Grabbing and keeping your audience’s focus is critical to communication success, especially when you’re presenting at work.
What you have to say is important, so give yourself the best chance to convey your message to your audience by first gaining attention, but then, more importantly, sustaining it.
The Harvard Business Review recently published three research-backed techniques—physical, mental, and linguistic—to engage your audience:
Get physical
Anything that gets your audience doing something with their bodies will create engagement. For example, you can have people watch a video, read a handout, click on something on their screens, raise their hands, or use virtual reactions. All of these require your audience to become participants in your communication, not just observers.
Mental engagement
Fight back against your audience’s tendency to zone out or multitask by fostering cognitive engagement. There are three simple ways to do this: ask questions throughout your presentation; incorporate provocative statements, data, and stats; and introduce smart analogies.
Linguistic engagement
Linguistic engagement refers to the use of inclusive words, time-traveling language, and references to shared perspectives or experiences. Inclusive wording means inviting people into your communication. For instance, we’re hardwired to perk up when we hear our own name, as well as when we hear the word “you.”
You don’t need to rely on only one engagement technique at a time. Instead, combine them to increase and enhance their effect. Read the full story.
