How to Use EIEI Formula to Transform Your Presentations

If you would like a simple, actionable blueprint to make putting together a presentation on any topic, an easy step by step process that will grab the attention of your listeners and keep them engaged throughout your entire presentation, I've put together a free resource to help you. It's called unlock the secrets to crafting compelling presentations.

In this guide, I outlined the simple formula that I talk about in this blog that you can use in your presentations and talks to give you a clear structure, ensure your presentations are relevant, interesting, engaging, and inspiring. Click here to grab your free resource.

Today I’m going to guide you through what I call the universal presentation formula. This is something that you can use, whether you're presenting live, virtually or recording a session that will be played back later. The beauty of this formula is it's adaptable and you can use it in any setting or to any audience.

Let's dive in. The formula is split into four key stages. I call it the EIEI formula, and that stands for Engage, Inform, Educate, and Inspire.

Hold that in your thoughts. Engage, inform, educate, and inspire.

ENGAGING YOUR AUDIENCE

We're going to start with engaging your audience. This is crucial because you've got just a few seconds to grab their attention before they start checking their emails, scrolling through their phones, drifting off daydreaming, thinking about what time they need to pick up their kids or when is my next coffee break.

You need to start with a bang, something interesting, something that will pique their curiosity, something that will get them thinking. Do not start your presentation with, hello everyone, my name is Lisa and today I'm going to talk to you about XYZ. I don't care if this is what most people in your organization do and you think this is what's expected of you.

It's an expectation because it's conforming to the norm. It's an expectation because everyone else does it. It's an expectation because you want to stay in your comfort zone, but that's the problem. And because everyone else does this, it's boring. It doesn't engage the audience and it's a sure way to lose their focus from the get-go.

I'm going to give you some alternatives to grab their attention. Remember in the EIEI formula, this is the moment that you engage your audience. These are your first seconds that will make the difference if they will continue to listen or they will drop off. So for the example of this blog, I've chosen a topic.

It's a real topic, but for me, I'm absolutely no expert on it. So please, what I say is not necessarily factual. I've chosen the topic of cloud seeding, particularly because it's been in the news here in the Middle East quite recently, and we've had a lot of rain. Now, this could be a really boring presentation topic, using facts and figures, or it could be a riveting, informative topic that intrigues my listeners.

It all depends on how it's presented. So, let's go back and highlight again how not to introduce your topic.

“Good evening, everyone. My name is Lisa, and today I'm going to talk to you about how the UAE uses cloud seeding to enhance the rainfall in the region.”

Now, I don't know about you, but I would have immediately switched off at this point.

To me, that sounds boring and non-interesting. Here are some better options to engage your audience. You could start with a fact. Here's an example.

“In 2016, California was battling one of the most severe droughts in history. A total of 7, 349 fires raged across the state, threatening wildfires and homes. When El Nino brought storm clouds in over the state, officials saw an opportunity. An opportunity to make it rain. The UAE has been using this technique for the past 14 years. So today, I'm going to share with you….”

And then you move on to the inform section of your talk. Much more interesting, right? Here's another option.

You could use a story. This is a real story that happened to me…

“I want to take you back to January 2008. I'd been in the UAE for just six months and I'd just returned from a trip to Australia with my family. It was cold, it was drizzling, the forecast predicted thunderstorms. I thought, okay, no big deal, we get rain all the time where I'm from. I wasn't prepared for what would happen that night. I wake up to the sound of heavy rain, but it doesn't sound like it's raining outside. It sounds like it's raining in my bedroom. I get out of bed and I find myself standing in water. The entire bedroom is flooded and I can hear water pouring in from a far corner of the room. But it's dark. I wake my husband.

“Ingo! Ingo! It's raining!” I say. “Go back to sleep.” He gumbles. “No, Ingo! Wake up! It's raining inside the house! The bedroom is flooded!”, quite histeric.

 We turn on the light. There's water running out of the power sockets. How is the power still working? How am I standing here, and I'm not electrocuted? Our bedroom is on the top floor of the house, and the water is running through the fuse box, through the sockets, and into the bedroom.

It's running down the stairs, into the bedroom of our baby. We rush to make sure she's okay, and to keep her safe, and then as we look outside, we see the garage roof collapsing in on our cars, and the streets have turned into rivers.

 This is no ordinary thunderstorm. This is man-made rain.”

Can you see how a story like this, is personal and relatable, certainly for anyone who's lived in the UAE for any length of time, and it makes you want to know, how did it end?

It also makes you question, why is she telling me this? You can then tie the story back by saying, “I'm telling you this because cloud seeding is a technique that's been used across the UAE for the past 14 years to enhance rainfall in the region. Today, I want to share with you…” and then you go into the informed part of your presentation.

Can you see how powerful this can be?

Another idea is to start with a question or a series of questions, something like this. “Did you know the UAE has been using cloud seeding for the past 14 years to enhance precipitation in the region? Does it make a difference? What are clouds actually seeded with and how does this man made influence affect our future? Today, I want to share with you…”

..and then again, you go into the informed part of your presentation. It's so powerful how these openings can grab the attention of your listeners and then make them think, wow, I want to hear more.

