This has been confirmed by people who were schooled by the author of an article on the presentationmagazine.com website. Thanks to the techniques she used, her audiences became more attentive to what she was saying.
Even if the only thing you are presenting is project updates, you should still want to persuade your listeners that you have accomplished something which really matters and how the project is important.
We could take sales presentations as a good example here. But there are other presentations that need to be persuasive too, especially when you are:
- asking people to donate time or money to a cause (in that case you need to inspire them)
- persuading a team to make certain difficult changes
- asking for approval for a proposal
- asking people to take action of some sort
How to make your presentation persuasive
- Understand the problems of your audience; show empathy with them.
- Offer a solution which is genuinely useful for your audience.
- Make clear what the cost would be of inaction or an unsuitable action.
- Tell a story so everyone will see that someone has already successfully used what you are proposing.
- Clearly explain what action you want people to take – and be sure you believe in what you say.
Of course, it is a matter of practice: you need to deliver your presentation in such a way as to engage the audience. And remember: images always help to arouse or convey emotions.
-jk-