Mark Twain once said, “If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today. If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare.” His statement conveys the challenges of exercising brevity in our communications. While many have traditionally believed that longer is better, that is not always the case, particularly with respect to presentations.
Research shows that the average audience attention span is about seven minutes, so clearly quality trumps quantity. I’m sure we can all remember sitting in those presentations that seized our attention at the outset, only to leave us yawning midway through. If the presenters had been able to summarize their key points in a clear, concise manner, audience interest may not have waned so quickly. While it is not always possible to limit a presentation to seven minutes, there are definite ways to engage listeners and optimize interest through brevity:
- Strive to memorize. While glancing at your notes from time to time is generally acceptable, reading word for word makes your presentation less memorable to the audience and can be yawn-inducing. Know your material and be able to deliver a natural performance.
- Don’t give a history lesson. When outlining your presentation, identify a few central topics and supporting details that you aim to cover. The audience will only leave with the top takeaways, so there is no need to overload listeners with too much information.
- Make it interactive. Why not shift the spotlight and ask the audience a question? Involving your listeners in the conversation instead of endlessly lecturing can be a good way to sustain interest.
- Use imagery and video. By incorporating graphics and video, you can get your point across in a succinct manner while keeping the audience visually engaged.
- Align with the audience. The younger the audience, the shorter the attention span, most likely. Keep this in mind when planning the message you want to convey and how you will go about it.
- Reserve time for questions. It is always wise to reserve time at the end of the presentation for audience questions and clarification that may be needed. A good rule of thumb is to utilize about 75 percent of your allotted presentation time, building in ample time at the end for discussion.
In today’s fast-paced world, less is truly more. The 80/20 rule holds true: 80 percent of the impact you have on your audience is derived from 20 percent of what you say. Keep it short and sweet, and your message will be more memorable.
I hope that you will find the above techniques beneficial when you are giving your next presentation. I will end here, so as to keep this brief!
Rahini Shankar, Marketing Coordinator, Communications, McDermott Will & Emery, for the July-August issue of the Capital Ideas Newsletter.