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Interactive presentations are superior to the static ones.
You know that too. One-way presentations, where you are the only one talking are exhausting and boring for you and your audience. I hate them…
That’s why I am always on the lookout for good interactive presentation games to incorporate into my talks. I learn these games and interactivity devices, I try them, and then I share the results with you, and hopefully, you try them as well.
The interactivity in your presentation depends on all the interactive games and devices you string throughout the talk. The more tools you know and implement, the more interactive your presentation will be. You can’t just rely on one device; you have to keep adding more to your toolbox.
In this blog article, you will learn a simple interactive game you can use in your next presentation.
Here is the Formula for My Favorite Presentation Game:
Question > Tease > Reveal > Discussion
Question:
Before you reveal a statistic or a fact to your audience, ask them to see if they know it and have them guess the correct answer.
For example:
– Instead of saying “the attention of span of a human being is 8 seconds.”
Ask your audience “what do you think the attention span of a person is in 2015?”
– Instead of saying “the number one reason employees leave a job is because of a manager.”
Ask your audience “what do you think is the number one reason employees leave their jobs?”
Tease
Don’t accept the first answer they give you even if it’s the correct one. Tease them for more responses and comment on the answers they give you.
The commenting can be as simple as saying “that’s close,” or you can also use funny remarks to keep your audience engaged in a lighthearted and fun atmosphere.
I experimented with the optimal number for teasing, and I found (from my experience) that three times is best. I noticed that the first 3 teases raise the energy of the room and after that, it starts to drop. I would suggest you do your test and see how that works for you.
You can point to people and put them on the spot and ask them what they think or to make a guess. Once you have some answers, you can reveal the real answer.
Reveal
Finally, after you hear from a few of them, you can go ahead and tell the answer. Note that this could be a response that they shouted out already. That’s fine, just tell those people that they were right or close.
Discussion
Usually, the game is played to get people engaged and enrolled in the conversation. Once you achieve that, then you can go ahead and make your points.
Game in action:
Question:
Me: what do you think the attention span of a human being is in 2015? (asking the group)
Tease:
Me: Mark, what do you think? (I single out Mark if no one shouts an answer)
Mark: 3 seconds
Me: Ok higher
Me: Jennifer, what do you think?
Jennifer: 7 seconds
Me: we are getting close, last one, Mike what do you think?
Mike: 10 seconds
Reveal
Me: Close, it’s 8 seconds. It’s less than the attention span of a Goldfish!
Discussion
There are two reasons to why I am sharing this piece of information with you about attention spans. The first is that I want you to add more engagement devices to your presentations so that you can keep grabbing the attention of your audience.
Second, when you see an audience member’s eyes glaze over, don’t take it personally. They will tend to check out briefly every 8 seconds, and it’s usually not because of your presentation. Your job is to keep bringing them back to you 🙂
Conclusion
The interactivity in your presentation depends on you applying multiple games and formulas like this one. The more tools you know and implement, the more interactive your presentation will be. I hope this tool will make your list.
Let me know what you think in the comments below. If you have one or few interactive games you would like to share, please share it – I would love to hear from you.
