It’s Not About You, It’s About Them
By: A Staff Writer
Updated on: Sep 02, 2024
It’s Not About You, It’s About Them
Bad presentations are boring because the speaker is focused on themselves, not the audience’s needs. Flip that to make it less painful.
We get stuck in our heads (“Do I look ok? Will they like me? etc.) instead of focusing on serving the listener.
- Know your audience: What problems do THEY need solved? Tailor your content to be directly relevant to their lives.
- Tell stories, not just facts: People remember anecdotes long after they forget your stats and bullet points.
- Make it actionable: What’s one thing they can DO with the info you just shared? This shows you value their time.
- Engagement is key: Ask questions, use humor, don’t let it be a one-way information dump, even virtually.
- Visuals help: Slides should complement your talk, not BE the whole thing. Nobody enjoys Death by PowerPoint.
- Passion matters more than perfection: Enthusiasm is contagious, it can override some initial stumbles.
Recall a time you were captivated by a speaker, what made their presentation so good?
Pick a topic you know well. Jot down 3 stories you could use to illustrate your points, no full presentation needed yet!