Power Presentations Tip 01: It's not about you

Your presentation is not about you. It's about your audience. How can you create a presentation that is about your audience?

Know your audience
First, you need to understand their mindset, conce
s, comprehension, interest, bias and motivation. I suggest that you list those six factors, then beside each write a few words describing your audience. That will help you develop a more relevant presentation. Most important among these are their mindset and motivation because these two factors will tell you how much you need to move them and how best to do that.

Restate your goal
Second, state your goal in terms of what you want your audience to do - not what you want to do.

For example:

Your goal is not for you to sell - it is for them to buy.
Your goal is not for you to win the election - it is for them to vote for you.
Your goal is not for you to get approval - it is for them to give you approval.

This audience centered focus is an important mindset for you to adopt when developing and delivering your presentation. It will help you decide what to include and help you choose more powerful words.

With a clear goal and clear understanding of the gap you can then develop your presentation to help your audience give you what you want from them.