5 ways to head off info overload and engage your audience

If your head hurts trying to fit everything into your presentation, imagine the pain your listeners will feel.

It can be hard to know which information to include and which to leave out. Many topics are complex in nature.

Maybe you’re presenting controversial points of view, maybe your approach to something is a tad unorthodox, or maybe you know there will be a ton of questions at the end and you want to build the answers into your content.

These tips will help you avoid information overload in your presentations:

1. Stop thinking of more as more

As a public speaker, your primary goal is to deliver maximum value to your audience, but that does not necessitate delivering the most information possible.

That would be like a chef wanting to give you the best meal you’ve ever had, so he keeps shoving food into your mouth until you can barely breathe. He only meant to give you maximum value, but now someone might have to give you the Heimlich maneuver.

Your first task is to stop thinking of more as more, because often, especially in presentations, less really is more.