Photo by: South_agency via Canva
I once attended a live owl show at a ski lodge up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The session was 75 minutes and the presenters had the audience in the palm of their hands. I enjoyed the session thoroughly as I was given the chance to observe six different varieties of owls. I even enjoyed the presentation leading up to the display of the owls themselves. I appreciated the introductory slide show because the two presenters used very effective techniques to engage the group and keep their interest the entire time. Normally, I find presentations boring, especially when the presenter has poor delivery skills and just drones on and on, spending too much time on one slide.
This duo of presenters (a husband and wife team) got only kudos from me. They used a variety of effective techniques taught in our Instructional Techniques for New Instructors and Advanced Instructional Techniques workshops.
Here are five examples of these instructional techniques in action:
1. To open the session, one presenter asked a thought provoking question to engage the group right away.
2. They gave us an overview of what to expect in the session and let us know when they were going to open up the floor to questions from the audience.
3. One presenter advanced the slides while the other spoke very briefly on each one. They never spent more than two to three minutes on each slide to keep the energy.
4. They used humor very effectively throughout the entire lecture to keep us all engaged and smiling.
5. They kept the information sharing and slideshow short and devoted most of the session to what people wanted to see: the owls!
These presenters demonstrated many key techniques trainers use every day. They used an engaging benefits statement at the beginning, they provided an overview of the session, they kept the presentation short and interesting, they used humor effectively, and they worked well together as a team! So the next time you are asked to make a presentation, remember these transferable instructional techniques!