Deadly mistakes presenters make, 3 and 4

Some more details on the seven deadly mistakes presenters make:

Mistake #3. Focusing on what you want from your audience.

Most of the time, you deliver a presentation because you want something from your audience. You are selling a product, an idea, or a new set of skills; why else would you go through the bother of writing and delivering a presentation unless you wanted something from your audience? But that’s your motivation for being there, not theirs. What is their motivation for listening to you? The only reason your audience is listening to you is that they are hoping for some information that will help them do something better or solve one of the many problems they are facing in life. If you want to capture and keep their attention, focus your entire presentation deliberately and undividedly on solving an important problem of theirs.

Mistake #4. Only including evidence that supports your recommendation.

It is tempting to include only facts and arguments that support your case in your presentation, because you want to strengthen your case, not weaken it. However, all the empirical research confirms that audiences will find you more credible—and more convincing—if you also include the arguments against your recommendation (and then carefully rebut each one of them.) Lawyers call this “stealing thunder”: if you bring up an objection first, that objection has far less force than if someone in your audience does.

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