If you are running any form of seminar, lecture, workshop, training course or youth leadership development program, keeping the attention of your audience can sometimes be a challenge.
Even if the attendees are attending voluntarily, there are some aspects of human psychology you need to be aware of if you are to avoid people potentially mentally ‘switching off’ and disengaging.
• If you are presenting something, try not to talk for more than 20 minutes without some sort of break to give people a change from needing to listen to just one voice.
• Try to throw the session opened to questions, comments or group exercises at least once every 30 minutes. This can help avoid people mentally dozing off.
• It is an extremely good idea to stop for some sort of physical out-of-the-room break every 45-60 minutes. Try to get people on their feet and moving around for a coffee or something else, even if only for 5 minutes before the session re-starts. It gets the blood oxygen flowing.
• Try to speak spontaneously rather than reading verbatim from prepared notes.
• Make sure you use plenty of visual or other aids. Looking at somebody’s face and listening to them speak for extended periods can be extremely tiring. Projections, flip charts, and other graphical aidsall help stimulate people’s visual interest.
• Ask the odd spontaneous question. This isn’t meant to intimidate people and your questions should be open without a right or wrong answer. It is an old technique but if delegates suspect they may be engaged with a question at any time it can be effective in keeping their adrenaline levels up.
• Keep plenty of fresh air circulating.
• Share the podium and avoid ‘grandstanding’. A change of face, voice and delivery style can help freshen up a session and stop attendees becoming stale.
These are all basic tips but can be very useful in helping to keep your youth leadership development program or other sessions on course and delegates firing on all cylinders!
Even if the attendees are attending voluntarily, there are some aspects of human psychology you need to be aware of if you are to avoid people potentially mentally ‘switching off’ and disengaging.
• If you are presenting something, try not to talk for more than 20 minutes without some sort of break to give people a change from needing to listen to just one voice.
• Try to throw the session opened to questions, comments or group exercises at least once every 30 minutes. This can help avoid people mentally dozing off.
• It is an extremely good idea to stop for some sort of physical out-of-the-room break every 45-60 minutes. Try to get people on their feet and moving around for a coffee or something else, even if only for 5 minutes before the session re-starts. It gets the blood oxygen flowing.
• Try to speak spontaneously rather than reading verbatim from prepared notes.
• Make sure you use plenty of visual or other aids. Looking at somebody’s face and listening to them speak for extended periods can be extremely tiring. Projections, flip charts, and other graphical aidsall help stimulate people’s visual interest.
• Ask the odd spontaneous question. This isn’t meant to intimidate people and your questions should be open without a right or wrong answer. It is an old technique but if delegates suspect they may be engaged with a question at any time it can be effective in keeping their adrenaline levels up.
• Keep plenty of fresh air circulating.
• Share the podium and avoid ‘grandstanding’. A change of face, voice and delivery style can help freshen up a session and stop attendees becoming stale.
These are all basic tips but can be very useful in helping to keep your youth leadership development program or other sessions on course and delegates firing on all cylinders!
