There are few bigger wastes of time in business than a dull presentation. The audience struggles to pay attention and takes in little of the content. One of the most effective ways to ensure that people stay alert is to actively involve them in the proceedings. Here are a few ideas for getting attendees to participate.

Asking each audience member in turn to say what they hope to gain from the meeting has several benefits:
- It gets everyone talking early on, which sets the tone for an open, discursive meeting
- It helps people feel more invested in the meeting
- It allows you to tailor what you say to what attendees care most about
- It can be used as a checklist at the end to make sure the content and discussion have addressed everyone’s needs

This technique is particularly valuable if you ever find yourself expected to deliver a presentation without having been given a proper brief. You’ll still have to think on your feet, but it’s better to know at the start what people are hoping to learn - and re-set expectations early on - than deliver stiff, cut and dried content to an increasingly frustrated audience.
 
Inviting questions and posing them to the audience are good ways to add variety to your delivery. When faced with a question, our brains instinctively try to answer it. That’s why asking questions is such an effective way to engage an audience.