Rule 2: Know Your Audience

This is a continuation of The Rules: Create & Deliver Effective Presentations Every Time, providing detail and depth on the second rule – Really knowing your audience, and what they actually need, is the foundation of your story.

Let me Tell You Your Story

 “Well, what should we tell them?” 

This is frequently the first question asked at presentation kick-off. When we insist on having an established story before building a slide deck to illustrate the message, it's sometimes asked with some tension...or shouting. The answer is actually simple – so simple it can seem difficult.

You know what story to tell by knowing your client, knowing what matters to them most, and then using that knowledge to tell them their story.

First, you need to understand the problem or challenge you’re trying to solve, then you can articulate your solution and its value for the client. You may not always be focused on solving a problem, but you do need to figure out what your audience cares about.

Why would they want to sit and listen to what you want to say?

Answers include: because it’s about them, it’s about a topic that concerns them, they feel emotionally invested in the outcome, or you’re telling them how you’re going to solve their challenges.

Excuse Me, Are there Cliff Notes?

A basic understanding of the problem or audience concerns is the macro level of story development. Next, you need to dig into the story to find the root challenges, and pair each to a solution or topic. Engage the audience by talking about them instead of yourself.

At each stage of message development, you need to ask, why do they care?

"We do this!"

"So? Why do I care you do that? What’s in it for me?"

If you can’t answer these question from your client’s perspective, they won’t be able to either. It’s not your audience’s job to find the meaning in your story, it’s your job to tell a story that has meaning for them and, if necessary, explain how it’s going to work for them.

If you’re not sure what the problem is, or what your audience’s concerns might be, that’s a sign you need to do more research and qualification before you begin developing a story outline and speaking points.

Knowing What You Know

First, ensure you’re well versed in your subject matter, or your product or service’s selling points and core value proposition. Then learn your client or audience inside and out. Put these together and story development flows.

If you already have both and you’re struggling to build a story around how your capabilities can meet the client’s needs, perhaps your solution isn’t a good fit. In this case, you can either develop a new solution to meet that client’s concerns, go back to the client to requalify (why were we pursuing this in the first place?), or tear apart your approach to see if you missed something.

Ultimately, people are most interested when it’s about them. Clients lose interest in a presentation that focuses on the presenter’s perspective, company background and capabilities. These should be highlights within the overall message about how you’re going to solve their problem, answer their challenge or deliver a product that meets their needs.

When all you talk about is how they’re going to succeed, they will listen.




Who am I to tell you how to present? After almost a decade, thousands of client-facing presentations, and hundreds of strategy meetings and coaching sessions, I bring a whole lot more to the table than just another pretty slide deck. I help clients with presentation strategy, provide devil’s advocate input (even if it’s challenging), coach on delivery and execution, and create visuals for technical, creative, data-based, sales and educational presentations.

Do you agree with what I have here? If not, leave me a comment – I’m always open to new perspectives and alternative opinions.