3 reasons why you should deliver your presentation like it’s a conversation

Photo via Kris Hoet

In the comments to 3 reasons why you should plan conversations, not presentations, Natasha and Gabrielle talked about the benefits of not only preparing a presentation like it was a conversation, but delivering it that way.

Just off the top of my head, there are three big reasons why delivering a presentation like it’s a conversation does good things.

Talking, not performing
Not audience – conversation partners
Informal=high status

Here’s what I mean.

Talking, not performing

In a good presentation, it’s a two-way street. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your listeners are replying directly to you (not always possible, especially in a large group setting) but that you are talking straight to them, aware of their reactions, rather than performing a one-person show. It takes a lot of skill to deliver a good performance – most of us are just no good at it.

Not audience – conversation partners

A performance puts people in TV mode watching mode – you’re the entertainment, they’re the ones talking, spacing out and thinking about what they’re going to eat next. Speaking conversationally keeps the group out of passive audience mode and puts them squarely in the role of conversation partner. They are much more likely to engage with you like this.

Informal=high status

Every good (modern) speaker speaks conversationally. If you were to go and present to the Queen of England, you would likely raise your formality several notches, and over-prepare. When presenting something to a couple of members of your team, however, you would be as close to conversational as you get. In one situation, you are outranked and formal, in the other, you are comfortably in control and conversational. Which impression would you rather be giving when talking to a group?

This presentations=conversations topic has some depth.

What do you think? Are there times when being conversational is not appropriate? What gets in the way of you being conversational in a ‘presentation’ setting?

(I’ll be talking about one of those barriers to being conversational in another post).

Alternatively, have you changed to be more conversational in your presentations? In what ways has it helped? What do you do to remind yourself to stay in conversation-mode?

Let me know by leaving a comment.

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~ 3 reasons why you should plan conversations, not presentations

~ Focusing on your outcome without manipulating people

~ What makes someone an inspirational speaker

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