If you come across to the audience as an expert then your material takes on an elevated degree of credibility. Couple this with looking confident and you will have a winning presence in front of the audience. Here are three simple ideas that allow you to increase the audience’s perception of your expertise:
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- Introduction. Write your own introduction and have someone else introduce you. This allows you to have complimentary aspects mentioned about you without appearing ‘big-headed’. You can include past achievements, length of time in the industry, major projects that you have worked on, awards you have won… to name but a few. Ideally the credibility mentioned should have reference to the forthcoming presentation. A good idea would be to have the introduction typed up with a large font so whoever is introducing you doesn’t have any trouble reading it.
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- Quote Experts. Incorporate a quote or two into the presentation. The person you should quote would be an expert in their field and that field must obviously relate to the topic of your presentation. Use Google to search out quotes that will serve your purpose. Make sure the audience is made aware of the person you are quoting and give a very brief biography of the person (1-2 sentences only) so that they are aware of their significance. A clever technique is to literally ‘read the quote’ so that it is obvious you are using the expert’s words, not your own version of what they said.
- Exact Numbers. Only do this once or twice somewhere close to the start of the presentation: Use exact numbers. For example, if I were to say; “At the start of the 20th century the Titanic, whilst on her maiden voyage, struck an iceberg and sank causing a huge loss of life.” All good and well but if I use exact numbers then I come over as an expert. For example; “On April 14th, 1912. At 11:20 at night, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean. Only 711 people survived, 1,490 souls were lost.” Get the idea? Remember, don’t do this too often as the audience can not follow too many numbers for too long. We want to be the expert, not the pain.
If you can generate a sense of ‘Being the Expert’ in your next presentation then I think you will find it is easier to sell your ideas to the audience. Good luck.