The initial phase of a first contact is rapport when the trust is built, which can be gained or lost within
few minutes. Establishing a good rapport from the beginning simply gives you credibility in what you
will say.

We develop rapport by discovering what we have in common. Asking questions is a way to develop
rapport. If you present to a small audience and you would like to encourage discussions, you may ask
everyone to introduce themselves. It is even expected from the audience when they know that they will
work and discuss together. It should not take much time as you should straight start discussing the
subject.

If you can create identification with your audience, that can help create rapport ie you have been
working in a hotel like your audience being hotel managers, start with that story but do not speak of
yourself only, show interest in the audience. If you are giving a training to another town, get the local
newspaper. Start by showing the newspaper and ask questions about an article that you have picked
up and read. That is a way to start slowly before the official start of your presentation.

The eye contact is of course important. Keep looking at everyone, from the front to the back, from the
left to the right. People generally don’t trust someone who does not look at them in the eyes. Eye
contact can also help to listen actively when participants speak.

Mirroring is a skill you can use to relate to your audience. Mirroring is a way to reflect your audience’s
style. You can repeat the words they use. We tend to trust better people like us! But don’t mirror
negative signs like negative body language! When communicating, mirroring is in a way natural, so just
help it! 

Mind the close Questions – Yes or No as an answer does not open the discussion. But they are very
useful to keep up the attention of the audience. Human beings will always answer to questions. Always,
if not verbally then mentally. So you can throw small questions without giving the time to answer.
Question with the Ws (What, When, Where, Who) and with How to open discussions. If you wish to
poll the audience by asking to raise their hands, do raise your hand too. 

Show empathy. I will take one example: Someone is arriving late.. "I hope that you are well. We are
happy to see you. I am Peter, the presenter of today. Please have a sit just here. We are now covering
the reasons that leaders see the possibilities".  Understand that you are not only here to give a
presentation. Understand that your first objective is to make sure that every person in the room will
leave with new knowledge, that she or he can apply new ideas the minute she/he leaves the
presentation. Understand that you have to care that every person feels comfortable in the room. Do
not forget that people like to enjoy and have fun. As long as you know the flow of ideas, as long as
your PowerPoint slides bring proofs of what you say, as long as you understand that the audience is
the most important part of your presentation, you will behave accordingly and naturally. The
objective of a presentation is not about what you say but how you say it. Take the time to
understand it, it is already a major step in the objective of being a persuasive speaker. The audience
will then feel they can trust you.

Next article : How to connect with different types of people ?

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