Why your presentations are boring (and how to fix them)

We’ve all sat through boring presentations in our personal and professional lives: sales meetings, internal meetings, keynotes, and of course timeshare presentations for that “free” overnight. We stare at our watches and our minds wander as we hope to hear “thank you for your time” and be dismissed.

The reality is that no matter the subject matter, there’s always an opportunity to bring the presentation to life. In the first post of a series, we'll share tips to engage an audience, starting with how to kick off a meeting/presentation/speech.

The initial 30 seconds of any speaking engagement is the most valuable real estate - first impressions are paramount. This is when the audience decides whether the speaker is credible, likable, interesting, and if this presentation is worthy of their time and focus. What’s the worst way to start a presentation? The way everybody starts one: “Hi, my name is Jimmy…here’s a brief agenda…a little bit of housekeeping…any questions before I begin?” This approach signals to the audience that you’re a carbon copy of every other salesperson/speaker/presenter they’ve had to sit through this year and that it’s time to zone out.

So what should presenters do at the start? Something different.

When the speaker breaks the mold in the first few moments of a presentation the audience pays attention. We as human beings crave surprise and novelty: This is new.” “I wasn’t expecting this.” They become curious about what's going to happen next - unlike when predictable agenda items are shared at the top of a meeting. Capturing their attention this early will pay dividends for the remainder of the time, plus it places the audience on the presenter’s side and helps make everything they say resonate more effectively.

"Live from New York it's Saturday Night!" A cold open from SNL.

A cold open is the best approach for capturing attention early. The term cold open was popularized by Saturday Night Live - it’s the very first segment of the show that concludes with “Live from New York it’s Saturday Night!” It’s cold in the sense that it dives straight into the sketch before the opening credits. The Office (U.S. version, of course), used the same approach. Whatever the context, cold opens tend to pull us in immediately.

The cold open can take a number of forms in a presentation:

A story - launch right into a story connected to the content, ideally highlighting the pain, frustration, or opportunity of an individual. “Let me tell you about Mary, an entry level sales person who is having a difficult time in her role…”

A question - Pose a question then link it to the content: e.g. “has anybody here ever reported to a demanding boss?”

A poll - Survey the room to get them involved right away: e.g. “quick show of hands, how many of you consider yourselves to be introverts? What about extroverts?”

An activity - A quick, simple activity to get the audience moving and engaged right off the bat: “everybody take out a sheet of paper and write down the three most important characteristics of a leader.”

A joke - Capture their attention immediately with humour - it will be unexpected at the start. Ideally a joke relevant to the subject matter, audience or location. “It’s great to be here in Lisbon, although there are a lot of hills. Last night I had a lovely dinner, started walking uphill back to the hotel when I realized I forgot my wallet. I turned around to go back to the restaurant…and it was still uphill!”

The cold open does not have to be elaborate, dramatic or time intensive. In fact it should be none of those - it ought to be quick, to the point, and come off as natural.

There is still an opportunity to share the boring - yet often necessary - housekeeping items and agenda, but that can happen after the cold open. Capturing the audience’s attention and setting the tone that this will be an engaging meeting should be the first order of business.

At a time when attention spans are shorter than ever and we’re overwhelmed with content, starting off a presentation with an outside the box approach will make you and your company stand out.

At Corporate Charisma we have mastered the art of engaging an audience - both on the comedy stage and in the conference room. You won’t come across our novel approaches, guidance and tips anywhere else!