Something a little bit different this week. Lessons from Bruce Springsteen on engaging an audience.

In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band performed the halftime show for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.

While this is clearly different from delivering a presentation, here are five lessons we can learn about engaging an audience.

Lesson One

Speak to ALL your audience, as early as possible.

Springsteen gets off to a fantastic start by addressing the crowd in the stadium AND the audience watching at home.

He shouts, ‘is there anybody alive out there?’ at the crowd (around 71,000 people).

He tells people at home to ‘turn your television all the way up’ (around 98.7 million people).

In a presentation, this approach is vital if you are doing a hybrid presentation.

Lesson Two

Get close to your audience.

The closer you are, the more you can connect.

The bigger the physical gap, the harder it is to engage.

Springsteen gets extremely close to the crowd – so close in fact that I was worried he might accidentally lose the microphone or end up off the stage!

As a presenter, are you able to get closer to your audience?

Lesson Three

Stop complaining that you don’t have enough ‘presentation time’.

When I saw them play at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, the gig was well over three hours.

In the Super Bowl – they only had 12 minutes.

And they were awesome.

Use your time wisely.

Lesson Four

Have a few golden moments for your audience to enjoy.

The knee slide, chances for the crowd to chant, singing with bandmates.

Obviously, you are not going to do the above, but what can you do to give a little interaction and enjoyment to your audience?

Lesson Five

Give your audience a strong close.

Springsteen lets them know they are near the end as he talks about going into overtime and penalty time. Then they’re treated to the sight of the Referee coming onto the stage.

They play a fantastic closing number (Glory Days) with a real crescendo, guitar swinging and a choice line about Disneyland.

Does your audience know you are closing?

And how can you leave them on a high?

Put any one of these lessons into practice and you can get a boost.

Put them all into practice and you can make a significant impact.

For more guidance on engaging an audience and keeping them engaged – check out the following article on tips to engage your virtual audience…

How to Engage Your Virtual Audience

And if you have 12 minutes at some point today, I encourage you to visit YouTube and watch the Super Bowl halftime performance in full.