News flash for presenters...during your presentation, you don't have to do all the talking.
Most presenters have a difficult time accepting this concept. There are likely diverse reasons for a presenter's belief that except for a brief Q&A, he must be the one to deliver all the presentation content: it's always been done this way; the audience came to hear my expertise; I won't be able to get back on track if the audience starts talking; I'll lose too much time and won't be able to get through my presentation. But perhaps a paradigm shift might be in order.
In our world of constant and assorted stimuli, audiences often don't have the patience or the motivation to listen to a presenter speak continuously for 30, 45, 60 minutes in the same format. Add to this the increasing desire among audiences for participation and involvement to enhance their engagement and you begin to have a road map for that paradigm shift.
Dialogue and discussion are more beneficial to an audience than listening to a talking head. Structure your next presentation to include opportunities for the audience to share their perspective or discuss an issue or question you pose. This dialogue can be between you and the entire audience or you can have people turn to the person next to them for a brief discussion. Strive to create variety in your presentation by alternating between you talking and the audience participating. The benefit of this approach to you [besides a highly engaged audience] is that you can enlist the audience's assistance in answering questions and sharing their examples which takes some of the pressure off you to be the expert on every aspect of the topic.
Thankfully, this format won't allow for the typical information overload presentation so focus on the couple of key messages that are most relevant to your audience and provide additional material, if necessary, in a handout.
Using this approach will move you from the talking head presenter to a presenter who facilitates discovery and the sharing of ideas. Your presentation will be a richer experience for all concerned.
HANDLING TOUGH QUESTIONS
Answering tough questions in any presentation is a challenge. But doing it opposite a political opponent, surrounded by TV cameras, in front of a viewing audience of tens of millions...well, that's the pinnacle of challenging.
What can we learn from Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden's exchange last night in the Vice Presidential debate?
WHAT YOU WANT TO THINK TWICE ABOUT
One way to handle a tough question is to not answer the question directly. To Gwen Ifill's question about what each candidate's administration would not be able to do because of the economic crisis, both Palen and Biden offered instead what they would do, in effect not answering the question.
Upside is they each placed their key messages in front of the audience [again]. Downside is they appeared evasive or worse, clueless, suggesting that they would still be able to accomplish all their initiatives despite the meltdown on Wall Street.
Although this is a common technique in political presentations, I caution against avoiding direct answers in most business presentations. It runs the risk of alienating the questioner as well as others in the audience and makes the presenter seem evasive.
WHAT YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO DO
In answering questions, your demeanor and how you project can be as important as what you say. Here are some suggestions:
Although the majority of you likely will never have to stand on a stage answering tough questions in front of a national TV audience, sometimes those business audiences may seem as challenging.
Getting comfortable answering tough questions will help you meet that challenge.
What are some techniques you've used to handle tough questions?