When Presenting, Know Your Audience

You can’t avoid delivering presentations in one form or another in your professional life. Broaden your personal definition of a presentation, and you know this is true. When you hear the word “presentation” today, you may think about standing in front of a room full of people with a PowerPoint slide show. In truth, a presentation is any opportunity to introduce an idea, pitch a solution, influence a decision, clarify a situation, or educate one or more people. It may be anything from a simple one-on-one conversation to a very structured, rehearsed, and elaborate “performance” with scenery, props, and multi-media enhancements. But all must have one thing in common in order to be successful… you must Know Your Audience.

A presentation simply will not be effective without a keen awareness of the makeup of your audience. Who are they? What do they care about? What do they already know? What are their current concerns? Who are their leaders? How is their success measured? Where are they from? What are they most proud of? What might they think is funny?

Your audience will come armed with the internal question represented by “WIIFM?”, or “What’s in it for me?” Why should they be interested in listening to you? A presentation isn’t as much about the presenter as it is about the audience. You want them to walk away with something of value – a new idea, an enhanced perspective – some sort of inspiration that causes them to act.

Research is required to customize your presentation to your audience. The nature of the gathering will dictate how best to prepare, but some ideas are: Interview people you know that are more familiar with your audience than you… Talk to a few representatives who will be in the audience to test the validity of your talking points… Search the internet or other resources for information you can use to personalize your content with examples that recognize individuals in your audience in a positive way… Find out what has been successful with this audience in the past… Be sure your presentation references the past, the present, and the future in a way that is relevant and gives you credibility as an expert.

Above all, don’t make the egotistical blunder that you are omniscient about how best to approach your audience. Find and accept input from others with different perspectives and take them into account for the best results. Remember: Step 1 in presentation preparation is Know Your Audience.

If you found this interesting, you might also enjoy "Self-Destruction by PowerPoint": http://habaconsulting.blogspot.com/2010/01/self-destruction-by-powerpoint.html