Audience Engagement When Presenting

Participation and More

A talk or presentation is typically best with engagement of the audience, and that means participation of some sort.

Here are a few ways to positively engage your audience:

• Meet people prior to the talk, or greet them if you already know them
• Walk around the room
• Make eye contact
• Ask a question and raise your hand as you are asking, so the audience knows you want their input
• Ask a question with "Who'll be the first to guess at..." so people know their guesses are okay, and then, when someone answers, repeat the guess and thank him or her without judgement
• Ask "Who wants to start us off?" and wait, rather than "picking on someone to answer something
• When someone starts responding, when he or she is done, ask that person "Who would you like to hear from next?" so that you are not calling on someone
• Use a fun object, or even a wadded up piece of paper as the talking prop that when someone has it, she or he has the floor - let people know you throw the object to, not at, others
• Call people by name
• Be sincere in your interaction
• Make the effort and have fun (without making fun of anyone other than yourself)

When you choose to engage your audience in positive ways, they feel safe, enjoy, and tend to want to be a part of the information sharing with you!