Think Like Them

Public speaking is communication. You’re like a guide, leading your audience through a jungle of information. If any of your audience members stumble with something you’ve said, they may get left behind. Communicate poorly enough and you may even lose members of your audience altogether. Communicate effectively with your audience and you lead them to the sunlit clearing of your conclusion. (Okay, enough with the jungle.*)

My point is this:

It’s essential to see the bigger picture. It’s very easy when creating a presentation to forget that your audience may simply not be familiar enough with your subject – or your industry for that matter – to follow the material because of your references, terminology or assumption of other prior knowledge. Try your presentation out on someone from a similar background to your audience. During the presentation itself, take a step back, and be ready to adapt to them by asking questions (see also my post ‘Your Audience Are Like Children’).

Do your research, find out what they know, and then fill all the gaps in their knowledge to lead them to where you need them to be.

* (You could use an ‘informachete’ – sorry.)