I am sure many of you have stumbled upon articles and lists of presentation tips. I have found the following list during my preparation for a recent client presentation. I always search for articles like this right before I present in hopes that at least one thing will stick.
This Forbes articles mentions the following simple tips:
1. Ask for interaction– simply tell your audience that you want their participation and questions during your presentation (if it’s appropriate, of course).
2. Ask a great question early to get people talking– “if you suffer the silence for a couple of seconds- someone will answer you”.
3. Ask for your audience opinion– it can be a specific/random person if you’re presenting to a small group or just a general answer from the audience if the group is large. This will help you tailor the tone of your presentation.
4. Build in audience discussion and reporting– ask your audience to divide into small group and share their conclusion on a question. Mostly relevant to large-audience presentations.
5. Get moving– don’t be afraid to walk around and use hand gestures, it’s the easiest way to captivate your audience.
All of these tips involve some sort of interaction with your audience and I think that this is the biggest point. Make your audience believe like you care about the presentation and about their opinions and you will win their attention.
Just as you have mentioned in your first point, I have noticed some success in getting the audience involved. Sometimes, I would open up my presentations by asking a question to the audience. It helps to really break that “audience vs. presenter” barrier and it actually tends to create a more engaging audience.
I definitely agree with what you mentioned here. Involving interaction with your audience makes them feel like they are a part of your presentation, not to mention that your audience doesn’t feel like you’re talking at them. I also think moving around and not standing at the front or behind a podium is a really great way to interact with the audience. This is something I try to work on because I believe it also helps with any awkward poses that some people end up doing, like crossing your legs.