7 Tips To Keep Your Audiences Engaged

Imagine being worse than a fish at something, a goldfish has twelve seconds worth of attention span, while a human only eight. And if you are still reading this article, you just went beyond that eight-second mark at the end of the last sentence. We live in a fast-paced world, where we are bombarded with information at the speed of light. Companies spend billions of dollars on advertising every year to get a consumer to engage with their brand. If you’re a speaker or someone who has to deal with large audiences, seeing yawning faces and people scrolling through their phones while you’re speaking is not the situation you want to be in.

A speaker is much like a brand; if you don’t grab the attention of your audience and keep them engaged in the content you have to offer, chances are they’re not going to be coming back for your next talk. But if you can’t spend billions of dollars on getting their attention, here are a few easy tips you can follow to ensure your audiences never take their eyes off of you, even for a second.

1. Tell it Like a Tale!

Presenters give a talk, but storytellers create a memorable experience. You have to make the audience a part of your narrative, even if it is your story or experience, they should feel like they can fit right in on that journey with you. They should want to share your story like it was their own. Use literary devices like metaphors and paint a vivid picture for them, like its an immersive experience. When they feel like a part of that story, you give them a sense of purpose, like they can go and change the world. Make sure your narrative has a rhythm if there is more than one character in your story give them dialogues and a distinct personality. Always remember, no matter how good your content is, without the delivery, it does not leave a lasting impact.

2. Don’t Be That Person

Be relatable! You don’t want to be the speaker who presents for more LinkedIn connections. The audience should feel like you’re that intriguing or “cool” person they want to have a drink with after the event. When a person sees a part of them in you, they feel more at ease going into business with you. Express what you feel, if you’re nervous then make it known to the audiences. It shows them your vulnerabilities and forms a human connection with you because now you are not talking at them but amongst them. A touch of humour never did anyone wrong. Be funny and talk about an incident that happened while making the presentation or a joke about something you read while researching. It facilitates as a break from all the information going into their brains. Point being, let your audience have an insight into you, show them who you are and let them relate to your brand.

3. Let’s Make Things Graphic

Visuals are miraculous! They do wonders for your audience far beyond you can imagine. A few bullet points will never convey your message to the audience as effectively as an image or even infographic. Humans tend to pay more attention and remember visuals. They indulge more in experiences that please their senses and look pleasing to the eye. Also, please don’t bore people to death with Powerpoint presentation slides. Millennials and GenZ won’t be as engaged as you want. They process visuals way quicker than words and don’t forget “a single image can speak a 1000 words!”

4. It’s Getting Hot Topical in Here

Make it current, be present and aware. It’s necessary to be on top of trends and make sure all your information is up to date. Audiences like connecting your content to something that has recently happened. For example, if you’re talking about the justice system, historic oppression, human rights or even cultural differences, you can mention the Black Lives Matter movement. It not only makes it easier for your audiences to relate to that topic but also shows that you care about what’s happening around you and are aware. They like to see that the expert talking to them is not their restricting knowledge to his or her field. You can even do something as simple as picking up a remark made by a previous speaker that you can relate to your topic or making an observation they didn’t notice in the current setting.

5. We Need to Talk

Interaction with your audience is an absolute must, talk to them and have a conversation. Urge them to ask questions through a Q&A session or randomly throw a bunch of questions at them, whatever works for you. You get to listen to their concerns, understand how they feel or the problems they face in the topic of your expertise. When you answer those questions, it makes your case more solid. Sometimes, you cannot possibly know the answers to all questions, in such situations take their contact and tell them you will get back to them instead of panicking. They don’t expect you to know everything either.

6. Filter! Filter! Filter!

What you don’t say is equally as important as what you do. You may have a world of knowledge and a lot of things to say but you need to have a strategy to communicate efficiently. Consider timing and setting; it is not about if its the right thing to say but if its the right time and place to say it. Think of what your audience is like, what are the things they might or might be interested in, much like your business understand the demographics here too. Stick to insight or information that may help the audience in general. In the end, think about the consequences and repercussions your words can have. Ask yourself questions like, will this hurt someone’s sentiments? Will this lead to an erratic and unexpected response? Will, what I say hurt my chances of something I care about?

7. A Lasting Impression

Just like all good things come to an end, so does your speech. What you choose to leave the audiences thinking about is all in the closing. Make sure you summarise the main points and arguments you covered. Reinforce the purpose of your topic or question and the takeaway for the audience, give a sense of closure. You can do so by coming full circle and making sense of what you started with, in a witty or a surprising manner, giving the audience a little dramatic “Aha!” moment. If you want to keep things simple, just restate your basic conclusion or recommendation and avoid any new line of argument.