Don’t boring scenes make you want to press fast-forward?
If you’re bad at entertaining your audience, then they’ll want to fast-forward your professional presentations, too.
But what makes a scene boring?
There are many reasons for a dull presentation, but one of the most notorious is because the presenter is trying to cover up a lack of preparation.
Here are 3 delaying tactics you should avoid:
1. Overdoing Background Information
Introductions are where you engage audiences so that they’ll listen to you from start to finish.
However, taking too long to get to your main point will bore them to death.
Avoid including too much background information in your script.
Anecdotes are a great way to start a pitch, but make sure it’s directly related to your core idea, or else you’ll just go off-track.
Instead, go straight to your main points point and work on particular details that best inform and educate the crowd.
2. Stating the Obvious
Everybody knows that the Earth is round and the sky is blue.
Why tell your audiences information that they probably already know?
If you’ll be mentioning well-known facts, make sure that you have follow-up questions or points for discussion.
For instance, look for the reasons behind the fact, concrete examples that demonstrate that data, or ways how you could take advantage of it.
Otherwise, skip that piece of information altogether.
3. Delaying the Solution
Your audience is there for a reason: they’re looking for something beneficial that you can give them.
If you fail to deliver, then you’ve failed your audience.
Build-up is important, but spending too much time hyping up your offering could cause your audience to doze off from boredom.
Worse, they may get annoyed and think that your pitch was a waste of time.
Caring about your audience involves giving them what they expect from you. Offer something that makes them think that they’re your priority. Don’t give them the opposite of what they’re looking for.
Get Straight to the Point
Why would you end up delaying your presentation in the first place?
Often, this is a result of not preparing for the big day.
Careful planning allows you to craft and organize your script. It helps you recognize what is valuable to your audience.
When you plan for your next presentation, instead of talking about how significant your topic is, make sure to go straight to delivering your main point.
Remember: avoid including too much background information, stating the obvious, and delaying the solution.
Avoiding these delaying tactics is your ticket to the fast-lane of engaging, convincing, and sales-worthy presentations.
