Even though there are a bazillion meetings a day in North America, we have all been in the exact same kind of meeting: The presenter is sharing boatloads of information about the topic…far too much for you to care about, no less understand. Your eyelids begin to droop and sleepy time is close at hand.
Rather than spew forth everything you know about your topic, do your research. Find out who will be in the audience, their hopes, fears, interests, and, most important – why they will even bother to come to your presentation. Then tailor your speech to connect your comments with what they care about. Not the ones you think they should care about. This is a subtle distinction with dramatic implications. If you do not address something that helps make their lives better or improve the lives of people they care about, you will be boring. Guaranteed.
Want a quick way to know whether your presentation is all about you or oriented toward the audience? Here’s a simple litmus test: Count the number of times you use the words “I, me, mine, my” versus the more inclusive words of “you, yours, we, ours”. Are you speaking more about yourself or about your audience?
