Top Ice-Breaker Questions and Structuring Ideas For Your Presentations
You might have an incredible presentation ready for your audience, but it’s important to “set the tone” so that they can understand what exactly you will be speaking about right out of the gate. It not only helps to clarify the goal of your presentation, but it can also help make a great first impression. It might even determine just how intently they keep listening, as well.
There is a popular saying that “What is begun is half-done.” The meaning is quite simple. If you have a clear idea and a well-planned content, there’s a good chance that you are already off to a great start. Planning and structuring your content a certain way can help ensure that they remain engaged throughout your entire presentation. Here are some top ice-breaker questions and structuring ideas for your presentations.
Establishing Expectations
Many great speakers might be interested in delivering their presentation as soon as possible, but they might not be reading the room regarding what EXACTLY their audience wants to hear. One great way to break the ice is to ask the audience some questions regarding what they expect to learn from your presentation. You can then use this information to clarify any specific doubts or concerns that they might have.
For example, let’s say that you are delivering a presentation to business owners about how they can gain market share. You might start off by asking the entrepreneurs in the room about specific pain points that they face, or obstacles that are getting in their way. This can help immensely when it comes to “setting the tone” for your presentation. It’s also important to note that the right video editing services can do wonders in terms of your presentation’s appeal.
The Question Ball
There’s a good chance that everyone at a particular event or presentation is a bit curious about the rest of the people attending, so why not use a Question Ball as one of many keynote speaker ideas? The ice-breaker concept is simple: find a large beach ball and write “ice-breaker questions” on each ball section.
Some questions might be, “Tell us something your co-workers don’t know about you”, “How did you recently overcome a personal challenge?” or, “What is your biggest professional achievement?” These are some great ways to understand your audience a bit better and help loosen them up for the presentation to come. This is the kind of micro content that will look good on Instagram stories, later, as well.
Telling Stories
Human beings have loved stories for thousands of years, and that certainly isn’t changing anytime soon. You might want to consider telling a story related to your topic, or even an early story that might explain how you ended up pursuing a particular career. The story might help drive a specific point regarding your presentation that will be brought up later on. If you have researched public speaking tips, then you know that stories can be quite compelling.
One great thing about a story is that you can always throw in a joke or two, which works wonders to ease the tension and help your audience relax. Of course, the story should always be insightful, and humor never hurts if you feel like it would help. This is a great ice-breaker tool to help kickstart an incredible presentation. You might not be one of the top motivational speakers 2020, but these tips can immensely help you with your next presentation.
What techniques do you use to start your presentation? Leave a comment below with your experience & tips!
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