Audience engagement is the process of interaction with the attendees or clients about a specific purpose or agenda or message to create the desired outcome. It is the key element for delivering an exceptional presentation. Captivating the attention of the audience to make them connected with the presentation is a crucial factor. It helps you to deliver your message or idea through the presentation.
Audience Engagement:
Connection vs. Performance About 85% of marketers and business owners consider audience engagement as the key element for their success. There are several controversies about the necessity of connection and performance in audience engagement. Statistics and research show that connection is a far better element required for engaging the audience. There are various factors that contribute to the benefits of connection over performance, such as:
❖ Intention over Precision:
People who tend to focus on the precision of their presentation go through immense pressure and stress. It hampers their self-confidence and may cause nervousness in real-time audience engagement. You must not think about the performance of your presentation. The precise use of quotes and slogans will create a lot of pressure. This will in fact
distract you from the actual message for the audience. It is crucial to focus on the intention of your presentation. Connect with the audience and deliver your intended messages with a bit of pause in your sentences. Intention over precision is preferable for engaging the audience.
❖ Spontaneity over Memorization:
Memorizing your presentation can make any person nervous. It creates more chances of recalling the presentation script rather than relating the messages to the audience. This reduces the attention span and makes your presentation dull and boring. It’s recommendable to keep spontaneity in your presentation. You must understand your presentation and talk about it in your own version. This will bring clarity and structure to connect with the audience. It will bring spontaneous ideas and topics naturally.
❖ Your Own Best Self Over Scripted Performance:
If you follow precision and memorization techniques to deliver your presentation, then you are no more than an actor playing script. These techniques will nowhere help you to connect to the audience effectively. Your best self will perform naturally better than the scripted performance. If any audience comes up with a query in the middle of your scripted performance then you will lack an appropriate answer as an immediate response. But having in-depth
understanding your presentation will help you to answer any query with a spontaneous solution. Thus, your best self is more preferable to a scripted one.
❖ Expressive Attitude over Choreographed Attitude:
If your presentation is supported with too many gestures choreographed by you, then it will create a distraction. The audience will lose the connection between the real message and the purpose of the presentation. Use expressive attitude and minimum gestures to connect with the audience. Your main focus should be on implementing your message.
Ending Note:
So if you want audience engagement for your presentation, then make sure to connect with them through the entire process instead of focusing on your performance.
