How to make training presentations interactive?
Don’t put your audience to sleep! Reading slides verbatim with NO background / context examples, NO ice breakers to introduce participants, NO change in voice pitch, NO group activities or knowledge checks, NOT allowing questions during a presentation are real communication KILLERS!
Keep your audience Stimulated + Awakened + Engaged +
“Adult attention span is somewhere between 18-to-20 minutes, but twenty minutes is a decent and practical rough idea. Some people can hold their attention even longer, but they are outliers. After twenty minutes, no matter how interested your audience is, their focus is depleted, and will unless corrective action is taken erode steadily until they literally aren’t listening any longer.”– The Art of Keynote Speaking
To avoid losing your audience, lets discuss ways to facilitate active learning, repetition, and recall.
Ice Breaker Introduction
Participants already have some reservations, possible resistance, fear and / or competing priorities before attending your training presentation. The best way to help them let their guards down is by starting off with a fun, non-intimidating introduction of themselves. Asking everyone to mention their funniest moment, best vacation destination, favorite celebrity, or what animal they most identify with are great ways to do this. You will witness laughter, smiles, warmness, and automatic synergy before getting into intense material.
Group Activities / Knowledge Checks
We now know adults have short attention spans and retain data better if presented in small chunks, so make sure each topic is discussed no longer than 20 minutes if possible. After each section jog their memory by asking 2-3 key questions referred to as “knowledge checks”. This promotes participation and stimulates your audience minds. It also alerts those who lost engagement to refocus!
Games
Adults are still kids at heart and enjoy competitive games to showcase their knowledge. They also appreciate awards and prizes to recognize their achievement. Presenters should include at least 1 game to maintain engagement and have some much needed fun to interrupt boredom. Some popular games that work well include, Jeopardy, Kahoot, AhaSlides, and WooClap. Make sure questions and answers are not too complicated; most participants should be able to answer all questions in a short period of time if they are engaged.
Question Fluidity
Although some presenters request questions at the end of the presentation based on time constraints, this is not the best method. Remember retention is not easy, allowing someone to ask a question related to the current topic and providing a response is more effective. This will also stimulate the group to generate additional questions, you should choose the best level of detail to produce clarity. Individuals feel more empowered when they can ask questions throughout a presentation without feeling restricted or that their thoughts are not prioritized. Questions are very healthy and demonstrates the audience is thinking and stimulated, optimize that moment while you have their attention. Don’t be afraid of questions, be prepared by anticipating questions that could be asked and documenting prior to presentation. If you don’t know an answer, inform the participants you will follow up within a specific timeframe and do so.
Download our leading practice Training presentation template here!