I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about great presentations, trainings, and workshops as part of the American Evaluation Association’s Potent Presentations Initiative (p2i).
Here’s something I’ve been pondering: How do you know when you’ve given a great conference presentation? My ideas so far:
- People walk up to the front and talk to you before the presentation gets started (because they’ve already heard about you/your presentation and are looking forward to it)
- People walk up to the front and talk to you after the presentation
- People want your business card after the presentation
- People ask questions throughout the presentation (and not necessarily only when you’ve paused to ask them whether they’ve got any questions – asking questions throughout is generally a great thing)
- Barely anyone is playing on their cell phone (exception: if they’re tweeting about how much they’re learning in your presentation)
- People are willing to sit on the floor or stand in the back of the room to hear your presentation
- People are taking notes, sometimes furiously, to capture what you’re saying
- Months later, you run into people at other evaluation brown bags or happy hours and when they greet you, they say, “Oh I know you already, I saw your presentation at the conference!”
- Afterwards, people comment, “I learned so much!” or “You changed my entire way of thinking!”
- People email you afterwards and ask you to co-present with them next year
- People email you afterwards and ask for a copy of your presentation
- People email you afterwards to offer you a consulting opportunity
I didn’t start writing this post with audience engagement in mind… but I suppose that’s what my brainstorming points to?
– Ann Emery
P.S. While I’ve accomplished a few of these, I’ve by no means accomplished all of them (yet!). These are things I’m aiming for and things I’ve seen happen as a result of other evaluators’ great presentations.
bitkahuna
Jul 15, 2013 -
great article. so if people ask for a copy of a presentation, should i give it to them? i put a lot of work into it, and am concerned about how it might be used by those i give it to (if i did).
Ann K. Emery
Jul 15, 2013 -
Bitkahuna, Great question. Instead of sharing the slides, I suggest creating a separate 1-page handout that summarizes a few key points from your presentation and includes links to any resources you mentioned during your presentation. Attendees get a precise summary of takeaway messages, and presenters get peace of mind.