Mike Parkinson recently wrote an article for Sales & Marketing Management (SMM) about attention-grabbing presentations.

In the article, Mike reveals the 6 techniques he uses to craft presentations that engage and inspire

Understanding Attention: The Manual
and Automatic Brain

The human brain is constantly toggling between manual and automatic processing. The manual brain requires effort, while the automatic brain reacts instinctively. If your presentation is too demanding, you risk losing your audience. If it’s too predictable, you fail to engage them. Striking the right balance is key.

1. Cognitive Shortcuts: Make It Easy to Process

We are not robots. Facts alone are not the best way to improve understanding, recollection and adoption. People are more likely to engage with content that is intuitive, clever and contextualized. Here are some ways to accomplish that:

• Use visual cues to guide participants through your narrative.
• Connect the dots between features or attributes and the resulting benefits.
• Highlight key takeaways using contrast, bold text and icons.
• Use professionally designed slides. The quality and style of your slides immediately set you apart. For example, which company looks more innovative?

2. Priming: Setting the Stage for Influence

Before you deliver key information, prepare your audience by subtly guiding their expectations. Techniques include the following:

• Use relatable imagery, stories and analogies early in the presentation to set the stage and emotionally engage participants.
• Frame data with relatable context so that it supports your message.
• Provide anchors (points of comparison) to establish comparative value.
• Establish a tone through your narrative and aesthetics that aligns with the desired emotional response.