From the course: Designing a Presentation

Know your audience

From the course: Designing a Presentation

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Know your audience

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- [Narrator] "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail," the wise words of Benjamin Franklin. Preparation is the foundation of your presentation, and that begins with the audience. You must try and build a picture of them, and put yourself in their place. Everything you do in terms of design has to be focused on them. It doesn't matter if you like purple minimalist designs or flat graphics, or charts that look like you are channeling a fiesta. It's what you think will appeal to them, what will help them understand and engage with your message. Your audience will be more receptive if you show that you know who they are, so, try your best to develop an understanding of them, even if it has to be your best informed guess. Nothing sums this up better for me than the words of Ken Haemer, the former AT&T presentation research manager. "Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it, 'To whom it may concern.'"

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