How many times have you sat through presentations and the presenter does one or more of the following?
Presents a large or significant quantity of information and moves on without giving time for the audience to process?
Asks 'does anyone have any questions?" and then proceed to talk within two seconds (or less?)
Makes an impacting point but moves to the next point too quickly?
As an architect, most of my day is spent in meetings either listening or presenting. I feel for presenters when they feel pressured and rush through material as I've been there, done that. A game-changer for me came in two tidbits I picked up in training on how to present:
Own the room
Use the Power of the Pregnant Pause
We all have heard about the need to 'own the room' when presenting, but what does that really mean? Some say 'picture everyone in their underwear' which can be a useful trick to reduce anxiety. However, I found 'owning the room' is deeper. I must know the audience and focus on a relevant conversation. I must know the material (and material does not equal the PPT slides). I need to position myself physical or virtually in a spot to draw attention away from distractions. (The last one was tough to get use to coming form an engineering background). I need to be comfortable and engaging with whomever is in the meeting or the audience.
Over the years, as I developed a sense of room ownership when presenting, I learned that silence was my friend. Want to get the attendees' attention? Ask a question and then pause until someone answers. Want to make sure your point got across? Pause for 3-5 seconds. Did we just cover a lot of information? Pause and make sure everyone is with you - and don't be afraid to ask for confirmation. Pausing can seem awkward and uncomfortable at first.. However, I've observed that silence is seems awkward to everyone and not just myself as the presenter. This can cultivate interaction with the audience though as the awkwardness of silence turns into opportunity for others to engage.
I encourage you to try this the next time you present. And while 5 seconds can feel like an eternity, that time is really your ally in encouraging others to engage and allowing you time to gauge the room and collect your thoughts before moving ahead.
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