Powerful Communication

Humour – Your perfect anchor

Humor  in a  presentation has a way  of building  rapport, motivating the  audience and relieving tension. However, the key is to use  it appropriately. It  is believed that humor  boosts the audience’s  abiity  to remember by 20 percent.
Personal anecdotes - a story based on your  own  experience. You know it  so tell it in your  own words.
Use  analogies or  comparisons, make it  funny - The  flower swayed in the  gentle breeze like  a  table  fan set to oscilliate at  medium.
 Use  Murphy style laws - you can  find  a lot of them on the internet, relate them  to what  you are saying and  they provide  good humour.

Tell Stories

Rather than quote a concept or principle, mask it in a story and you will find it more effective. For instance telling  your audience the ill effects  of procrastination will sound  boring, rather  relate a story  of how  procrastination made you lose  say  your close friend. It  would  be  memorable  and stay in the minds  of the audience. Add details, use visual descriptions. Use descriptive words that convey a beautiful illustration. Picture the audience seeing it as a visual.

 

 


Some dos and don’ts

Check for the following

  • Ensure room temperature is set at a comfortable level
  • Check the sound system and set the decibel at the right level
  • Check the lights and make sure the room is airy and well lit
  • Keep only one entrance open to avoid disturbances
  • Check  for  flip chart stand, markers and  other stationery  that  you  would require

Summary:

  • Humor boosts the audience’s  ability  to remember by 20 percent.
  • Picture the audience seeing it as a visual. It will help them experience the story.

Reflection Time

 You have been asked to prepare a one hour presentation for your team on corporate etiquette at the company cafeteria. What would you prefer to use – a story, an anecdote or a quote to open your presentation? Based on your  choice identify the appropriate one, flesh it out in your  mind and evaluate how  it  would  be the  ideal  choice  as an opener  for your  presentation?

 

 

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