What do you find makes a presentation fun?
The last several presentations I did included the standard PowerPoint deck and I found the number of slides and content just was not the right fit for the audience. It felt right to skim some slides quickly and to skip other slides altogether. During the last two presentations, I abandoned the script and the slide deck and just went with the flow.
The reaction from the audience was positive, they were more interactive and more interested. They asked questions and shared their stories. This made the presentation more fun in the sense it was light, educational and not so dull.
With small audiences, I like to ask everyone to introduce themselves, share what they do and what they are looking for in the presentation. This really helps to understand your audience to determine the areas of your presentation to spend more time on. It also allows you to personalize it to the group. You can call on some in the crowd when you reach an area that a specific person mentioned and listen to them share their experience. I found the audience enjoys this personal touch and they tend to open up a bit more.
Going live on the Internet is the most fun part of the presentations I give. It makes you really vulnerable sharing your personal social media channels with the audience. When you go live you never know what will happen or what you will find which adds to the excitement! This also provides real experiences and valuable take-aways for the audience.
What do you do to make your presentation fun?