 Today on The Journey we'll be talking about how to give a presentation your audience will love. So don't panic but in order to actually capture your audience's attention you'll have to do it in the first 30 seconds. Yeah recent studies show that you lose people within the first minute so if you don't have something eye-catching or have a great message or really dynamic you're going to lose them to those digital distractions they're going to look at their phone they're just not going to pay attention they're going to take a nap whatever and that's not what you want because you spend a lot of time on this presentation. So we have a few tips on how to hijack a person's flighty focus and really capture their attention. So the first thing you want to do is to frame your story and I love to do this by starting with a story I feel that stories are so engaging we love hearing people tell stories about themselves or made up stories whatever it is just tell a little short story that talks about the key points that you're talking about in your presentation so that way it's relatable when you bring it back. And when it's being relatable you want to make sure that you're not expecting people to know everything that you do but make sure that you're speaking not using jargon but able to be completely understood. So when I develop my keynote speeches this is how I do it in the first 30 seconds I tell them exactly what I'm going to talk about and what is going to be beneficial to them. So talking about organizations and institutions isn't always enjoyable by others so you want to make sure that you're telling stories and you know coming up with things that are you know relatable. Okay so we know that we're going to capture their attention within the first 30 seconds maybe with a story but then what are we going to do for the rest of our talk how are we going to plan our delivery. There's a couple ways you can do that one you can read directly from a script or a teleprompter however we don't really suggest doing that because it can make you disconnected and even if you use a teleprompter people can find and discover that you're really reading and then they'll zone out. We've all watched videos or even the news and you can tell when someone's reading off a teleprompter and it's really distracting because you actually kind of focus on their eyes and you just see them going back and forth and also you can come off very dry and stiff and robotic you don't seem like a natural person so if that's your style great but be aware that that could be one of the cons of doing it that way. Exactly but the next thing that you could do you can actually have some bullet points that you know you're going to have it to structure your talk and you know your bullet point is going to let you know what to talk about next. This is actually my favorite way to give a presentation because not only can I structure my slides in that way where I just have quick bullet points that the people can read and then they can focus back on me but also it gives me a little bit of flexibility that if I want to change things up in the moment I'm not so freaked out when I go off script and then I won't know what to do. Exactly and then the next way is just remember your whole speech word for word. Memorize the whole thing. Exactly some of the best speakers TEDx talks you'll find them just going straight from memory nothing shown on a slide nothing as a presentation and some of those talks are very engaging because they're focused on the audience and making that connection. And the next thing is your tone and you may want to come across as an orator and sounding as if you're you know having flowery language and coming across as if you're on a stage play. That may not necessarily go over too well with a lot of audiences. A conversational tone is so much better. Again talking about those TEDx talks some of the best presenters just had a conversation like Steve Jobs and the audience stayed engaged. So find the personal style that works for you and really hone in on that delivery. Next is stage presence for a lot of inexperienced speakers. This is a major point of focus. However don't be so hard on yourself. The more important thing is having your speech and your words come out clear. Obviously if you're new to presenting you might get a little nervous and that might show a little bit but really that will come with time. So just keep practicing do rehearsals and then in those rehearsals you might want to see like I'm moving around all over the place or I'm just standing like this. That's an opportunity your the visual that people are going to be seeing as they watch you is just as important as what you're saying. This is also an opportunity to be vulnerable with your audience. Let them know that you are genuinely nervous. Other people that are listening to you they could possibly feel the same way and it's a great way of automatically connecting with many members in the audience. Another tip is many speakers stay in the audience until it's their time to go up focusing all their efforts on the other speakers and staying connected with those in the audience. This could also take care of a lot of pre-speech jitters and allow you to really focus on other things than what you're about to do in your speech. Next you want to plan your multimedia. In today's technologically driven age you feel the need sometimes to actually have some slides. However these slides don't need to have your full speech on there. Once again no one likes it if you're just reading word for word. It's like oh my gosh we can't read. Take it as just an opportunity to have something to compliment what you're actually going to talk about. And with this more isn't necessarily better. You can just have a few pictures here and there timed at key moments as part of your delivery and your presentation. I think of Steve Jobs whenever he would do a big keynote for a new product release he didn't have the words all on the screen. He would just you would be focusing on him and his message and what he was saying and then at the key moment there's something new would pop up on the screen with very little tech. So take cues from your favorite presenters and take notes break it down. If you want to be the best learn from the best. Another tip is some of the most engaging speakers they build silence into their talks. That gives the audience that opportunity to really hang on the edge of their seats at what's coming next. And another thing is have the mentality that this is not necessarily a speech you have to do but it's something that you get the opportunity to do. Making sure that you're just allowing people to experience your expertise is a much better way of possessing and framing it in your mind. Yeah what are you sharing with your audience that you're so excited for them to learn? Our final step practice practice practice. Preparing your talk maybe six months in advance gives you so much time to actually rehearse it and memorize it so you come across as genuine and very well prepared. And if all else fails just imagine everyone in their underwear. Today we talked about how to give a presentation your audience will love. In the comments below tell us what was your favorite tip. And be sure to like this video subscribe to our channel and ring that notification bell so you can be notified when our next video drops. Thanks for watching until next time this is The Journey.