Want to ensure your public speaking event is fun and entertaining? Regardless of what topic you’re covering in your presentation, it’s important to make sure you present it in a fun and engaging manner. However, knowing how to do this isn't always easy.
The good news is, there are lots of ways you can enhance your public speaking to ensure it’s memorable. Here, you’ll discover just 5 fun prompts you can use to breathe new life into your presentation.
1. Tell an anecdote
Anecdotes can be a fantastic way to grab your audience’s attention. However, they’re not always easy to pull off correctly.
One of the main things to remember when telling an anecdote to your audience is not to make it all about you. Even if the anecdote is about you, it should resonate with your audience too. The anecdote should also be told in as much important detail as possible. Really set the scene for your audience, allowing them to fully engage with the story.
If you’re not sure how to add a good anecdote in, it’s worth doing a little research before putting one together.
2. Take advantage of props
Props, when used correctly, can really help to make your presentation more memorable. They can really help you to get your message across, turning ideas and targets into things people can relate to.
By using props to symbolize different things in your speech, it really helps the audience to better retain the information. You could also use a more unexpected prop if you really want participants to be talking about your event long after it’s finished. Using something completely surprising to the audience is sure to grab and keep hold of their attention.
Most importantly, you need to ensure the props you use have a purpose. Don’t just add a prop for the sake of adding one. Make sure it’s relevant and links into the message you’re conveying.
3. Introduce a competition
Nothing is going to excite your participants more than a healthy competition! People love the opportunity to win something. So, if you really want to liven up your speech, introducing competition is a great idea.
You could introduce the competition at the beginning of the presentation, then reveal the winner at the end.
Of course, you’ll need to come up with a good prize to make the competition worth partaking in. (Please remember to stick to the guidelines for these, you can find out more about these here).
You could even use competition to draw in more attendees. Before hosting the event, let people know there will be a competition on the day. You might just see a surprising increase in attendees with this method alone.
4. A quiz
If you want to add a little fun without having to worry about organizing a prize, a quiz is a great idea. Giving the audience a sheet to write their answers down while asking the
questions throughout the presentation help to really keep them engaged.
They will not only stay engaged in what you’re saying, but it also helps them to better retain the information you’re providing.
5. Q&A sessions
Another way to break up the speech and inject a little fun into it is with a Q&A session. Give your audience the chance to ask you questions ( these are sometimes called "Ask me Anything"). Or, switch it up and ask the audience questions throughout the presentation.
This will force them to pay attention, and the interaction really makes the speech a lot more enjoyable.
So, there you have it – 5 fun prompts you can use to breathe new life into your public speaking. Finding ways to make it more fun and keep the audience engaged is crucial to the effectiveness of your speech.