When someone gives us a gift we generally feel:
- happy
- grateful
- excited
- humbled
- honored
- touched
But this is not how we generally feel when we are standing in front of an audience and delivering a presentation. In this situation we're more likely to feel anxious, resigned, bored or detached.
Perhaps we need to look through a different lens.
In fact, our audiences are giving us one of the most precious gifts of all -- their time. This is thirty minutes, an hour, a half-day of their lives they can never get back.
When you think about your audience from this perspective, a number of things happen:
- It's much harder to be nervous or not fully engaged because you shift your focus away from you and to the audience. Intentional focus on your audience leaves no time or bandwidth to worry about your concerns.
- Receiving a gift generates positive emotions which in turn generates the desire to feel those emotions again. This cycle motivates you to ensure the gift givers (your audience) feel it was worthwhile to give you that gift so they'll do it again.
- It's human nature to want to thank or repay someone who gives you a gift. The way to manifest your gratitude to your audience is by providing them value, which may be in the form of information; not reading your slides; new ideas; lively dialogue; engaging stories and examples; solutions to their problems or inspiration.
Thinking of your audience as gift givers is a subtle mind shift but one that can make a substantial difference in how you approach a presentation, from preparation to delivery.
Next time you are getting ready for a presentation, set about to make your audience happy they gave you their gift.
Photo Credit:
flickr/asenat29 C.C. 2.0


A Letter to Santa
Dear Santa,
I know you are terribly busy at this time of year building and packing all the toys, motivating the elves, polishing the sleigh and grooming the reindeer. But I could really use your help.
Business presenters all over the globe need to make better presentations so that the power of their messages will be truly heard and their audiences will be engaged and take action. Here are the gifts I send to presenters everywhere this holiday season. And Santa, any assistance you could provide in getting these presents distributed would be greatly appreciated.
Gift #1: Commitment to The Audience: an unshakable belief that an audience deserves your absolute best and an unwavering focus on making each presentation a valuable experience for those listening to you.
Gift #2: Minimal Use of PowerPoint Bullets: the time and energy to develop more visually meaningful and helpful slides to support audience comprehension and retention plus the courage to NOT use PowerPoint when you, the presenter, can communicate the message more powerfully.
Gift #3: Management of Presentation Nerves and Anxiety: a willingness to invest the time in learning how to manage the fear of speaking in front of a group so your audiences can benefit from the full impact of your message.
Gift #4: Acceptance of the Value of Rehearsing: the resolve to commit the necessary time to practicing every presentation so that your audience gets your most competent performance.
Thanks, Santa, for helping presenters everywhere to be their best! And do be careful on those slippery roof tops.
Professionally Speaking... will be on hiatus for the next three weeks, resuming publication the week of January 10, 2011.
May you all have a very happy holiday season, filled with peace and joy, compassion and generosity.
Photo Credit:
Flickr/docjohnboy's photostream C.C. 2.0
Posted by Kathy Reiffenstein on December 17, 2010 in Commentary, PowerPoint, Practice and Rehearsal, Presentation Anxiety, The Audience | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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