To have maximum impact and influence with your presentations you have to see them the way your audience sees them. Then align what you are trying to accomplish and the message you are trying to send with the message they are actually receiving.

Here’s an easy way to accomplish that:

1. Record your presentations.

2. Watch the playback first with the sound down and second without looking at the video.

This approach will help you figure out what is and isn’t working in your presentation and what’s working against you.

If your body language doesn’t match your words, people won’t hear your words and they’ll miss your message.

If your words are filled with irritating fillers like “Uh,” “Um,” “Like,” and “You know,” people will only hear the filler words and miss the message.

But when you watch your presentation separate from listening to it you can easily see what matches, what conflicts, and what’s working against you. Once you know that, it’s much easier to close the gaps and make sure the audience gets the message you intend to give.

Remember, the audience is always getting a message, but is it the message you intended to send? This two-step approach will help ensure that it is.