As a presentation trainer, I’m quite often asked how a speaker can make a successful presentation on a boring topic. This query comes up particularly often when I’m training corporate groups. And the answer is simple. The speaker needs to remember the 4 Ps of successful presenters: preparation, practice, perseverence, and…drum roll…PASSION. Think about that fourth P-word for a moment. If you are not passionate about your subject, how can you possibly expect your audience to find it interesting? As far as ‘boring’ topics go, there is only one thing to do: find an angle of the subject which interests you, and work from that angle.

I actually don’t believe that there is such a thing as a boring topic. But there are certainly a fair number of boring speakers. These speakers make little or no effort to bring human interest to their subject, and their own seeming lack of interest is contagious! On the other hand, I have seen several potentially dreary subjects from the financial-, insurance- or hi-tech industry sectors presented splendidly by speakers who were passionate about their subjects. These speakers took the time to make their core messages and storylines simple, effective and audience friendly. They found human interest angles in their subjects and played these to the full. And their own strong interest in their subjects was transmitted to the audience.

Don’t forget the 4 Ps and particularly the vital role played by your passion for your subject.