Get Inside your Audience’ Heads

by Laura Fitton on May 2, 2008

One big, brief thought while reading: Psychology | Inside a deal | Economist.com

Can you see the world, or at least *your* message, from the “audience” point of view?

The same perspective-taking and empathy skills that make people more effective in negotiations also make presentations much stronger and more persuasive. After all, a presentation is often the stepping off point towards engaging in negotiation.

Perspective-taking, “the cognitive power to consider the world from someone else’s viewpoint,” is probably the most important part of presenting more effectively.

(Via SigmaXi’s Science in the News.)

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Arthur Germain (@ahg3) May 2, 2008 at 11:17 am

Laura, Great point. One thing I coach presenters is to doa little role playing to see if what you’re saying *really* applies to your audience. Here’s a link to my article on ManageSmarter with Seven Tips for Boosting Presentation Performance (http://www.managesmarter.com/msg/content_display/presentations/e3i322308809550e01b88d57f65752adf18)
ahg3
Arthur Germain

John Windsor May 2, 2008 at 11:27 am

So true — and so hard.

Susan Weiner May 31, 2008 at 4:00 am

Good point!
So often people’s presentations leave the audience saying “So what?” because the presenter doesn’t consider the audience’s perspective.
By the way, I enjoyed your IMCNE presentation.

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