Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

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Every public speaking expert will tell you to get to know your audience ahead of time.

But what do you do with that information? You need to adjust your presentation to meet their needs in several ways:

•   Consider their comprehension. For example, a presentation to a technical group of decision makers is going to contain more quantitative detail than a presentation to a group of less technical junior managers.

•   Include everyone. With a mixed audience, try to address different perspectives explicitly to keep everyone interested. For example, “This will affect the product managers like this… and the engineers like this…”

•   Establish common ground. If you suspect the audience may be hostile, begin by emphasizing concerns you share. Turn the negative into a positive, if possible.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from the Harvard ManageMentor Online Module: Presentation Skills.

To check it out and join the discussion, please click here.

Also, you may wish to check out Management Tips from Harvard Business Review by clicking here.