Attention Reset

Speaker needs to take the attention span into consideration when preparing a presentation.  Given that an average person has an attention span of 15-20 minutes, the presentation needs to be structured in a way that it gives the audience an opportunity to refocus.

Here are some guidelines on how to create an efficient presentation:

1) You have the highest amount of attention at the beginning of the presentation

    -Clearly state your main points in the introduction

2) Divide the presentation into several subtopics.

    -By ending the subtopics with the intermediate conclusion, it will help audience to refocus

3) Intentional repetition and good organization is the two key elements of sustaining the attention level

    -Repeat your main messages in the introduction, body and conclusion

Speech Objective

A speaker must first recognize what the audience is looking for then prepare a presentation along the line of their objective. Oral presentations generally fall into two categories: informative and persuasive speech.

Primary goal of an informative presentation is to promote understanding of an idea or to deliver information.  It is often used to provide an opportunity to learn about new subject or new information about the familiar subject. Generally, informative speeches may discuss about:

•             People and Objects (ex. Country, Building, Animal)
•             Event (ex. Hurricane Sandy, fundraising event)
•          Process (ex. Demonstrate a process of making a pizza)
•       Concept (ex. Explain  a Big Bang theory)

Secondly, a persuasive presentation not only informs the audience, it also tries to change the audience’s attitudes and behaviors. There are four goals of persuasive speech:¹

•  To reinforce the attitude, beliefs and values an audience already holds
•   To inoculate an audience against counter persuasion
•   To change attitudes
•   To motivate an audience to act

For example, organizations like MADD Canada will be using a persuasive presentation to motivate people to stop impaired driving.

Since it is often difficult to distinguish the difference between an informative and persuasive presentation, it is helpful for a speaker to create a specific purpose statement and continuously refer back to it to create a speech that is consistent with the objective.

¹ Brydon, S., & Scott, M. (2000). Between One and Many: The Art and Science of Public

        Speaking (3^rd ed.). Mt. View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.

Preparing an Oral Presentation: Know your audience and venue

Knowing your audience and venue is one of the key steps in creating an effective presentation. Speaker needs to fine-tune the presentation based on the information they collect about the audience and location.

Consider following elements when preparing an oral presentation. These elements will help you determine the most appropriate style of a speech:

1) Audience characteristic:

• Age range
• Gender (Male/Female ratio)
• Education background

It is necessary to tailor the presentation to suit the specific group’s interest and need

2) Location where the presentation is taking place

Visit the venue in advance to learn more about:

• Seating arrangement and capacity
• Appropriate visual aid
• Appropriate volume of voice
• Possible distractions

3) Will your audience benefit from the presentation?

• prepare a presentation based on the level of audience’s knowledge about the topic

In depth research about the audience and venue is necessary to build a solid foundation of a presentation. The more knowledge you have about your audience, the easier it will be to effectively prepare and share the message. 

Attention Span

How many times have you sent a text message to your friend or checked your Facebook in the middle of listening to an oral presentation? No matter how interesting the topic is, it is not a successful presentation if you cannot keep your audience’s attention.

As you can see on the graph attached, it has been proven that the average attention span of an adult is 15-20 minutes. Let’s say if you are doing a 30 minute presentation, you will lose about 80-90% of audience’s attention by the halfway into the presentation. Given the fact that our attention span is limited, speaker needs to organize and prepare the presentation in a way that captures and maintains the audience’s attention.