When you present information, you almost always have a purpose. Perhaps you want your listeners to remember what you say, to be moved by it, or to act on it. Changing and influencing people is never easy, of course, but a good grasp of the techniques of presenting can make life a great deal simpler for you. And then there is one more factor, one you cannot control, but one you can absolutely adapt to.
We human beings carry something called an alertness level. It is a rhythm we live by, and it governs when we are sharp and awake and when we drift towards sleep, when we are ready to learn and when we are better suited to something monotonous. For us, in the world of presenting, the lesson is obvious: we want to deliver our presentation when our audience is at their most attentive and receptive.
Imagine a curve of the day for the average person. Most of us experience our waking hours in much the same shape, with real energy in the late morning and a familiar dip elsewhere. There are exceptions, naturally, but the great majority of people live their day along this line.
Who breaks the pattern
The exceptions worth knowing about are teenagers and children, in other words anyone under eighteen, along with those older than fifty-five. Their rhythm can sit quite differently, so keep them in mind when you know who is in the room.
What this means for you
The conclusion we can draw, now that we understand our biological alertness a little better, is that we should place our presentations in the late morning, or at worst in the middle of the afternoon. And we should do everything we can to avoid presenting first thing in the morning, straight after lunch, or anywhere near that delicate late-afternoon lull. Work with your audience's biology rather than against it, and half the battle is won before you have said a word.
Want to become a better presenter?
This is a short piece from David's knowledge bank. To go deeper, the best places are a keynote, a course, or one to one coaching.