Public Speaking Without PowerPoint - Three Ways to Engage Audiences Without the Screen

If you have seen many speeches in your professional life, you have probably seen a boring PowerPoint presentation. It contains of a great host of slides that form a bullet-pointed outline of the entire presentation. The speech consists of little more than reading the bullet points. If you were in a darkened room, a nap might have overtaken you.

If you have given many presentations, you may be a perpetrator of such boredom. Challenge your self and give your audience a break. Next time you present, leave the projector at the office and try one of these techniques to engage your audience.

ENGAGE THEIR IMAGINATIONS WITH WORD PICTURES

Long before visual aids became common, speakers, storytellers and authors used words to trigger the imagination. The faux Martian invasion staged by Orson Wells through radio broadcasts caused a panic. People are very capable of conjuring up compelling images from their own mind; you can use this as a speaker.

Creating a word picture is not difficult. Start by imagining for yourself what you want your audience to see. Make the image as vivid as possible with colors, motions, sounds, scents and textures. Next, put it in words. Write down what you imagine including as many senses as you can.

You will probably need to revise your word picture to keep it short enough. Organize it, pare it down and tighten it up. It only needs to be detailed enough to evoke the imaginations of your audience; they will do the rest.

ENGAGE THEIR EYES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

Before there was PowerPoint, speakers used photographic slides, chalkboard, white boards, flip-pads and fingers in the dust to provide visual aids for their presentations. These tools can be just as misused, too. The interminable travel slide show is cliché. So is the droning lecture accompanied by squeaking chalk.

Hand illustration has the advantage of being slower than clicking through electronic slides. You have to be selective about what you write or draw on your board. Write or draw selected words or images to reinforce the most important points of your presentation and show how they related. Focus on creating visual aids; if you are just producing an outline of your presentation, you could have used PowerPoint.

We are attracted to motion and color. Your use of hand illustrations can bring this into your presentation, adding interest and drawing additional attention from your audience at critical moments.

ENGAGE THEIR BODIES WITH MOTION

An important part of learning is doing. Look for ways you can get your audience to do something, even if the task is more illustrative than practical. It provides you with one more pathway to their mind.

Motion may also be a way to reengage an audience that is tired. People can only sit still for so long. If they have been sitting in a dim room for a while, they may welcome the chance to get up and stretch.

Activities can be difficult in large groups. You can get much of the benefit by drawing a few audience members up to perform the activity. This supplies a visual aid and stirs up the sympathy of the audience who will feel for their fellow who were unlucky enough to be picked or foolhardy enough to volunteer.

Be careful that your activities are not embarrassing or injurious to those participating. You want your audience to feel good about what they have done.

Preparing a presentation using these techniques can take more time and effort than typing your outline onto electronic slides. However, if your audience is not attentive to your presentation, it is a waste of effort. Think of the extra effort to use one of these techniques as an investment in your audience and the effectiveness of your message. Challenge yourself try your next presentation without PowerPoint and use these techniques to connect with your audience.

Keenan Patterson is a manager at Infra Consulting LC in Jefferson City, Missouri. In addition to consulting and he provides training to nonprofit and association boards, governing boards of municipalities and special purpose districts, and regulatory commissions, and speaks to diverse audiences.