by Wai Heng Kelvin Lee

Created on: February 25, 2009

In the past, you may have felt that some speakers had given presentations that were a chore to sit through, due to the speaker's inability to look at the audience long enough before having to look at the projection screen.

Have you wondered why this situation would cause your attention to be diverted from the topic of the presentation?

How the audience is distracted

1. Shared attention of speaker

The inclination of a speaker to glimpse repeatedly at the projection screen brings him more problems as he has to sacrifice the attention he can give to his audience.

This is because the speaker would have to reassign his focus from the projection screen to his laptop time and again, leaving little attention left for him to convey his zeal and conviction on the topic to his listeners.

In addition, this situation may present itself as a distraction to the speaker from his presentation, and cause him to have to hesitate in the middle of his presentation to work out what information he was supposed to communicate at that point of time. His audience then has to wait for him to carry on.

This causes a break in the presentation, as well as a gap in the audience's understanding of the presentation. The speaker's apparent doubt of his material would also lead the audience to be less willing to consent to what he has to say.

2. No understanding formed between speaker and audience

A competent speaker would place priority on establishing the link between himself and his audience, as it would compel the audience to be more responsive and accepting of his presentation.

This cannot be accomplished if the speaker glances again and again at the screen, and does not maintain regular eye contact with the audience.

Eye contact is crucial in providing the link between speaker and listener. It shows that there is common understanding and trust between them, and through this link, speakers can then convey their passion and certainty of the subject at hand to their audience.

3. Projection distractions

The mistake of unintentionally moving into the line of projection can be made by a speaker who is fixated on looking at the projection screen. The slides and its contents would then be projected onto the speaker, offering a great distraction to the audience.

When this happens, the speaker may also appear ignorant and inexperienced, and to the audience, this may affect the strength of his credibility.

How to keep your audience focused

1. Laptop placement

Positioning your laptop directly in front of your audience

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