Presentations Training:
Presentation Skills - Seven Sure-Shot Ways to Make an Audience Fall in Love With You

When you hear your name at the end of the introduction and you take a deep breath to steady yourself, you are getting ready to walk out into the great unknown. You know that if you use all of your presentation skills to the best of your ability, for that 40 minutes, 90 minutes, or whatever, you will have that whole audience hanging on your every word. You can give them good news and make it sound even better. You can give them bad news and make it sound like it will all be okay. But for the entire time that you are up on that stage, from the eager faces in the front to the bored and slightly agitated faces in the back, you have to make sure that they are held under your spell. You have to make sure that for the time you are there, they are all in absolute love with you. Here are seven ways to accomplish just that:

Number One: Be warm and personable no matter what the message is

You will notice that this tip is not "act like you are warm and personable" nor was it "appear to be warm and personable." Most audiences, especially those who have sat through a number of status-of-the-company presentations are savvy enough to sniff out a phony from way off, so if you can't quite feel it, don't try to fake it. If warm and personable is not your thing, then aim for a different approach.

Number Two: Don't be afraid to let them in a little bit

You don't have to stand on stage weeping great buckets while pouring out the epic saga of the day your dog ran away, your Nana passed on and your first girlfriend dumped you to join the circus. But you can admit that you have felt scared, sad, mad or whatever emotion the news the audience just got may be making them feel. Maybe share a similar story, let them see a softer side of you, but don't overdo it.

Number Three: Let them think of you as a shoulder to lean on

Psychologists know very well the phenomena of transference: You take all of the emotions that you are feeling as the result of some serious news and transfer it to the person who gave you the news. Why do you think so many terminally ill patients end up falling in love with their doctors? The most rational among the audience will know that there is no way that they will see you beyond this moment in time, but they still can't help but feel an emotional bond with you.

Number Four: Lead them to draw their own conclusions

Unless you were given a prepared speech to read from, literature to draw your information from or were specifically told what to say, your interpretation of what your presentation should be about will be up to you. It is only fair then that you avoid saying anything directly, especially if it would be hugely upsetting for the people. Your better bet is to give a gentle outline and let the people draw their own conclusions.

Number Five: Show them that you are on their side

If you are giving a presentation to the employees of a company that is about to close, needle the management team a little bit. (Be careful-they do have to pay you, remember) The audience will eat it up and it will suddenly be us-versus-them kind of thing.

Number Six: Don't be afraid to flirt it up just a little bit

Bat your baby blues. Wink a time or two. Establish eye contact with someone and hold it for a count or two. Each person in the room will feel as if that connection was made between you and them. They will talk about your dark hair or your strong jaw line for days and unless the news was that their jobs send on Saturday, they will not remember much else.

Number Seven: Leave them in a better mood than when you walked in