Here’s a presentation skill that you can apply before you start your presentation that I’m guessing not enough people apply.
In this video you are going to learn what to do before a presentation. Before you start a presentation, there may be sometime as people are entering the room. It’s during this time that you have a great opportunity to connect and develop rapport with your audience. This is something I don’t think I have ever talked about before, But it can be an effective and powerful way to help your presentation.

Why do this?

One of the biggest concerns that people have is how to connect with the audience. Of course, you can connect with the audience during the presentation. But if you could establish a connection with your audience before you start the presentation, wouldn’t that be awesome?

If you connect with your audience before the presentation, you will feel much more comfortable when delivering your presentation because you kind of know the audience. And vice versa, the audience will feel more connected to you because they already kind of know you, too.

So here are two things you can do to connect with your audience before you start your presentation

1. Greet people as they are coming in

This seems so simple, but most presenters don’t do this because of either a lack of time, or perhaps, nervousness. They are too busy trying to get themselves ready for the presentation!

But if you say hello and welcome people to the presentation as they enter the room, lecture hall or meeting, you immediately establish some rapport with your audience. Doing this also shows that you are confident and looking forward to speaking with your audience.

This also helps you feel more comfortable giving your presentation, because as I mentioned earlier, you and your audience now kind of “know” each other.

2. Talk to people individually

The second step is even more important than the first because you will now approach people in their seats and talk to them. Why? Because it shows that you are genuinely interested in THEM! And as I have said often, the presentation is about them, not you. So talking to people before you start your presentation is a great way to connect with people.

You can ask about where they are from, what other events/presentations they are here for, how they’re doing in school, are they ready for their presentations, etc, etc. There is really no wrong way to do this, except if you are insincere.

And if you can remember people’s names…

BONUS TIP

If you remember people’s names, you can use their name and something they talked to you about in your presentation. This personalises the presentation for that person, builds a stronger bond between you and makes you look very confident, as if you are presenting without a script.

There you go

Hopefully, you now have a good idea about what to do before you start your presentation. Please try those three things I mentioned, and I’m sure you will feel like your presentation was successful because of the connection you felt with your audience. Your audience will feel it, too.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.