How to be a memorable presenter
Quick: what’s the thing you remember most about the last presentation you heard?
Maybe it was yesterday’s company meeting? Last Sunday’s sermon? Or the keynote from a conference you just attended?
What do you recall from the presentation you heard?
I’ll wait while you think. [Cue the Jeopardy theme song, please.]
Despite not being able to hear your answers, I’m willing to wager that—if you remember anything from the last presentation—the reason you remember it is the same reason anyone remembers anything.
The cause for memory
The reason something resides in our memory is partially due to the emotions coupled with that experience. Emotions are encoders of memory, influencing various aspects of the cognitive process. They have an effect on attention (as do our virtual backgrounds), perception, and learning in addition to the ability to retrieve information.
If you couldn’t recall anything from the last presentation you heard, you likely didn’t feel something during it. If, instead, I asked you to think of a presentation (sermon, college lecture, conference speech) that you can remember, chances are you experienced some sort of emotion during it—whether you were moved, inspired, angered, challenged, shocked, or confused.
If you want your presentation to be memorable—and actionable
Many hours of preparation go into crafting and delivering a presentation. (Granted, sometimes we aren’t given the luxury of sufficient preparation time.) We put in that degree of effort because there’s a goal or a purpose for giving that presentation—and we care about that goal. Realizing how little people might remember from our presentations can feel defeating. Sigh.
Incorporating emotion—yes, even in business presentations—is the remedy for that pain. I certainly don’t mean to imply that speakers should demonstrate any inauthentic emotions or contrive content to manipulate their audiences. Rather what I’m suggesting is that we intentionally craft moments in a presentation that will facilitate an emotional interaction with our content.
Here’s how:
- First, it’s imperative to really take the time to consider what matters most to your audience. If you don’t genuinely know what they care about—in a specific way—you simply won’t be able to create an emotional connection.
- Second, identify the point in your presentation that you most want them to care about. (“All of it” isn’t a reasonable answer here.) Do you want them to care about a statistic you’re presenting (e.g., the forecasted decline in sales or the measurable adverse impact of social media on our teens)? Which point(s) in your talk are most likely to galvanize action if properly understood—and felt—by your audience?
- Third, spend time brainstorming ways you could elicit some emotion on that point through an illustration of some kind. Perhaps you can tell the story of someone affected by that information. Or you can relate that information to something the audience knows well (see this example from a talk I heard recently comparing the number of Starbucks locations to the human trafficking sites in the Denver metro area). Please also be sure that your own facial expressions and tone of voice are congruent with that emotion—you shouldn’t be smiling when you’re talking about the consequences of not having clean water or the need to lay off part of the team.
Being in touch with your own emotions is an integral part of being able to elicit them in someone else. Author Daniel Coleman refers to “emotional entrainment” as the mark of a skilled speaker: the ability to know and use one’s own emotions to bring it out in someone else.* Pay attention to how you feel in a given moment of your day and take note of the causes of that emotion. Pay special attention to the moments where those emotions are strong—whether positive or negative—as the circumstances of that moment may prove to be fodder for a good illustration/story.
You care about your work—whether volunteer or paid. You give presentations in service of the ideas and initiatives that further your efforts. By intentionally crafting some emotional moments (or at least one) in your content, you increase the likelihood of your presentation being remembered and acted upon. And isn’t that what you want?
Not sure how to do this effectively? Schedule a consultation and we’ll discuss how I can help.
*Emotional Intelligence, p. 104.