Do you wonder how to structure your presentation? What sequence to use? If you’re dealing with contentious issues, you might find this useful….
Smart presentation choice three: Answer their (unspoken) questions about how your recommendations solve their urgent problems
(This is part of a series of posts about how to develop presentation superpowers by making eight smart choices. This is choice number three.)
There aren’t that many problems with presentation structure that this choice doesn’t answer. Done well, people won’t notice that this is the process you’re using. You’ll just come across as clear and relevant.
When I’m listening to people present at conferences, I’m often focusing on what questions of mine is the presenter answering. I also put myself in the shoes of the other listeners and imagine what questions they have, and see how those question are being answered. The most successful presenters answer the major questions; often the major questions are the ones that have the most emotion attached to them, and might not be the questions that are logically ‘biggest’.
For example, my step-mother tells a story about going to a presentation and the guy was wearing silver shoes. All she could think about was the shoes, why is he wearing silver shoes?, is he really wearing silver shoes..?
The questions people have are not necessarily the questions you want them to have, but they are to a large extent predictable and handle-able.
How do I apply this?
- Firstly identify what your recommendations are.
- Then think about what this group’s urgent problems are.
- Find (genuine!) links between the two.
- The magic comes from thinking: what are the questions that might arise for this group from these links?
Can you be a bit more specific?
Why yes I can!
- Think of: What exactly..? How…? Why…?
- Explore as many ‘yes, but…’s as you can.
- Don’t ignore apparently tiny questions that have an impact, like the effect of words that have another meaning, really practical implementation concerns, or questions to do with the process of your session, as opposed to its content.
One of the first questions people will be asking is: what am I going to be getting today? Be clear about what’s in your session, and what’s out.
In an ideal world, things on the surface like your appearance/ gender/ country of origin/ age shouldn’t make a difference. However, if they are going to be causing questions in people’s minds, answer those questions, especially if those questions are going to be getting in the way of people appreciating how your recommendations are going to solve their problems.
Then move to your topic in general. Repeat.
Then your first point. Repeat.
And your second…
Each time state the links then answer the questions that these people might have about how those recommendations are going to solve their urgent problems.
Ask yourself: How can I deal with those questions so they can continue moving in the direction I’m recommending?
How should I deal with these questions?
Generally, I would recommending stating the concern out loud, then dealing with it, though sometimes you can deal with a concern by a story that shows your approach, or even just be your manner.
***
Hmmm… I feel like there’s more to say on this topic…
How does your way of structuring presentations match or differ from this? If this article clicked for you, or rubbed you up the wrong way, leave a comment!
Related Posts
~ Why learning to speak slower in presentations is so vital for your credibility
~ Why recommendations can take your next presentation up a level
~ 8 simple steps to developing tech presentation superpowers
~ 9 easy things you can do to stand out in technical presentations
~ Why Q and A sessions are so excruciating and what to do about it
Like what you’ve read? Want to keep up-to-date with my articles without having to remember to visit this website? Sign up for email updates to have every post arrive straight in your inbox, or subscribe to the RSS feed. If you’re not sure what subscribing entails, click here for my plain English explanation.
Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook if we’re friends or LinkedIn if we’ve met.
***
In other news…
Things I have realised happen when there are big changes in my life: I don’t manage money very well, I eat badly, I don’t go to the gym and I don’t write.
This week: receipts/accounts up-to-date (thank you Stuart!), no (well, little) cake and lots of veggies and… a blog post. Gym due on Monday.
Thanks for your patience – the public consistency of a blogger is a sometimes a challenge…
The underlying theme I take from this is that it pays to know your audience in advance. This can be difficult to do.
Take the time to DO SOME RESEARCH long before your presentation. If possible, interview a few people who will be attending so you get a better idea what their concerns, questions, and challenges are.
This gives you a much better chance of structuring your presentation to answer those very questions.
On a personal note, I’m glad to see you are writing again. Just so you know, you aren’t alone in struggling with money, food, and consistency when you hit the rapids on the river of life.
Todd
Andrew,
Great post, as usual.
I think most questions are variations of the three basic ones you suggest:
WHAT? (what are you talking about? what is it? what does it do?)
HOW? (how does it work? how would I use it? how does it affect me?)
WHY? (why would I want to buy/use/accept/endorse/adopt it? why should I care? why are we talking about this now?)
I think most presenters have the most trouble answering the WHY question from the listener’s perspective. I know why I want you to do what I’m proposing. The real question is, why would you want to do it? How will it help you? Will it help you in a way that you want to be helped?
Glad you’re back writing.
Chris
Hey guys
Thoughtful replies as always…
I’m glad I’m back too.
Andrew
ps Chris – I’m reading your book currently – loving it.