That was just one topic that I chose as an example and I was trying to use a topic which could be really uninteresting, boring or factual and enlighten how you can turn that around and you can make it interesting to your listener.

But let's say you're taking a topic like productivity, a typical topic that might come up in the workforce. You could start with,

“Did you know the average person is only productive for three hours in an eight hour workday? Let's change that!”

Simple, but effective.

INFORM YOUR AUDIENCE

Alright, the next step is to inform your audience about what they are going to learn. This sets the stage and it gives them a roadmap of your presentation. It's like when you watch a movie trailer and you get excited about what's coming up. You tell them upfront the key takeaways. You could say something like…

“By the end of this talk, you're going to understand how, why, and when cloud seeding is used, the positive and negative effects of cloud seeding, and you'll be better informed to make the decision if this is a technique you would want to deploy in your region.”

You see, I'm imagining that this is a talk to government decision makers.

Make sure you know who your audience is. Obviously, your talk or your presentation has to make sense and it has to be relevant to them. Let’s go back to the productivity topic. By the end of this talk, you'll have a toolkit to double your productivity without extending your workday. In fact, you could even shorten it!

The inform section may also have a bit of information about why they should listen to you. What are your credentials? And I don't mean what's your resume. Just some key points that are relevant to the topic that you're speaking about and that will highlight your experience and your expertise to be talking about this today.

You don't have to be an educated expert on a topic either. You could just be passionate about it and have had some personal experiences, like in the story that I shared earlier. It could be a topic which has fuelled your interest and created a desire to want to educate others. To learn more about storytelling, go check out episode 6 of the Impact through Voice Podcast, where I really dive into storytelling techniques.

EDUCATE YOUR AUDIENCE

Now let's move to the education part of your talk. This is the meat of your presentation where you dive deep into your topic. You need to break it into three or four key points that you plan to address, but keep it simple and keep it relatable. Unless, of course, you're speaking to a group of rocket engineers or doctors on a topic that they are deeply knowledgeable on.

But even then, what I just said still applies. Keep it simple and keep it relatable for them at their level.

Again, I'm going to come back to using stories, examples, and visuals that could help to break down complex ideas. People remember stories much more than they do facts or figures.

If I would continue with the cloud seeding topic, I could use real case studies of how increased rainfall has enabled the UAE to increase farming in the region, reducing the need for imported produce.

Or I could take the negative side and I could also use a story that illustrates increased risk to human life or property. A wadi that swept a car and its family away. Hail that caused widespread damage. It doesn't matter what your theme or your topic is, just make sure you share personal anecdotes or case studies that will illustrate your points.

INSPIRE YOUR AUDIENCE

Okay, let's move on to the last part of the EIEI formula, and that's inspiring your audience to take an action. This is where you turn information into transformation. People need to feel empowered to implement what you've just taught them. Please don't end your presentation with, in conclusion, I covered today XYZ. Thank you for listening. That's not at all memorable. You've just shared a highly interesting presentation. They've been riveted. Now it's time to leave them with a feeling or a memory that will last long after you have left the stage or you've left the room. You need to ignite a fire with them. Maybe share a success story or challenge them with a question that pushes them to apply what they've learned.

Again, I’ll use my example on the cloud seeding, and I'm going to make this a little bit personal for me, coming from Australia. And for the record, I've no idea if cloud seeding is even a thing or a possibility in Australia.

“In the last decade, Australia has been ravaged by wildfires and drought that's left thousands of people homeless, devastated natural forests, destroyed tourism, and killed countless wildlife, all as a result of climate change. Let's take control of our future and help to protect our communities, our country, and our Earth. Let's make it rain.”

Can you see how that would leave a memorable impression?

If I go back to the productivity example, you could say…

“Imagine reclaiming 10 hours a week. What would you do with that time? Start a side hustle, learn a new skill?

Now, you might notice the inspire part of your presentation is very similar to the engage part of your presentation.

You can end with a fact. You can end with a story. You can end with a statistic, a quote, or simply imagine. How you start and how you end your presentation is how you will be remembered. Even though the meat of your presentation is in the education, people remember a feeling. People will remember you because you moved them, you challenged them, motivated them to take an action.

THE CALL TO ACTION

Speaking of the call to action, I want to spend a little bit of time addressing this. The CTA which is an abbreviation for the call to action, is often misunderstood. It's considered to be just a sales pitch. But it's so much more. It's about giving your audience a clear next step to apply what they've learned.

This could be as simple as ‘download my ebook for more in depth strategies.”

“Follow me on Instagram for more daily tips” or even “let's open the floor to questions.” The point is, to leave them with a clear direction on what to do next.

This is my universal presentation formula. E I E I… Engage, Inform, Educate, Inspire. Remember, the goal of any presentation is to make a lasting impression, not just to share information.

If you use this formula as your blueprint, you'll create presentations that resonate regardless of the setting, regardless of the audience.

Click here to your copy of the resource I created to help you with this formula and if you found this helpful leave us a comment below and let us know your biggest take away.