The presenter had been delivering the webinar for over 20 minutes.
He was a bit pedestrian overall, and the content had been far from memorable.
The faces you could see in the audience did not look engaged.
They looked the same way I felt!
Then it happened.
He covered a very useful topic via a demo, which opened my eyes to the new functionality of the software.
For a few minutes it was interesting.
Then he covered a different useful topic and, again, it really got me thinking.
For another few minutes it was interesting.
At the end I felt positive about the presentation overall but had come so close to leaving.
What could he have done better?
He followed an all too familiar pattern – cover all the dry stuff first and then get to the good bit.
This is risky.
By the time you get to the stronger content you may have lost your audience, and it is hard to win them back.
After the event I discovered that a number of people had actually left the webinar.
One simple change would have improved the outlook.
He could have covered one of the better topics early in the presentation – there was no reason to save them both until late on.
This approach would have kept the interest of the audience.
I call this approach having a ‘strong pillar start’.
Make sure that the first substantive section is one that you find interesting and also one that they will find interesting.
You obviously need to hook them in from the start.
But the real test comes with your first topic of substance.
Make it one of your best.
Strong openings create momentum, build trust, and set a tone of confidence and clarity.
Start strong to keep your audience listening and they’ll still be with you when you reach your best content.
For more easy to follow presentation tips, why not check out the following article on how fewer words can make a bigger impact…
