Whenever I attend a seminar that I’m really interested in, I usually bring a notebook and write furiously for a large part of the presentation. My notes will consist of so many things:
- Highlights of the speaker’s material that I want to remember
- Things the speaker does that I should work on for my own presentations
- Reactions from the audience that I’d normally overlook on stage
- Ideas for future slides, approaches and anything else the comes to mind
And believe it or not, a large portion of your attendees will do the exact same thing…simply because they do not want to miss out on capturing the most out of your presentation. Now, your audience will actually retain more knowledge overall if they just sit there and enjoy your speech, which is why you should always be giving them a handout.
Think of a handout as a mini “cliff notes” for your presentation that shows your main topics, the biggest speaking points and a few important takeaways that are worth putting in print. Just by providing these few basics, it allows the audience to turn their full attention towards you…which allows them to have a better experience and makes sales more likely from the back of the room.
Leave blank space next to your points so your audience can write their own interpretation and ideas of what the points mean to them. This allows them to relate the meaning to their own experiences.
You can make handouts inexpensively yourself with almost any home printer on the market these days, or you can run by your local Kinko’s to have your handouts printed in bulk. Even though it may cost you an additional $2-30 per presentation, this is one of the best investments that you’ll ever make.
One last important point on handouts… make sure your handouts are branded with your name, logo and contact information. Also include a free offer such as Free Tips, a Survey, a Free Report, or other item so your audience will visit your website if they didn’t buy from you at your event.