One of the main goals of presenting is to know your audience so that you can establish a connection with them. We call this audience analysis. But say you are presenting to people you don’t know. Or you’ve been asked to speak at a conference or a company with which you aren’t familiar. That can be tough. You can’t just develop a generic presentation and hope it all works out. So how do you analyze your audience if you are an outsider coming into an unfamiliar group or setting?
Luckily there is one simple trick you can use. It’s research. And thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever. Without leaving your office, you can learn a lot about your audience and speaking environment. And then you can craft your message strategically using three guiding research questions.
The Process
Start by looking through their marketing materials. Whether it’s a group of people, a conference, or a company, chances are good that they already have an online presence. Visit their social media pages and company website. Get into detective mode and try to answer the following questions.
1. What is the overall mood/culture? You can get a feeling for how formal or casual a group or company is just by looking at the type of information they choose to share and the pictures they post.
2. What are they most proud of? You’ll probably be able to answer this question by looking at what they feature. Is it their products? Maybe it’s their mission? Their employees? What’s at the forefront of their marketing and media?
3. What language do they use? Look for phrases that illuminate the core values of the audience you are researching. You’ll know they are core culture words when they are in big, bold print or when they pop up again and again.
How To Use That Information
Once you’ve answered the questions above, you’ll want to start weaving it into your presentation. Here’s how.
1. Match the mood/culture. A speaker who comes into a causal conference or company setting and tries to be too formal is going to come off as stuffy and unrelatable. But on the other hand, a speaker who comes in as too casual in a more formal or traditional setting might appear to be disrespectful or lack credibility. While you want to try to gain as much information online ahead of time as you can, nothing works quite as well as being in the space and interacting with the people for whom you are presenting. Continue to look for clues about the mood and culture when you arrive. And be ready to adapt as needed.
2. Give Praise. Once you have noted what the company or audience or conference seems to be proud of, make sure to praise that. Few things open an audience up like well-intentioned and authentic praise. Research has proven that specific praise is highly motivational. For example, if you note that a company has been working hard to fight for equal employment opportunities. You might say, “I saw on your website that you now have 62% diversity in your company. Thank you for continuing to work hard to offer equal opportunities for employment.” This offer of praise will help to open doors for you and to inspire the audience to keep up the good work.
3. Use their language. One of the best things you can do to move from being an outside to an insider is to speak the same language. Once you’ve scoured their marketing and media to find value phrases or words, you’ll want to work those into your presentation. Show how your concepts align with the things that matter to your audience.
This makes use of a communication tactic called mirroring. Mirroring is most often used with nonverbal communication, like body language, but it works with language too. Have you ever noticed that people who hang around together, be it family members, coworkers, or friend groups, tend to start to sound alike? That’s because we often connect with others by emulating them. Scientific studies have proven that “when someone mirrors your behavior, the areas of your brain that activate are the same ones that process rewards and make you feel good.” Therefore, it is literally rewarding for your audience to hear you reference or use their value words.
Thanks to some quick research, you don’t have to go into an unfamiliar presentation situation blindly. Aim to discover 3 specific things about your situation and audience and then use those to help open doors and connect.
Need more tips on how to develop and deliver winning presentations? Ethos3 is here to help.
