Use common senses in your presentations

Most people in your audience have five common senses. The senses of sight, touch, smell, sound and taste. It is even more important to read this blog posting if you have someone in your audience who is blind or deaf.

Always describe your stories using as many senses as you possibly can. Comprehensive description brings your audience into your stories. Here are two descriptions of the same story. Which one is more real to you?

1. On a winter morning, we set out to play golf. My first swing was a disaster.

2. If you had been with me on January 13, 2008, you would have been shivering from the bitterly cold wind. As I stepped onto the tee with my smiling father at 8 am to celebrate his seventieth birthday, the dew crackled beneath my feet. Visibility was limited to 300 yards and the sun was slowly burning the fog to nothingness. I caught a whiff of the maple syrup that I messed on my shirt at breakfast and was still infuriated at my clumsiness. I swung the 7 iron in my best impression of Tiger Woods and the ball rocketed straight up like a space shuttle on a mission before it landed 2 feet behind me. My father loudly announced "Wayne - this is going to be one of those days". "Wait until I beat you on this round of golf".

Add gestures to the word pictures painted in description #2, and you have a better chance of holding audience attention.

Do you notice how the second description used multiple senses? We have these senses in common with our audiences and you should take the time to describe the environment of your story and your actions to use all five senses.