I am a physician in a large hospital in Seattle. Recently, I was promoted into a management position that requires me to make frequent internal presentations that last up to one hour. When delivering short presentations, I never have difficulty maintaining the audience's attention; however, with my new, longer presentations, audience member eyes seem to get that glassy look about half way through my talk. This experience is beginning to erode my confidence as a speaker and as a manager. Can you offer any practical advice before I get the vaudeville hook?

Paul H.
Seattle, Washington

It is difficult to give you a complete answer without actually observing one of your presentations. However, based on your success with shorter presentations, I suspect that you need work on transitioning from one segment of your presentation to another. When effective transitions are missing from your presentations, audience members start to get that glass-eyed look." The antidote for this malaise consists of strong, well-prepared transitions designed to move your audience smoothly from one part of your presentation to the next.

1. Build Interest:

   In his book, Inspire Any Audience, Tony Jeary (www.tonyjeary.com) points out that the most important job of transitions is to build interest. Set the stage for the next segment of your presentation with words such as the following:

   • "In the next part of this presentation you will learn a powerful strategy that will save you thousands of dollars each month."

   • "How many of you would like to be in a situation where you would never have to worry about job security again?"

   • "Have you ever had a boss from hell? In the next few minutes I will teach you how to deal with five different types of problem bosses."

   Do you think the audience will come awake when they hear words such as these? Of course they will. You have stimulated their curiosity and promised them solutions to real problems.

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2. Summarize Key Points with a Slide:

   When you have finished one section of your presentation, consider using a slide that summarizes your key points. This is a great way to reinforce your message and to let the audience know that you are about to move on to the next segment.

3. Enumerate Key Points:

   In preparing the answer to this question, I decided to watch a video of one of my favorite professional speakers, Don Hutson (www.donhutson.com). In Don's presentation, "High Performance," he displays an outstanding use of transitions to keep his audience "in the game" throughout his one-hour presentation. He does this by enumerating his key points. Right up front he says to the audience, "I'm going to give you seven ideas that are guaranteed to improve your performance. The first idea is….." You can elaborate on this technique by periodically going back and reviewing the points you have discussed. For example, "Let's quickly review my first three points" or "Who can remember my first three points." This technique is another sure cure for the glassy eyed look.

4. Use Deliberate Physical Movement:

   Move several steps to your left or right to signal the beginning of a new part of your presentation. I will often combine this technique with a direct question to an audience member in the new location regarding the next part of my presentation. For example, "John, would you like to know a way to easily handle any conflict that comes up in your business life?" Deliberate physical movement is an excellent way to keep your audience alert and it serves double duty as a method of transition.