If you need to have an interactive presentation with a lot of discussions, questions, debates with your audience you need to set the right tone from the beginning. Don’t allow your audience to sit back and enter a “listening only modus” and engage with your audience from the start.
One thing you can do is ask a couple (3) polling questions as part of the introduction of your presentation. It should be relatively simple yes / no type of questions. Ask you audience to raise their hands if they vote yes, and ask again to raise their hands if they vote no. By means of this you create movement in your audience and you will grasp the attention. Make sure that there is always a need for each member of your audience to raise their hands.
Agree active participation from the start by asking the question. Let your audience raise their hands low, medium and high to demonstrate the level of participation. If you don’t see your audience raising their hands high in the air ask them again. Complement those who raised their hands high in the air. Tell your audience that for getting most out of this session, you need active participation and ask the question again. Create a live vibrant and active atmosphere from the start.
The book that is part of the Public Speaking Kit includes a series of tips and tricks to ensure active participation of your audience. Engage with your audience and be recognized as an excellent public speaker.
