It is a new year and that presents us all with an opportunity to reflect on the year that was and to consider what we might do differently in the year ahead. Many of you present to various audiences (partners and/or end-users) on a regular basis as part of your job. Many of you I am sure would be looking to improve the effectiveness of your presentations, regardless of how experienced you may be. All presenters would like to feel that their audience has left the room with the desired key takeaway messages, but this does not always happen. Never before have we been so distracted by email, text and social media, and so never before has it been so critical or difficult to capture the attention of our audience and instill our message quickly and effectively.
Joey Asher from the fastcompany.com website has written a fabulous article on what he believes is the key factor in being able to do exactly this. He states that you need no more than 10 minutes to actually present to your audience and that it should always be followed by a Q and A session – as lengthy or as short as the audience requires. He believes the Q and A session allows you to delve in to details the audience are interested in while the actual presentation allows you to cut right to the chase and deliver your message, whatever that may be.
Read the article to get more detail on his theory and approach to presenting.
Presentations – Half As Long Is Twice As Good
