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Tips For Pitching Your Presentation

Before you s peak to any group of people, it's important to take the time to unders tand
them. Finding out as much as pos s ible about your audience will help you to tailor your
pres entation at the correct level, enabling you to connect with them s ucces s fully and
ens ure that your pres entation meets its objectives . Thes e top tips provide guidance on
how to get to know your audience and pitch your pres entation effectively.

What information do you need to know?

Firs t of all, you need to find out as much as you can about your audience. In particular:

Size - how many people will you be s peaking to?

What is the main demographic (age range, gender mix, cultural divers ity,
educational level, level of s eniority, job role, indus try s pecialis ms )?
What is their level of knowledge or skill in the s ubject you've been s peaking
about?
What is their likely boredom threshold?
What are their needs and expectations, i.e. why are people attending? Do
they really want to be there? There are many reas ons why people attend
conferences , s eminars , talks etc. Some are obliged to attend, while others may
have a genuine interes t. Find out why people are attending and what they
expect to hear/learn from you.

It's als o important to do your research about where you'll be speaking. Vis it the
location if you can, to find out how the room will be s et out and how your audience will
be s eated. Will they become uncomfortable before too long? This may help give you a
s teer in terms of how long your pres entation s hould be. Will you be able to make eye
contact with your audience? Being able to s ee them properly will enable you to judge
how well your pres entation is going down and whether or not you need to make any

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adjus tments to keep people's attention.

Knowing the room layout may als o have an impact on the props/visual aids you decide
to us e. Thes e are a good way of highlighting your main points and enhancing the
pres entation's impact, but they need to be vis ible from the very back of the room, and
eas y for your whole audience to unders tand.

Next, find out what time of day you'll be pres enting, as this could have an impact on
the pres entation s tyle you adopt. For example, if you are appearing after lunch, the
audience may be s luggis h and may take a while to focus their attention on you. Or if you
are the las t s peaker at the end of the day, the audience may be tired, thinking about
going home and may not be lis tening properly, in which cas e your pres entation s hould
be s hort and to the point. You may not have control over what time your pres entation is
s cheduled in, but you can plan what you can do to s tep the enthus ias m up a gear
s hould your audience become bored, tired or res tles s , for example by telling a
humorous anecdote, as king ques tions or regaling your audience with a s urpris ing fact.

How to find out more about your audience

There are a number of ways to find out more information about your audience,
depending on who they are. If you're giving a pres entation to colleagues or industry
peers, you will probably already have a good idea of their characteris tics .

If someone else has organised the event, liais e with them to find out what they
know about the audience. As k the above ques tions about the audience's key
characteris tics (s ize, demographics , level of knowledge etc.).

If pres enting to a particular organisation or industry, do your res earch and learn
what you can from their web presence, news reports, industry magazines, social
media, blogs, annual reports etc. Speak to your contact(s ) within the organis ation to
find out what they want your pres entation to achieve; what mes s ages they want you to
deliver.

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If you're pres enting at a conference, try to s it in on other talks , to s ee what the
audience has already s een and how they res pond. It's a great way to gauge what works
well and what does n't, and can als o help you avoid repetition if you are s peaking on a
s imilar topic to another s peaker.

During the presentation, greet the audience warmly and us e a few questions at the
s tart to find out more about them - how much prior knowledge they have, what they
want to know - and adjus t your pres entation accordingly. Judge the audience's mood too
- are they feeling light-hearted (in which cas e a little humour may be appropriate)? Or
are they in a more s erious frame of mind (in which cas e you s hould get s traight to the
point)?

Finally, read the audience. Be aware of how engaged your audience is : keep an eye
out for fidgeting, eye-rolling, clock-watching - anything that may indicate that you are
los ing them. Think about s ome tactics you can employ if their attention is s tarting to
wane, to get them back on board (e.g. changing the pace, moving quickly on to the next
part of the pres entation, telling a funny s tory). If there's abs olutely nothing you can do,
move efficiently to the end, making s ure you s ummaris e your key points .

Conclusion
Doing your homework is a key part of preparing for a pres entation. The more you know
about your audience, the better you can tailor your pres entation to reflect their s pecific
interes ts and needs , making it more interes ting and relevant to them. It s hould als o
help reduce any pre-presentation nerves you may be experiencing. Your audience will
be engaged and happy, and the pos itive reaction means you'll feel more comfortable
as a pres enter, increas ing your chances of nailing it when you are called on to deliver
your next pres entation.

Audience image credit: Bis warup Ganguly via Wikimedia Commons (acces s ed 20
June 2014).
Theatre s eats image credit: Flickr us er DeaPea Jay (acces s ed 20 June 2014).

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