How often have you seen this happen: an executive begins giving an important presentation, but the audience quickly becomes confused and stops paying attention altogether? Although many of these same speakers say they would like to make their presentations more compelling, few implement any changes.

“Whenever you open your mouth,” says Patricia Fripp, a sales coach and presentation trainer, “whether your audience is one person or a thousand, you want to get a specific message across.” But if the message is confusing or lacking in substance, your audience will tune you out. Fripp offers these five tips to help you become a more dynamic and persuasive strategic communicator and ensure that your audience takes your presentation to heart:

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1. Streamline your thoughts. If you can’t describe what you’re talking about in one sentence, you may be guilty of a fuzzy focus or trying to cover too many topics. Start off with a simple idea, and let that guide your whole presentation.
2. Stick to a structure. Make it easy for people to follow what you are saying. They’ll remember it better — and you will too, as you deliver your information and ideas. Build your presentation around having a clearly delineated and powerful beginning, middle, and end to guide your audience through the points you’re trying to make.
3. Build an emotional connection. Appeal to your audience’s own interests, and engage them in the conversation by using the word “you.” Don’t simply throw facts and figures at them, but pull the listeners into the story by showing them how they can benefit from your presentation.
4. Be cool, calm, and collected. Stay focused on your presentation even if you make mistakes. Avoid using placeholder words — hmm, ah, er, and so on — and check for any bad verbal habits. Incorporate pauses not only to help your listeners grasp important concepts, but also to help you segue between topics.
5. Be careful with technology. Sure, having a PowerPoint in front of your audience may clearly show them the facts of your presentation, but if you simply restate what is on the slides, your listeners will ignore the sound of your voice. Technology can be a boon when used properly, but make sure that it doesn’t detract from the most important part of the presentation: you.

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