Ever been 10 minutes into a presentation when a sinking feeling washes over you that at no one is listening? You scan the room and confirm your worst fears. Some appear to have slipped into a presentation-induced coma. Others are thumbing their Blackberries under the table or fidgeting with cell phones. Heads are bobbing all over the room.

What went wrong?

You faced a common presentation failure: tune-out. Here are some presentation delivery tips to help you engage any audience:

1. You're Diana Ross, the slides are the Supremes. In other words, you're the star and your visuals are the back-up singers. Don't let the slides eclipse your talent. Nothing infuriates audiences more than a presenter who merely reads them the slides.

2. Deliver as peer-to-peer, not teacher-to-student. Here's another thing that irks audiences: the feeling that they're being lectured to. Treat your audience as equals and they'll reward you by paying attention.

3. Think John Madden. Deliver your material as a colorful analyst, not the play-by-play guy. Share insights instead of mere factoids. They want to know what you make of things. After all, if you're presenting, you're some kind of subject matter expert, aren't you?

4. Get your audience actively and meaningfully involved. Involvement leads to engagement, which leads to action. Don't just talk at people. That's a monologue, which is booooring. You might has well just stand there and repeat blah, blah, blah. Instead, create a dialogue, a two-way talk, to engage people.

5. Add warmth. Likability is key. Relax your muscles. Don't let tenseness trump hours of preparation. Smile naturally. Quiet your lower body so you don't distract people with unintentional mannerisms. Deliver your message with purpose and passion and you'll keep people tuned in. Even in a short attention span world.