Building Effective Presentations - Your Audience

When people develop presentations for an audience, an often-overlooked item is the audience itself.  You may wish to develop a presentation with lots of graphics, video, and sound.  However, what if you have an audience that is not used to this, especially an audience that contains technological novices?  One of two things could happen:  either they are so impressed with the technology that they ignore the message, or they automatically dismiss what you say because they think you're more interested in the bells and whistles rather than your information.  You must consider your audience when making a presentation.

• If you need a more interactive approach with your audience, consider a simple text outline use of PowerPoint.  This would also be effective for the technological novices that may be in your audience.  Don't over-emphasize the more advanced features of PowerPoint
• If you have a picture-oriented presentation, you may want to supplement your PowerPoint presentation with a slide projector.  Or, if you have time, use a slide scanner to store your slides on computer, then place them as images into your presentation.
• Rely more on your PowerPoint presentation if your audience is expecting a more high-tech approach to your presentation.  You should also use PowerPoint more if there could be a need to customize in the middle of your presentation.
• If you are uncertain about your audience, the best thing to do is ask them.  An informal survey of your audience near the beginning of the presentation can provide valuable information about them and allow you to tailor your presentation to meet their needs.