You’re losing your audience. Here’s why.

Imagine I take you on a chronological tour of the history of London.

As we’re going through different sites, I neglect to tell you that it’s a chronological tour;

You’ve no idea which period we’re starting from.  Hence, you think the Roman Wall is a lovely piece of 19th century cobbling;

I point to London Bridge, and it’s only half way through that you realise it’s not a 20th century crossing but one more ancient.

You’re whisked over to some old church and as I mention the plague, you’re wondering which one: Covid?  Spanish Flu?

By the time we pull up to a Victorian pub, you’re so confused as to what period we’re in, you can barely

Photo by RODNAE Productions at pexels.com

find your way to the bar for that sorely needed pint of Guinness.

(Mine’s a gin. Thanks).

This was like the very frustrating tour I joined in Marrakesh.  No signposting by the guide meant I had no idea where we were in the stream of events.

I couldn’t place anything.

It was such a shame, as he was full of knowledge but all I could think was:

“Where the feck are we now?”

“Which Sultan?”

“What war?”

It completely deterred me from the content.

You don’t want your audience asking themselves:

“What are they talking about now?”

It’s like listening to a casserole: everything seems all mixed up.

Your information’s actually in the right order but your listeners don’t know this.

There are really simple but often neglected ways of keeping your audience with you.

Using the techniques of signposting ensure the value of your content will be given centre-stage, giving your listeners the impression of a deep structure when you present, even with a spontaneous talk.

Techniques to keep the flow to your content

Each part of a presentation is divided into segments and even in a spontaneous talk, you will be giving the impression to your listeners that you have a structure.

The way to do this, is to signpost.  Aside from helping your audience realise there’s a structure to your content, it’ll mean what you say is easier to remember, in addition to keeping them with you when you change topic.

Signposts include:

• Move: simply move to a different area of the ‘stage’ when moving.
• Change your voice: the vocal pitch on which you begin the new section will contrast with that with which you have ended the last topic.
• Use a verbal transition: “So, I’ve described how we’re going to increase our market. Now, I’m going to tell you what your role will be in this important move.”

GIFT TIME:  I know you want tips ‘n’ tools at hand.  DOWNLOAD HERE a list of verbal transitions you can use to:

• take a prospect through a meeting from ‘intro, benefits, how we work with you’;
• create a rationale for senior management to act;
• help your team support a new strategy by taking them on a journey through the future…

Your Action Step:

1. Next time your presenting, consciously make a point of using one of the transitional techniques: change the tone, physically shift, drop in a verbal transition.
2. After that, purposefully use another one of the three.

You’ll eventually start to drop them in as you go along.

Remember, even the brightest person might not remember half of what you’ve said – even in a 5 minute talk – but they’re more likely to retain your message with the use of signposts.

You may already be aware of my courses, coaching, one-off sessions to help people become AMAZING presenters. If not, look here and click ‘Book a Call’ on the page for your free 15 minute Discovery Session.  (No strings attached.  If I can’t help you, I’ll say).

“Really informative, genuinely will now apply this for the rest of my life! Lovely mentor, you made us all feel very comfortable with something that can be very scary!”

Katrina Hardy,
Art Director at CA3 & Eli Onboarding

Photo by Kamaji Ogino: https://www.pexels.com/