But you need to be aware of Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Not every audience will give the same answer – that’s a given – but what you might not expect is how often audiences will throw you a complete curveball. There’s nothing that wrecks a presentation like an audience responding in a way that makes your next point seem laughable because it’s completely at odds with the stats in front of you.

Have a plan

You need to expect the unexpected and plan for every eventuality. You can mitigate the chance of being wrong-footed by an unusual response with the right phrasing of the question and answers. Make sure that your question is clear and that there can be no misapprehension on the part of the listeners.

Remember that just because it makes sense to you doesn’t mean it makes sense to the audience – test your questions on colleagues or family beforehand to ensure the phrasing is clear.

But you can do all of this and still find yourself in an awkward position. So if you do find that the audience has given an unexpected answer to your question you’ll need to be prepared for that too.

Think about each the scenario beforehand and have a plan for how you can play it to your advantage. At the very least have a joke prepared to ensure you can continue in your stride.

Difficult situations

Perhaps one of the hardest things to deal with is if there is no consensus from the audience – in this case you’ll need to talk through the different options and bring the argument together. You can never assume that you know what the response is going to be in any specific poll so you instead you need to have a different direction you can move in no matter the outcome.

On the other hand, if you’re using an ARS to make a point and you need a specific answer then you will need to lead your audience into it. Don’t just open with your question and hope your audience will respond in the way you are hoping for – talk about the subject for a minute and give them a reason to respond the way you want them to.

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Let Audience Response Guide You

The outcome of your poll may determine which way your presentation goes. Using a closed question will yield more specific results than trying to get more information out of a single question.

For example “Do you use Twitter?” will give you more information to work on than “Which social media platforms do you use professionally?” Which you can then use to ask more detailed questions and move the presentation along.

By starting off a presentation with a simple question, you give the audience an immediate representation of what your seminar is about.

The results of that question will then either prove or disprove the point that you are trying to make. Depending on which way the poll result has gone, you can create two different presentations. If for example, not many people use Twitter, you can go on and talk about the importance of the platform for modern businesses.

If it is widely used, you can talk about the importance of making sure it remains a professional and reachable marketing platform for both business associates and clients alike. Just because your delegates know to use Twitter, it doesn’t necessarily mean they know how to make the most of it.

Keep The Audience With You

You may not think that a single question posed at the start of a presentation has all that power, but it represents a gateway into more detailed and thought provoking questions. Starting off with a yes/no question can easily warm up your audience and can even sometimes produce unexpected results. Getting people into a relaxed state of mind with an easy question to start off with – perhaps even making it comical or relatable – makes for a good introduction to an educational seminar.

If you hit the ground running before giving your audience a chance to take any information in, they are not going to be able to focus properly. Thinking on and choosing the right wording for your initial question is important, so make sure to make the right choice!

The post How a Single Question Can Help Shape your Presentation (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on CLiKAPAD.

So what can be done to use these polls, these questions to your best advantage? We’ll look into this in two main parts.

What is the point of asking a specific question? Your presentation needs to have a clear objective that you will want to have achieved by the end of it. Have a strategy of where you want to go with it and the points you want to get across.

People will attend seminars in the hope of learning something – so what knowledge is it that you want to impart? Bear this in mind when devising your audience question.

For example if your aim is to get your audience thinking more on the effects of social media and how it can affect their business, your questions will need to lead to this. Questions such as “Do you think it is important for a company to have a social media Account?” and “Who believes that social media has a direct effect on the success of one’s business?” will help to provide you with the material needed to take your presentation in a certain direction.

Audience Involvement and Word Choice

The word choice of your initial question is crucial. Phrasing should be short and punchy, simple yet thought provoking. Grab and keep your audience’s attention. Make it easy for them to understand the question without using overcomplicated vocabulary. Rather than asking ‘Does the proliferation of social media platforms in today’s business environment have any positive bearing on commercial successes? keep it short, simple and unambiguous: ‘Does social media play an important part in making your business successful?’

By choosing the right sort of wording for your presentation and putting it across in a clear and concise manner, you can minimise the amount of time spent dithering over potentially confusing questions. Remember that you want to get quick and useful information from your participants without much fuss.

Check back with CLiKAPAD’s next blog post later on this month for more information and advice on choosing the ideal question for your presentation.

The post How a Single Question Can Help Shape your Presentation (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on CLiKAPAD.