Open your presentation with a powerful introduction to hook your audience. I’ll start you off with the structure that many business writers, journalists, and authors use time after time.
Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit, which accompanies this course
Watching this video is worth 2 Management Courses CPD Points*.
🔎 See below for details
PRESENTATION SKILLS
This video is part of course module 2.2.1
Program 2: Manager as Communicator
Course 2: Presentation Skills
Section 1: Preparation
Other videos in this section include:
🎬 Define Your Presentation: Defusing the B.O.M.B.
LESSON NOTES
The three-part Structure: Situation, Complication, and Question.
Situation
- Start by spelling out briefly the situation.
Complication
- Then set up a complication: why does this really matter to your audience?
Question
- Step up your intro with a question.
Answer
- Finally, answer the question with your Central Idea.
AIDA Formula for Grabbing Attention
Attention
- Something surprising, shocking, curious, or relevant
Interest
- Pique their interest by showing how it can benefit them
Desire
- Create desire by showing what they will get if they listen to you
Action
- Let them know what they need to do next
Here are some of my favorite ways to open a talk.
1. State something familiar – then undermine it.
2. Make a bold claim – that you can deliver on.
3. Assert something surprising.
4. Make a provocative remark.
5. Make a paradoxical statement.
6. Ask your audience a question.
7. Take a poll (show of hands) of your audience.
8. Ask for someone who fits a description – the characteristics will be relevant to your talk.
9. Tell a story – real life or allegorical.
10. Describe a common experience that will get your audience into a mood or emotional state.
11. Describe a scenario and ask: “what would you do?”
12. Challenge your audience.
13. Describe a current or recent news story – that you will show is relevant.
14. Quote a quotation.
15. Make a demonstration – call for a volunteer first to really get them on edge.
16. Draw an analogy between something familiar and your topic.
17. A humorous observation – but be very careful with jokes unless you are very accomplished.
RECOMMENDED EXERCISE
Next time you craft a presentation:
1. Select either the SCQA framework or AIDA format and write an opening to hook your audience (2 MC CPD Points)
2. Use one of my 17 ways to really grab attention (2 MC CPD Points)
DOWNLOADS
Free Resources
🧰 CPD Tools -
($3)
RECOMMENDED READING
My top recommendation is my own book:
📖 How to Speak so people Listen -
⭕️ Links to our book recommendations are affiliated through Amazon and help support our free videos
Managers Need a Basic set of kit to do your job well. Here are my top recommendations:
(the links are affiliated)
BUT…
I have also created a Presenter’s Kit to accompany this course:
(the links are affiliated)
MANAGEMENT COURSES CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) POINTS
You can record your Management Courses CPD points on our free, downloadable CPD record log.
📓 Download it at:
Each video has two levels of MC CPD points. For this video:
- If you simply watched the video, record 2 MC CPD points
- If you also carried out all of the recommended exercises, score a total of 6 MC CPD points
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 - You need to Hook your audience
01:10 - Situation - Complication - Question
02:43 - Your central idea
02:55 - AIDA Formula
04:52 - The need to grab attention
05:15 - List of attention-grabbers
07:19 - Why your opener is so important
07:39 - The two things you most need to practice and develop…
#ManagementCourses #PresentationSkills #HookYourAudience
Presenting at Work 101: The Key Presentation Skills Every Manager Needs to Know If you are a manager, you will often need to make workplace presentations. These may be small and impromptu presentations – or big set pieces with a large audience. Here then is a short introduction to the most important things to know
Read More
Managing Audience Questions in Your Presentation [inc the Tough Ones!] What do business presenters fear more than presenting itself? Usually, it’s those tricky – or even hostile-seeming – questions from the audience. So, let’s see how you can handle them confidently and effectively. Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit, which accompanies this course https://managementcourses.gumroad.com/l/presentationskillstoolkit Watching this
Read More
Advanced Platform Skills: Master-level Presentation Tips This is the second of two videos on the platform skills that will make your presentation come across great. In the last one, we looked at the basics that will make you a great presenter. But, in this one, let’s focus on some of the advanced skills that professionals
Read More
Basic Platform Skills: Giving a Great Presentation This is the first of two videos on the platform skills that will make your presentation come across great. In the next one, we’ll look at some of the advanced skills that professionals use. But, in this one, let’s focus on the basics that will make you a
Read More
Travelling to Your Presentation: Speaker’s Checklists for Road Warrior Presenters Wherever you go to present – whether the next meeting room down the hall, or a big hotel in a foreign country, it’s a good idea to have a speaker’s checklist of what you need to take, and what to do when you arrive. Here
Read More
How to Control Your Nerves Before and During Your Presentation Many people would say that giving a presentation is the scariest thing they need to do at work. Indeed, some people who do it a lot still find it a real challenge to get their nerves under control. Happily, a little nervousness can give you
Read More
Preparation is Key: How to Review and Rehearse Your Presentation “The best thing about not preparing is that failure is not preceded by an unsettling period of worry and depression” So preparation is key, and that means you need to review and rehearse your presentation. Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit, which accompanies this course https://managementcourses.gumroad.com/l/presentationskillstoolkit
Read More
How to Create Excellent Visual Aids for Your Presentation Make your presentation more engaging, more compelling and more memorable with good visual aids. And, let’s face it, that means slides. Whether you favor PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, Prezzi, or another tool, how can you create excellent visual aids to support your presentation? Get our Presentation
Read More
How to Make the Key Points of Your Presentation Memorable You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to prepare and deliver your presentation. And your audience has given up a big chunk of time to listen to you. Surely, you want them to remember the important parts of what you tell them! How can you
Read More
Closing: How to Finish Your Presentation and Close with Real Impact People will most easily remember two parts of your presentation: the start and the finish. So, you need a powerful way to close. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite ways of closing. Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit, which accompanies this course
Read More
Five Simple Presentation Structures for a Compelling Presentation In an earlier video, I described a compelling presentation structure. Here are five variations on it that I have used successfully. Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit, which accompanies this course https://managementcourses.gumroad.com/l/presentationskillstoolkit Watching this video is worth 1 Management Courses CPD Point*. 🔎 See below for details PRESENTATION
Read More
How to Craft a Compelling Presentation Structure You have a big idea you want to present. It may be a conclusion, a recommendation, or a status report. Maybe it’s an insight you need to share or a decision you want. How can you craft a compelling presentation for maximum impact? Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit,
Read More
How to Craft a Compelling, Persuasive, and Powerful Presentation There are four questions you need to ask – and answer – if you want to craft an excellent presentation, which your audience will find compelling, persuasive, and powerful. Let’s look at them. Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit, which accompanies this course https://managementcourses.gumroad.com/l/presentationskillstoolkit Watching this video
Read More
How to Define Your Presentation: Defusing the B.O.M.B. Presentations are like a b.o.m.b. that can go off in your face if you don’t prepare. The absolute first thing to do is define your presentation and defuse that B.O.M.B. Get our Presentation Skills Toolkit, which accompanies this course https://managementcourses.gumroad.com/l/presentationskillstoolkit Watching this video is worth 2 Management
Read More
Deleted video This video is unavailable. source
Read More