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<\/a><\/p>\nAs a presentation specialist, it\u2019s your job to keep people\u2019s attention, but in our world of consistent sensory input, that\u2019s becoming increasingly difficult to do. Winning over the hearts and minds of a distracted audience requires a killer presentation that makes both eyes and ears perk. Incorporate these elements in every PowerPoint presentation you create to make people forget about their email inbox and incoming texts for five minutes.<\/p>\n
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- Research your audience, not just your subject<\/strong>
\nThe owner of a fresh fish market asks about the catch. A fellow angler asks about the fishing. Different things matter to different people, and knowing what matters to those you are trying to reach is essential to creating a presentation that resonates.Begin your presentation research by learning about your audience. (pascuccirestaurant.com<\/a>) Find out what matters to them. Are they big-picture people, or number crunchers? Jokesters, or no nonsense? By knowing your audience, you can design a presentation in their language.<\/li>\n- Shock them<\/strong>
\nEight seconds. That is the length of the adult attention span. Eight seconds, and your audience\u2019s collective mind is already wandering. So, you have eight seconds to convince them to keep reading.\u00a0 This is where knowing the audience\u2019s interests makes a huge impact. If they own the fish market, lead with the number of nets you pulled in. If they\u2019re anglers, tell them about the biggest fish you ever caught.Blow their minds, and make them want to know more.<\/li>\n- Tell them a story<\/strong>
\nThere\u2019s a reason so much of human history comes in story form. The human brain is naturally responsive<\/a> to storytelling. Stories also arouse human emotion, which positively correlates to retention<\/a>.\u00a0 For a story to work, you must make your audience want to know how it comes out. So, use three-act structure \u2013 set the story up, increase the stakes, and wrap it up with a satisfying resolution.<\/li>\n- Incorporate media wisely<\/strong>
\nFacebook posts that include pictures get 104% more comments<\/a> and 84% more clicks than posts with only text. That may be because the brain can process images in as little as 13 milliseconds, so when someone is scrolling, they notice a picture more than the text that goes with it.\u00a0 That\u2019s true for presentations as well. So, put as much effort into the pictures you choose as the text you write.<\/li>\n- Keep it bite-sized.<\/strong>
\nThat eight-second attention span isn\u2019t just a one-time thing. Unfortunately, your audience\u2019s attention can waver at any time. Keep that in mind when creating a presentation. If you write an effective story, your audience should stay with you, but tell it as concisely as possible, and keep slide lengths short.It also doesn\u2019t hurt to throw in a twist or an amazing statistic every now and then, just to make sure they\u2019re still paying attention.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n - Shock them<\/strong>