According to studies, the average attention span has dropped to just eight seconds. If you have a presentation that’s going to last longer than that, you may want to do something that will help your audience stay engaged.
The last thing you want is to look out into the audience and see a bunch of people yawning or checking their phones.
To keep this from happening, we recommend working some creative presentation ideas. No matter what you’re presenting, you can use some tricks to help your audience focus and stay engaged from beginning to end.
Want to know exactly what these tricks are? You’re in the right place! Let’s get started.
1. Get Your Audience Moving
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been bored during a presentation.
This is by far the easiest way to engage your audience and ensure they’re listening to you. Asking them to raise their hands keeps them interested in what you’re saying and creates a connection between you and other audience members.
Sometimes, you can go beyond this and ask your audience to move even more, whether they clap their hands, stand up, or something similar.
2. Ask Questions
You can go beyond asking for a show of hands by getting feedback directly from your audience members. Ask them what they think or feel about certain things or even ask them about their lives to engage them in what you’re sharing.
3. Play a Game
People love games, and who could blame them? They’re fun! That makes them a great option for incorporating into presentations.
A simple way to add games into your presentation is to divide the audience into groups and have them answer questions. However, you can also take this a lot further if you want, just use your imagination.
4. Add Music
Some people are musical learners, so they have a hard time focusing when there’s no beat to follow. So, you can easily make your presentation more interesting to them and others in your audience by using music.
5. Make it Visual
Along that same line, some people are visual learners and have a hard time only listening for long stretches of time. Many times, things like data are more easily transmitted in visual formats.
To make your presentation more visual, include images, videos, and charts. Your audience will appreciate it and get far more out of it if you do it this way.
6. Tell Jokes
People remember things better when they find them funny. It’s called the humor effect and it’s something you can use in nearly any presentation. While there are some presentations where this isn’t appropriate, even many serious topics can be treated with a little humor.
Starting a presentation off with a joke is a good way to get the attention of your audience, whether you make it about your subject or it’s simply something else your audience can connect with.
Another way to get your audience laughing is to start the presentation with a short and humorous personal story. This will also connect you to your audience.
7. Make Eye Contact
No matter what you do or say, make sure you’re maintaining eye contact with the members of your audience. This is one of the easiest ways for them to feel like you’re talking to them and will keep them interested in what you’re saying.
Be sure to not maintain eye contact with the same person for long, though, as this will make them feel uncomfortable. Instead, keep your eyes moving so you look at as many people as possible throughout your presentation.
8. Express Yourself
Don’t be afraid to use emotions as you give your presentation. Laugh if something is funny, smile if something makes you happy, and frown when you touch on something sad.
All humans crave emotional connections with other humans. So, when a speaker isn’t afraid to express emotions, we’re all drawn to them and pay closer attention to them.
9. Move Around
We already talked about getting your audience to move, but don’t forget to do some moving around yourself. There are two main ways you can move that will both get and keep your audience’s attention.
The first way to do this is with gestures. Don’t go overboard as though you’re signing, but don’t be afraid to use your hands to get a point across.
You can also walk around to add movement to your presentation. Walk around the stage or floor as much as possible. You may even move into the audience if it’s appropriate and possible to do so for an even greater impact.
10. Tell Stories
The sheer number of fictional books in existence proves our love for stories. Every person and every brand has a story, so be sure to tell it. Your audience will love hearing a story about how you got started doing what you do even more than they’ll want to hear about a product you may be offering.
11. Get Personal
As we’ve already touched on a few times, it’s essential to connect with your audience if you want them to pay attention during your presentation. Tell stories about yourself, get emotional, and tell jokes.
You also want to try to get to know your audience by asking them questions. Moving into the crowd while asking questions will really help bridge the gap between you and your audience.
Where to Get More Creative Presentation Ideas
While these tips will help you get started, you may find that you need a little extra help for a specific presentation you’re preparing. If that’s the case, consider presentation skills training.
This type of training will help you develop the skills you need to deliver a dynamic and engaging presentation that your audience will remember.
Get More Business Tips and Tricks
Now you have several creative presentation ideas that you can implement in all of your presentations.
As you can see, most of these will work with any type of presentation while others may not be appropriate in all situations. Be sure to use your best judgment and ask for help if you need it.
If you want more help with your business, be sure to keep reading our blog. It’s packed with posts that will help you take your career to the next level.
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