Improve Your Communication Skills, 2nd Edition

119 Making a Presentation
do? Your objective is to tell them everything they need to know to 
take that action – and nothing more. 
Presentations are not for giving information. To repeat:
your audience is probably going to forget almost all the 
information you give them. So packing the presentation full of 
information is almost certainly counterproductive. If you must 
offer your audience detailed information, put it in supporting 
notes.
I believe that there’s only one reason why you should be making a 
presentation. It may sound rather grand, but a presentation 
should 
inspire
your audience. They want to be interested: to be 
moved, involved, intrigued. Your task is to bring your ideas alive 
with your own feelings, commitment and passion. You can 
demonstrate this commitment further when the audience asks 
you questions. It’s your conviction that the audience is looking 
for.
So your objective must be to inspire your audience. If you 
have any other objective, choose another method of 
communication. If you are simply making a pronouncement and 
not seeking or expecting any kind of response, you may as well 
write it down. For teaching or instructing, you will need to adapt 
a presentation into a much more interactive activity.
How many points to put across?
I think the answer should be ‘one’. If the average 
member of the audience can remember with interest 
and enthusiasm one main theme, the lecture has been a 
great success.
(Sir Lawrence Bragg, quoted in Max Atkinson, 
Lend Me Your 
Ears
, Vermilion Press, London, 2004)
( c) 2011 Kogan Page L imited, All Rights Reserved.

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120 Improve your Communication Skills
Analysing your audience 
Your presentation will be successful if the audience feels that you 
have spoken directly to them. If you can demonstrate that you 
have tailored your material to their needs, the audience will be 
more inclined to accept it. 
So think about your audience carefully