next time just get right to #1 without identifying it as such and conclude with “We just finished our first objective for the day.”)

6)      “I can’t hear you!” as a way to have the audience repeat the speaker’s key phrase. (Do you want everyone to feel like they are back in second grade!?)

7)      “Shhhhhhhh…” attempting to get control back from an audience group exercise. (Try this next time: “If you can hear me, please raise your hand.” As they do others will notice. This usually only needs to be said twice and then a sincere thank you allows you to continue.)

How to Present Like a Pro - Early and Often

Welcome to a series of tips dedicated to helping you to Present Like A Pro. Although we are told by our psychologist and pastoral friends never to ‘judge’ someone, we can’t help but judge people’s presentation skills. We critique the movies and television shows, why not our colleagues?! I am sharing this series of advice to make you just that little bit better in the eyes and ears of those you seek to influence. Regardless of your rank or expertise you can Present Like A Pro every time.

Engage and involve the audience early and often, especially on Zoom. Conor Cuneen, IrishmanSpeaks also asks the audience a question as attendees are entering the Zoom room, before he has even been introduced. One of his favorite questions to ask: “What was the first live concert you went to and how was it?” Simple enough but wait till you see the energy, excitement and connection that happens as you respond to the audience’s answers with questions such as, “Jack, were there a lot of drugs at that concert?” or “Mary, so your father went with you?” This is a better icebreaker than any staged one.

Next time, vary the question: “What was the first wedding you attended, and what do you remember?” or “What’s your favorite city and which one do you hope to go to some day?” or “Which movie would you gladly watch over and over again and why?”

Just like Conor, jump in and talk to your audience even before you are introduced, and prime them for a good time! Just make very sure you are not focusing on only one of your buddies. Nobody likes to hear ‘in jokes’…it reminds them of high school!