6 persuasion techniques for your next presentation

Here’s a hint: We used one in the headline—and it wasn’t the use of open-palmed gestures. Employ these approaches to engage your audience and land your call to action.

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Presentations are a gamble.

You invest valuable time and money, but you can’t predict the presentation climate that you will be dealt. You cannot calculate the exact mood of the audience nor control all variables of the situation. To succeed, you must be bold and come prepared with an ace up your sleeve: You have to be a master of persuasion.

Even if your goal is only to inspire or inform, you still have to persuade your audience to pay attention. If you want your audience to take action, persuasion is an obvious essential.

No. 1: Use your hands.

Loosen up. Let yourself gesture naturally during your presentation.

Research has shown that presenters are judged as more effective and competent when they make hand gestures compared with when they keep their hands still, according to The 4 Ways You Can Use Body Language To Influence Success by Christian Jarrett.

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