We all have short attention spans. This is exacerbated in these days of communication delivered in truncated, rapid-fire bytes. So when you are designing your presentation you need to factor in frequent ways to keep your audience’s attention. To keep your audience focused on you and your message right through your next presentation, try these four basic techniques.

Change your delivery style. Introduce a new visual. Challenge with an activity for audience involvement. Tell a story. Whatever techniques you use, introduce them often and vary them. Each will have its own impact, but make sure that impact supports your chosen image and message.

Another way to break up a presentation this way and to keep attention, while reinforcing your message is to consider learning styles. People will (usually) happily sit through a presentation that does not fit their learning style but they will have a sense of disconnection. They may understand your message, recognise the quality of your presentation and absorb your image, but the communication will be incomplete and the audience members will feel disconnected. If you can communicate using their personal learning style the impact will be far, far greater. There is a myriad of books and websites for you, on learning styles. Basically, you can work with three – visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Delivering your message verbally will work for the auditory learners, but you will reinforce it even further if you can get them to talk as well – to hear themselves and others repeat and supplement the ideas. Create as many visuals as you can for the visual learners – use diagrams to show difficult concepts, pictures to reinforce concrete ideas and colours to support emotional impact. And for the kinesthetic learners – give them ways to learn by doing, if only discussing ideas or writing them down. Then each group has received your message in a way that will make it slot into their brains and experience banks with ease.

Finally keep attention with language. Consider your audience when you are choosing your language. Speak to them in a language they understand. Look at your technical terms, and any jargon that they may not understand. Use examples, stories, quotes and other support material that has relevance to their lives and their interests. You will keep their attention and their interest.

Introduce support materials that add impact to your ideas. Avoid losing the audience by being sparing with dates, figures and statistics. These are all very useful in adding impact to your message, but overuse will lead to their becoming boring.

Make sure, too, that you credit your sources for all of these as you would for your quotes. Support your credibility!

Use humour if you can. Create vibrant word pictures and tell anecdotes to reinforce concepts. These will allow you to avoid presenting a continuous flow of theory which will kill audience attention and it will give vividness to your material that will make the message last in the minds of your audience - powerful impact.

Bronwyn Ritchie has 20 years' experience speaking to audiences and training in public speaking - from individuals too nervous to say their own names in front of an audience, to community groups and corporate executives. You can get her free tips, articles, resources and quotations for your public speaking and presentations in a fortnightly ezine - subscribe to Pivotal Public speaking - the ezine. Or visit the Pivotal Public speaking web pages.