How do you adapt your presentation style to different types of audiences?
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How do you adapt your presentation style to different types of audiences? This is a crucial question for any presenter who wants to deliver effective and engaging presentations. Audience analysis is the process of gathering and interpreting information about your listeners, their needs, expectations, and preferences. By doing audience analysis, you can tailor your presentation content, structure, and delivery to suit your audience and achieve your goals. In this article, we will show you how to do audience analysis for presentation in six steps.
Identify your audience
The first step in audience analysis is to identify who your audience is. You need to know the basic demographic characteristics of your listeners, such as their age, gender, education, occupation, culture, and language. You also need to know the size and composition of your audience, such as how many people will attend your presentation, and whether they are homogeneous or heterogeneous. Knowing your audience will help you choose the appropriate tone, style, and level of formality for your presentation.
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The number one goal of any public speaker is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Whenever I book speaking gigs I always - ask the organizers for info on the audience: demographics, challenges, and what they want to learn - ask for feedback after each talk - I join events or conferences early to talk to people about what they expect from my session. It gives me fabulous insight, which they love when I mention them by name
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Determine your purpose
The second step in audience analysis is to determine your purpose for presenting. You need to have a clear and specific goal for your presentation, such as to inform, persuade, entertain, or inspire your audience. Your purpose will guide your choice of topic, main points, supporting evidence, and call to action. You also need to consider how your purpose aligns with your audience's needs, interests, and expectations. You want to make sure that your presentation is relevant, useful, and valuable for your listeners.
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After identifying your audience, as a community supporter, you need to determine the purpose. A presentation without purpose does not serve any purpose to anyone. It will be waste of time for you & anybody else who is reading the post/listening to the event. You must identify the purpose behind the presentation. You must also analyse the various aspects behind giving your presentation. For example: Am I focusing on my audience through my present? Is my data relevant to the audience or readers who are going to use it? Most important part in determining your purpose should involve how much VALUE you can add in your readers (network) life or in their careers by presenting such topics.
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Assess your audience's knowledge
The third step in audience analysis is to assess your audience's knowledge of your topic. You need to know how much your listeners already know, or don't know, about your subject matter. You also need to know how familiar they are with the terminology, concepts, and jargon that you will use in your presentation. Assessing your audience's knowledge will help you avoid boring them with information they already know, or confusing them with information they don't understand. You want to provide the right amount and depth of information for your audience.
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One efficient way to gauge your audience's knowledge is by using LinkedIn Polls. There couldn't be better way than trying out LinkedIn Polls. You can analyse the knowledge level of your audience by asking their opinion in the end of your LinkedIn posts. You can categorise the knowledge base into 3 parts: 1.Novice level 2. Intermediate level 3. Expert level Depending upon the percentage of the knowledge level of your audience,you can create similar posts and add value to their lives.
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Analyze your audience's attitude
The fourth step in audience analysis is to analyze your audience's attitude towards your topic, your purpose, and yourself. You need to know how your listeners feel, think, and behave in relation to your presentation. You also need to know how receptive, resistant, or indifferent they are to your message, your goal, and your credibility. Analyzing your audience's attitude will help you anticipate and address any potential objections, questions, or concerns that they may have. You want to appeal to your audience's emotions, logic, and values.
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Giving presentations remotely makes this difficult because sometimes you can't see the audience and gauge their responses. The only thing you can do in these situations is to keep your energy up, keep them engaged in the chat and through polls and do your best! If you have an opportunity to send out a survey before you do your presentation to get some of these insights about what the audience feels about the topic it can be very helpful.
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Adapt your presentation content
The fifth step in audience analysis is to adapt your presentation content to your audience. You need to select and organize your content based on your audience's knowledge, attitude, and needs. You also need to use appropriate language, examples, stories, and visuals that resonate with your audience. Adapting your presentation content will help you create a clear, coherent, and compelling message that your audience can understand, remember, and act on.
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I am a scientist, so when I talk to a scientific audience, I usually try to structure my presentation around the standard "Introduction, Research Aim, Methods, Results, Discussion/Conclusion" paradigm. That's because that's what scientists expect. In fact, when I start my blank PowerPoint presentation, I usually create slides that say those headings, and then I fill in with slides in between. Since visuals should be the focus, I start by choosing which figures and tables I want to display in the Results section. Tables and figures from written works (like articles and theses) often have to be adapted for slides. My video about turning a research article into a presentation provides more information: https://youtube.com/live/g_5m7E1xc2k
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Adapt your presentation delivery
The sixth and final step in audience analysis is to adapt your presentation delivery to your audience. You need to adjust your voice, body language, eye contact, and gestures to suit your audience's expectations, preferences, and feedback. You also need to use appropriate humor, enthusiasm, and rapport to engage your audience and keep their attention. Adapting your presentation delivery will help you communicate with confidence, credibility, and charisma.
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Your presentation style should be in conjunction with your audience's interest,knowledge, emotions & respect. You must keep your tone polished and modulate as and when you speak some words. Put emphasis on those words where necessary. Add a tint of humour while presenting. This will lighten up the atmosphere and viewers will be at ease. You can ask few questions to your audience to keep them engaged. Once the engagement is established, it will be much easier for you to deliver and finish the presentation.
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Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
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Think about sharing information with your audience in terms of a story. Every audience cares mostly about themselves. This isn't a bad thing. It's just how we operate as humans. So, figure out the CONFLICT your audience cares about. Then share with them the CONTEXT (what's happening now) of their world or a similar CONTEXT you have experienced. Finally, lead them to a CONCLUSION that addresses and ultimately solves the challenge they are facing.
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