Caught Up in the Afterglow: The Importance of Follow-Up After Your Presentation

You may have just given a fantastic presentation and you are breathing a sigh of relief that it’s all over…but is it? Your presentation shouldn’t end the moment you step off stage. In fact, this is the time when the hard work starts. You only have a limited time to engage with your audience before the effectiveness of your presentation wears off. Thus, it is important to stay connected with your audience after the presentation to ensure lasting engagement. Follow-up with a survey, thank-you note or email, or supplementary material. This will keep your message fresh and provide your audience with access to helpful content. Follow-up is critical to keep your audience interested in your message, so consider these effective follow-up techniques. 

Q&A Session

Follow-up can start immediately after the presentation ends. You can hold a Q&A session so audience members can ask questions while the material is still fresh in their minds. This is a great time to share ideas and even pass out pamphlets or other supplementary materials for your audience members to take with them. 

Email

Take the time to send a friendly thank-you email to your participants. This should not be a pushy email asking for anything in return, but rather a thank-you for attending the presentation. Be sure to include your contact information and encourage them to reach out with any additional questions or comments. Many people think of questions after the presentation is over, so this makes it easy for them to get in touch with you. 

Connect via Social Media

In today’s world, social media is one of the most effective ways to connect with audiences. Social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook make it easier than ever to connect with people. You can upload pictures and videos from your presentation and provide links to additional information. It is also a great way to encourage the conversation to continue long after the presentation is over. 

Surveys

Another important part of follow-up is gathering feedback from your audience. You need to know how the audience perceived your presentation so you can make improvements for further presentations. It’s also helpful to know how well your audience understood your message. Surveys are a great way to collect feedback and there are a number of ways to conduct these surveys. You can encourage audience members to complete them at the conclusion of the presentation or you can email them afterwards. A tip to increase survey participation is to offer an incentive for completion. 

Follow-up is vital to the success of any presentation and if forgotten, can lead to missed opportunities. It encourages long-term engagement and can increase the effectiveness of your presentation. It also helps build your rapport and professionalism with audience members, so make sure it is a priority after your next presentation.