Management Topics


Mastering Technical Presentations – Going from Dull to Engaging


by Josef Martens, PhD, CSP I


f you’ve attended technical presentations you know they are often dry and dull. The presenter


may have the best intentions to make it lively, engaging and compelling, but somewhere it goes awry.


If you lead in a technical


organization, if you want to influence others, it shouldn’t be this way. You can give a technical presentation that truly engages your customers, that is enjoyable for your team, and that has impact with senior leadership. Here’s how to make it happen:


1. Don’t be boring. Being boring and predictable puts you among the many presenters who don’t impact the audience or change any thinking. Don’t use standard beginnings such as “It’s a pleasure to be here”, “Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen”, “Welcome to this presentation…”. Using openings like these wastes an opportunity to leave a great first impression. Instead, be distinctive - in a


positive way: talk about the audience’s expectations. (“I know what you’re all thinking…”); you can start with the bottom-line of the presentation (“If there is only one thing you take from this, it is this:…”); or start with a story.


2) Have a hook and a story.


Draw the audience into your world. Get them to follow you as you take them on a journey. You can talk them through an experience we all share. Make it vivid, make it relatable. Good ways to start are “Imagine Jenny in production makes a suggestion for an improvement…” or “Picture your top customer picking up the phone to call us…”.


Let me share a great example, I’ve seen recently: the presenter started by asking everyone to raise their hands


26 ❘ April 2019 ®


if they remembered where they were on 9/11/2001. All hands went up. She asked some people to share where they were. Then she asked everyone to raise their hands if they remembered where they were on 6/14/2015. No one remembered. She said this: “This was the day on which the


Office of Personnel Management revealed that their database was hacked by the Chinese Government. Data from 22 million individuals was stolen, over 1 million of which have a security clearance. The consequences of this are bigger than 9/11– yet hardly anyone knows of it.”


She had everyone completely


drawn in. Her funding request to raise awareness for cyber-security was immediately and fully approved.


3) Build dissatisfaction (yes, really!) Most likely you want to achieve something with your presentation: it might be you want to get funding for a project; or you want to market your


products to a client; or you want to get resources from senior leadership. Before the audience is ready to


give you what you want, they need to be dissatisfied about the status quo. They need to feel the pain of the current situation. The more they are dissatisfied with the present, the more likely they are to accept your ‘solution’. For a great example, take a look on


youtube.com at Steve Job’s keynote in which he introduces the original iPhone. Pay attention to how he creates ‘pain’ about existing smartphones.


4) Engage the audience.


Get the audience to participate. Ask questions (not boring ones!). Ask the audience to write something down. Ask the audience to imagine a specific situation. Ask them to talk to their neighbor. Ask them to take a photo of an important slide. Have a quick exchange with someone in the audience that all can hear. Find ways to take the audience out


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