You’ve researched your audience. You’ve prepared your presentation content. You’ve practiced it thoroughly.

But are you sure your presentation answers all of your audience’s concerns about your topic? If you’re honest with yourself, your answer has to be no.

This article explores how to determine your audience’s concerns about your topic, adapt your presentation slides to conform to your audience’s concerns, and answer your audience’s concerns fully.

Your Audience Determines Your Topic Emphasis

One way to determine your audience’s concerns about your topic is to ask them even before beginning your presentation.

I always arrive at the speaking venue at least an hour before my presentation. This allows me to confirm the setup and greet as many attendees as possible.

The first question I ask attendees is, “What do you have to see in my presentation to make your attendance worthwhile.”

The answer to this question gives me clues about what I should emphasize in my presentation.

Before I start my presentation, I ensure two flip chart stands, flip chart paper, and markers are on both sides of the screen. At the beginning of my presentation, I ask the audience whether they are public speakers. Usually, no one says they are.

Then I ask if anyone speaks at public events like PTA meetings, school board meetings, and trade association meetings. Then I get a few hands raised.

I put the places that they speak on one flip chart. Everyone is a public speaker of some sort.

On the other flip chart, I put the audience’s answers to the following question: “What do you have to see in my presentation to make your attendance worthwhile.” I then told them that our contract is on the second chart. I then appoint someone in the audience to check each item on the second chart as I review them.

This exercise allows my audience to have “skin in the game.” They determine what will be emphasized in my presentation.

Always allow your audience to determine the focus of your presentations.

So, what do you do about your pre-prepared slides? That will be covered next.

Adapt Your Slides to Conform to Your Audience’s Topic Concerns

Hopefully, your audience research gives you some idea of your audience’s concerns. However, the only way to be sure of your audience’s concerns is to seek input during your presentation

So, what do you do with your prepared slides?

You use the ones that answer audience concerns and don’t use the rest. It may be a bit clunky because you still have to show slides on the screen to pass them over, but it is much better than using a slide with no consequence for your audience.

We have all sat through death by PowerPoint. Slide after slide is shown on the screen, with only a fraction of the slides being relevant to your concerns as an audience member.

An excellent way to show only the slides relevant to your audience’s concerns is to prepare your slides at a high level and then show detailed slides accessed through a hyperlink from the high-level slides if they interest your audience. If there is a detailed question on one of your slides, you can hyperlink to the detailed slide(s).

Always allow your audience to determine the emphasis of material in your presentations and only use slides that address this emphasis

The last point is to ensure you thoroughly talk about your audience’s concerns.

Ensure You Fully Talk To Your Audience’s Topic Concerns

Did you ever have someone say they would do something for you, and then they never did? We have all been disappointed somewhere in our lives with people like this.

Your audience will have the same feeling of disappointment if you ask for their concerns about your topic and then you don’t fully address all of them.

It is vitally important that you address every concern of your audience about your topic.

Throughout my presentation, I glance over at the list of audience concerns about my topic and weave answers to audience concerns into my presentation. Hopefully, some of my slides will address these concerns.

However, if none of my slides answers a concern, I will blank out the screen and talk to this. An easy way to blank out the screen in PowerPoint in presentation mode is to tap the “b” key on your keyboard. Tap it again, and the slide will reappear. This works on both Mac and PC computers.

So, three ways to address your audience’s concerns about your topic are (1) allow your audience to determine the emphasis of material in your presentations, (2) only use slides that address this emphasis, and (3) ensure you fully talk about your audience’s concerns about your topic.

“Mine” information on your audience and reap presentation success!

Call to Action

• Allow your audience to determine the emphasis of material in your presentations

• Only use slides that address this emphasis

• Ensure you fully talk about your audience’s concerns about your topic

Frank DiBartolomeo is a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and award-winning speaker, presentation and interview skills coach, and Professional Member of the National Speakers Association. He was awarded Toastmasters International’s highest individual award, Distinguished Toastmaster because of his outstanding work in public speaking and leadership.

Frank formed DiBartolomeo Consulting International (DCI), LLC (www.speakleadandsucceed.com) in 2007. The mission of DCI is to help technical professionals to inspire, motivate, and influence their colleagues and other technical professionals by improving their presentation skills, communication, and personal presence. Reach Frank at frank@speakleadandsucceed.com and (703) 509-4424.

Don’t miss Frank DiBartolomeo’s latest book!

“Speak Well and Prosper: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Better Presentations”

Available now at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com