We all give presentations, talks, speeches, or dinner toasts. Sometimes we fail to engage with our audience. Try to remember these tips for your next presentation.
Get away with your weak points
Let’s admit it, our chain of reasoning often has a weak point. The art of persuasion consists in getting around those weak points.
A common strategy is first to explain the most significant negative point and then some smaller ones later. The less negative will stand in the shadow of the bigger. You can use this to your advantage by artificially inflating a negative point. Let’s call it the most obvious negative point. Be prepared to have some solution for this negative point. Then you can reap the reward of hiding your other negative points. However, the most critical part is to focus on the positive news, even if the positive news weighs little. What counts is that you talk more about the positive aspects of your solution than about the negative.
If you want to trigger a particular action, but the actual reason to do so is small:
- Exaggerate the problem.
- Contrast it to ridiculously high numbers if the argument is expressible in numbers.
- Present your solution to the small and unimportant problem.
“Millions of students drink milk, 1000 alone in our community school. Therefore I want to offer free milk.”
A quick win: use the word “because” in illogical reasoning. The term indicates causality, and its use might make the listener accept a flaw.
Give something to get something
Providing free stuff is one of the pillars of the influencer economy. Once your audience is engaged, ask for something in return: a product purchase or a newsletter subscription. The person accepting your offer will feel obliged to return you a favor.
The identical process applies to oral presentations. Ask the audience to influence the story. You offer the audience an option. As this seems like a concession on your part, the audience feels obliged to believe you, and you get better buy-in. The trick is that you set up the choices and thus heavily influence the direction.
Be a dealer of stories
There is no one big success in growing your influence. On the contrary, it is better to use many small stories to build a following. Many people only follow to be consistent with their past behavior. Be the dealer who brings the new stuff.
Bonus point: raise expectations. Ask what the reader wants to raise his attention. The receiver of your story thinks he was waiting for it as he committed to it early. It is less important whether he still would decide the same.
It is the number of followers that count
Social proof is the driving force behind social media. This was a great secret a few years ago, but today everybody knows it. News with followers attracts attention, regardless of truth or importance.
Sadly, little can be done to be better than the rest of the crowd. Regularly delivering valuable content is the only way to success.
The chameleon effect
If you want to persuade someone, it helps to be perceived as similar.
Your message is of secondary importance; what counts is the messenger.
You often need to create a bond with the audience before placing your actual message.
Research the audience. Be one of them. At best, you are already known to the audience. If necessary, introduce yourself to the audience. Be dressed appropriately.
This tip is the essential discipline for every politician. The more varied your audience becomes, the more adaptive you need to be. Important for politicians.
The bonus tip: Watch your language. Collectivize any fact using the pronoun “we” instead of “I.”
The fear of missing out
The main mantra of the advertisement industry: “7 things you never heard of but need to know.” “Unique chance to learn something.” You need to create an illusion of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If your arguments oppose another topic, you can create a sense of oppressed followers. Instead of providing your opinions, raise the issue that nobody wants to oppose the topic. It seems like false censorship. As a result, the listener feels that your information is more precious than other information.