Who are the most important people in the room: those on the stage or those in their seats? The answer is always “the audience” and their tastes are changing. TED Talks are one of the best things to happen to the world in terms of changing expectations for presenters and how the information they share is packaged. Speech packaging is just that, a packaged present to the audience. Without it, presentations suffer, but with it, they WOW.
One of our health care clients recently switched up the format of their day-long introductory forum. Each talk or presentation was limited to 25 minutes and there were built-in debrief sessions throughout the day where the audience was tasked with capturing the new techniques they would incorporate in their organization. Audience members praised the format and those on stage generated new business and were recognized by corporate leadership.
Here is a sampling of comments: “I appreciated the rapid fire approach!,” “Very effective format, it kept me engaged by limiting speaker content to shorter timeframes” and “Very well planned and implemented, all speakers were energetic and engaging.”
None of this happened by accident, rather it was created by design. There was an emcee who briefly introduced each participant and kept the pace moving. He used a teleprompter app on his iPad, which added elements of sophistication and tech-savvy. It also worked because introductions shouldn’t be a time for improv but rather should help set the stage by highlighting each speaker’s accomplishments. The teleprompter app helped because instead of focusing on memorization, he was able to focus on an enthusiastic delivery.
Each presenter was tasked with doing an official run-through in real time prior to the event. They were critiqued for their performance and required to stay within the time limit. Adding elements of humor, using props and sharing quotes added to the overall package of each talk.
If you are interested in making your presentation truly memorable, we can help. But, it will take your commitment to practice, practice, practice and reshape your talk based on feedback to truly rule the stage.
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