The more real your audience is to you, the more targeted and
relevant you can make your presentation. One guaranteed way to engage them is
to ask a question…not just a rhetorical question for effect but an actual
question of an actual person that requests a specific answer.
This is not to say that you put someone on the spot or
embarrass them if they’re not ready with a response. But sales presentation
training will tell you that you should try to interact with the audience as
much as possible and one way to do that is to ask for their input.
Try “soft” but targeted questions like these:
- What do you think, Joe? Am I on the right track?
- Mary, you look skeptical. Is there a point of view I am missing?
- Chris, I see you nodding in agreement. Do you
have an example that you’d like to share?
