The document provides tips for creating persuasive presentations that engage audiences and keep them awake. It recommends focusing presentations on the audience's needs, making ideas sticky through simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, eliciting emotion and storytelling. It also suggests controlling and organizing information through a roadmap, cutting unnecessary information and planning a powerful ending. Finally, it advises engaging audiences through being conversational, creating rapport, showing enthusiasm and maintaining eye contact.

1. Preparing and Delivering Persuasive Presentations Lisa A. Sisco, Ph.D .

2. More than 70% of business professionals admit they’ve either felt sleepy or dozed off during an “uninteresting” business presentation.

3. College students regularly fall asleep during class presentations.

4. According to research into the human brain, most people are easily bored.

5. You have about 10 minutes, that’s all.

6. What are most presentations so darn boring?

7. It’s all about ME.

10. Will YOUR presentation put people to sleep?

11. or grab their attention?

12. The secret of a powerful presentation . . .

13. It’s not about you at all. It’s all about THEM (your audience).

14. A powerful presentation will focus on your audience and their needs from the very beginning . . .

15. So how do we make presentations that will dazzle our audience (or at least keep them awake?)

16. Here’s what you can do . . . . PART 1: Make your ideas sticky. INNOVATION

18. Frame your information in a way that will get people’s attention and keep it.

19. Six principles of sticky ideas . . . 1. Simplicity

20. So, focus your information on a single, memorable point

21. 2. Unexpectedness

22. 3. Concreteness

23. Use Vivid Examples

24. 4.

25. 5. Elicit Emotion

26. Stories 6. Tell a Story

27. Here’s what you can do . . . . PART 2: Control and organize your information DISCIPLINE

28. Give the audience a road map to follow.

29. Cut unnecessary information.

30. Plan a powerful ending.

31. Here’s what you can do . . . . PART 3: Engage your audience. RAPPORT

32. Be Conversational 2. Delivery

33. Create Rapport

34. Show Enthusiasm

35. Maintain Natural Eye Contact and Body Movement

36. Be Yourself

37. Speak slowly Let pauses work for you Use variety in tone Don’t use the podium as a crutch Prepare ‘easy to skim’ notes 2. Delivery

38. Dale Carnegie’s Golden Rule Never, ever exceed the amount of time allotted for your presentation.

39. Using Visual Aids Use visuals or props selectively Keep your eyes on your audience Keep visuals simple and brief Anticipate and prepare for problems

40. Minimize speaking anxiety . . .

41. Practice . . .

42. Practice…

43. Practice.

44. And be prepared.

45. Appropriate Technology And a low tech backup .

46. Lisa A. Sisco, Ph.D. Johnson & Wales University [email_address]