Getting inside the heads of your presentation audience is vital. If you do it, then your presentation is far more likely to succeed. If you fail to do it, you are facing an uphill battle.

Imagine the scenario…

Your presentation is due to start in a few moments.

What do you think your presentation audience is thinking about?

In many cases they are thinking about lots of different things.

A call they just finished.
A tough meeting they have later.
A report that is due tomorrow.
An ad they saw.
The weekend.
Summer holidays.

Pretty much anything and everything they can think of.

Except…

The subject you will be talking about.

Clearly this is a problem you need to deal with swiftly. You need to get their attention early. Too many speakers fail here and never really get going properly.

Remember – it is always the job of the speaker to bring the presentation audience into the zone. That’s right – it is your job to make sure this happens.

You need to give them a reason to listen to you. There are so many other potential distractions out there.

Think carefully about what is in it for the presentation audience – what will they gain if they listen closely?

Try this…

Write it down in a few sentences what you believe they will gain by paying attention to you.

Take a breather, then go back to it and re-write it to sharpen it.

Articulate this as cleanly and clearly as possible.

Practice saying it out loud a few times.

Then hit them with it, with all you have got. Do not hold anything back here!

If you don’t get the attention of your presentation audience early…

You probably don’t get it at all.

Looking for another presentation tip? Try this simple preparation idea https://www.speakwithimpact.com/presentation-preparation-one-tip/