Jefferson,
this is a great point& I would say that the better I know my material & audience, the more adaptable I can be.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree its vital that you know your audience and understand items such as knowledge level of product, etc. Also having the ability to adjust to your audience is important, preparing for differnt types of scenerios and situations both good and bad helps you become more prepared and comfortable when giving a presentation.
I play in a stage band that has a varying genre and an equally varying crowd,, It is impossible to tell from one place to the next just exactly who will show up for the show... so One thing I do is have multiple presentation styles available to meet the needs... However for some I understand this quick change mode may be difficult. I may not know who is going to be in this crowd till the curtain is drawn back...I was also in a sunday morning set and the show we had prepared was deffinately age appropriate,, but by the third song i realized we were missing hooking up the group, (audience) , so a quick mode check and song shoufle, and the next song immediatly hooked the crowd and they were then ready to follow us to edge of the earth..
Jonathan,
I like these ideas, especially the one of asking the audience their concerns or thoughts. Generally they will be ideas you already have & it allows you to tailor (as you said) a little more.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Holly ,
this is a great strategy; find out if there has been a recent big event for them & if you can connect your content to that.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Know your audience! If it is a group of individuals that you interact with everyday, then it is best to know and pre-plan as to how they are going to respond to your presentation and prepare responses or thoughts if they come up.
If you are unfamiliar with who your audience will be, then carefully and calculatedly ask the person inviting you to speak, what they will be like. Try to get as much information from this person as possible.
Another approach that I take is to ask the audience (typically smaller group settings) what concerns/thoughts they have about my topic as I get ready to present my topic. Then I can 'tailor' my remarks in the moment to the thoughts of the group. This makes it very helpful!
I often will wind out as much as I can about the audience in advance and use words, phrases and scenarios that will make sense to them. It is very effective when making a point or teaching a new topic that it is geared toward the audience you are speaking with at the time.
Carolyn,
yes, this really comes down to a good audience analysis & knowing your material well enough to be able to do this.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Knowing your audience and the purpose of your presentation is essential to customizing the presentation to the audience. You should not try to make the audience fit the presentation, but rather the presentation fit the audience. A presentation directed toward college educated professionals is going to necessarily be different than a presentation intended for high school students. It is important to know the audience, their goals, their reasons for attending the presentation and try to anticipate what they would want to get from the presentation. Many times researching the audience will enable you to better prepare for customization.
Customize your presentation to the type of student that it is being presented to. Sometimes I have a very young audience and other times a have a mature set of students, so I can interest them in different ways.
Linda,
this is a great example of good audience analysis & adapting to the audience, even in an online environment.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Since our audience is all online and live across the nation, we always have to make sure the presentation time is good for a majority of our students. We conduct a survey on a quarterly basis to elicite best presentation times and topics. That way we keep our presentations relevant to the every changing student body and their needs.
Jerome,
this is a great technique & one that ultimately really pays off. When we can use a similar template, but adapt it to fit a particular group it is successful for all.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I try to maintain a basic presentaion format and then taylor it to each class. At the beginning of each new session I encourage each student to participate by asking questions and participating in class discussions on the subject matter. I start by asking a student for personal experiance related to the topic and expand it from there. When students feel comfortable they are more inclined to participate.
June ,
these are great ways to really engage the students & to keep their interest.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I find a hands on demo which the students can understand and relate to is the best way to keep their attention. Backed up with hand out materials for later study and review.
By addressing a diversified audience by giving facts etc. tailored to each group.
As many others have said, research the group you are going to be speaking to. If you don't know their level of understanding of the topic you can easily talk over their heads or in such a basic manner they will be asking why am I here and why am I listening to this individual? I already know this.
Some of your research can be done well ahead of time. You can also do some research just prior to your presentation while talking to the audience members at a social or icebreaker prior to the start of the meetings.
Last you can customize your presentation by reading your audience through body language as well as questions they may ask during the presentation.
Don't memorize the presentation and depend on that memorization to get through the slightest deviation can through a presenter off their game and many do not recover.
One of my mentors when I started out teaching in the military told me to live by two words when presenting to a group to help customize to meet their needs it is "Semper Gumby" Always Flexible. Don't be so rigid in your presentation be prepared just as this course had shown us to do.
Solid Preparation, Solid research, Be the subject matter expert, be receptive to the feedback your being given and be flexible.
Randy,
this can definitely be frightening, but if you have learned to read your audience you should be in good shape.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Most of the presentations I give are to my co-workers that I have worked with for up to 4 years. This makes it very easy on me; I know what bores them, I know what engages them, I know how to guide the presentation towards where I feel it needs to go. With that said, I try to work a lot of humor into my presentations, while not straying far from the importance at the heart of the discussion.
I'm seldom put in scenarios where I have to present to a large group of complete strangers--yikes!!!
