What to tell and how to tell it?

For a presentation – focus not only on content but as much on your style. In my last posting I provided some suggestions on how to organize the content. From my musical education I also learned that playing all the notes accurately does not turn your performance into music. Similarly a good presentation in terms of the sonata form, still can be boring. With the result that people afterwards do not remember much of it. So apart from the content we have to think what makes people really pay attention. These are a few points that have helped me:
1. Ask the audience one or two questions about the themes of your sonataform that they can answer by show of hands, then do your talk referring to the answers of the audience.
2. Tell the subject of your talk and ask the three things they would like to know most from you: in your answers you improvise around the themes of your prepared sonataform and be prepared to go beyond.
3. When interacting, give positive feedback to the public, e.g. I heard you have much experience in…; your show of hands proves your positive attitude towards…; that is a very good question that makes me think of the following story…. Etc.
4. During a concert the conductor also does not show the score, so leave the powerpoint in your notebook (if you have one send it in advance or afterwards with the invitation to mail you questions). A talk without powerpoint can be more powerful than one with all the distractions of images and words.
5. Be relaxed and make your mind completely empty before the talk (don’t concentrate on the themes of the sonataform – you know them already by heart); be open to anything that happens when you get on stage, smile, make eye contact, use humor, show emotion and use silences. Be like the audience: a normal human being of flesh an blood. Show what makes you tick. The more they like you, the more they will like what you tell them.