RESOURCE: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

https://trainingindustry.com/articles/workforce-development/4-ways-to-create-an-
engaging-presentation-atmosphere/
 4 Ways to Create an Engaging
Presentation Atmosphere
 Corporate learning shouldn’t make participants feel
like they are in a boring conference meeting that lasts
for three hours. Many people zone out when staring at
a speaker with a droning voice who is practically
reading from the slides.

 The audience mirrors the learning environment.

When a subject is dull and the speaker is only there
because they have to be, the participants notice. So,
how do you create an engaging atmosphere for
corporate presentations?
1. Get to the Point
 Meandering thoughts aren’t going to keep participants
interested. Don’t water down your information to fill an
hour, especially when the average person has the attention
span of a goldfish. How can you say what you need to say
in just a few words? Condense the information in a way
that makes sense and is memorable.

 A short and sweet presentation will be more informative

and useful than one that confuses everyone. It also leaves
time for questions, discussions and feedback.
2.Impart Inspiration by Relating
 Why is it important and necessary for
participants to learn this information or
technology? How is it useful and why?
What cool stuff will it do for employee
productivity or clients? People find value
in personal relevance and sincerity, which
also invokes curiosity.
2.Impart Inspiration by
Relating
 Invest yourself in the information personally, and
take it for a test drive. Place yourself in the
participants’ everyday shoes and approach the
presentation from that angle.

 Can you use everyday situations at work and

outside of work to get participants to understand
the subject? Storytelling is a wonderful skillset that
enables your audience to visualize the information
you’re presenting and relate back. In business,
people build emotional bonds with storytellers.
3. Break the Ice and Get Interactive
 Icebreakers can be great, but only use them when appropriate. No one
likes icebreakers that are used just to fill up the time or are forced with
false enthusiasm. That’s not teambuilding.

 Icebreakers should be honest and relative. Open up by sharing a personal

or somewhat humiliating story that relates to the topic.

 Perhaps the training topic relates to management, and there are

participants with four to 20 years of managerial experience in the room.
How do you bring these people together? Remember, varying perspectives
are often surprising.

 Icebreakers may also be group activities, where participants take center

stage to share their wisdom and how it relates to the topic. Group together
tables of four individuals where everyone has varying years of experience,
and ask them to share the best management wisdom they have heard or
learned. Set a time limit. Participants discuss within the group and then
briefly aloud. Such icebreakers get participants involved with each other
and the speaker, while getting them into the right training mindset.
 4.Be Comfortable With the
Presentation Room
 Speakers and participants should feel comfortable in the presentation room. Choose furniture, colors
and technology that are appropriate for the company’s learning environment.

 The room shouldn’t be so loudly designed with furniture and technology that the focus is taken away
from the presentation. Uncomfortable seats make for restless learners. Gray rooms with a boring palette
make for an uninspired audience, no matter how enthusiastic the speaker is.

 If the presentation room is lifeless, bring in a little creativity. People stare at screens all day, both at home
and at work. A projector is still a preferred and classic choice for sharing information in presentations.
Consider an alternative screen – one that you can paint on the wall. Screen paint covers a larger
projection area more cheaply than purchasing a screen. It can even be applied to old screens to improve
luster. Such innovations make for a unique presentation room and grab the attention of everyone.

 Enjoying a presentation can be difficult when you have sat through boring lectures since
childhood. Creating an engaging environment allows participants to hold interest and retain
information during a presentation.

 Participants should be comfortable and familiar with their space, the speaker and each other. A speaker
must be a storyteller who is able to relate to and stir their audience. When the physical space is
interesting, but lets the speaker and participants move around and engage, functional space is
maximized and corporate learning can be more successful. When these elements come together, it
makes for a memorable presentation.