Establish a RAPPORT  –

        At the start of a presentation try to establish a rapport with your audience.

        Give a quick factual overview of the situation. Tell them what you propose to tell them and why.

        The best thing to wear at the start of a presentation is a smile. Look around the audience for a friend and give them a big smile.

A handful of tips to help you establish a rapport with an  audience

* Do your homework

        When you have decided on your topic and your objective, spend time planning your presentation.

        Who will you be talking to?

        Where do they come from?  

        What do they want to know?

        What don’t they know? 

* Seek common ground  

         Try to expand on it. 

        Identify similarities – things you have in common.

         “Did you know I went to school here?  “Many years ago I played football for this town – we had a good team.”

        ” I have the same concerns you have with the current situation.”

* Tell them what you are going to tell them

        Tell them why you are making this presentation and how it will benefit them. 

        Say what you plan to give out at the finish.

* Don’t dominate

        Chat to your audience using anecdotes and amusing stories to break up and make your message memorable.

* Dramatise your presentation and demonstrate how your ideas will work

        Use examples and visual aids but keep them simple.

-Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

“Conclude with a memorable summary and a strong appeal for action.”

For those in need,  download our FREE book “NO JOB! WHAT NOW? available from our website.

Source: “Persuasive Ways. ‘Tricks of the trade’ to get your ideas across”. First published by  Moss Associates Ltd., New Zealand, and in Chinese by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House, the Singapore Institute of Management, Kogan Page Ltd, U.K, and in Hungarian by Bagolyvar Konyvkiado.  Also published as the “Secrets of Persuasion” by Thomson and Cengage Learning Asia and as an e-book and sold by Amazon.com