Loud Thinking December 31, 2014 at 03:19PM

Have a Strategy for Speaking to a Small Audience

Presentations don’t always involve standing in front of an audience. Many meetings and pitches involve fewer than 10 people in a room where everyone stays seated while someone talks through a slide deck. But even when you’re sitting down, you need to be conscious of how you can deliver your best. You want to work from the same printed deck (with the same page numbers) as the audience. Make it easy for people to follow what you’re saying by guiding them to each page and using highlights or sticky notes to emphasize important sections. Don’t just read from your notes; make it conversational. You can stand for the formal portion of the pitch and then sit to field questions. And it helps to bring an item that everyone can look at together. For example, rather than printing a small map on each deck, unfold a large map for everyone to gather around.

Adapted from “How to Present to a Small Audience” by JD Schramm.

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