Presentations.
For some, this word might as well be a four letter
word. This word invokes fear in both
students and adults. As the great
presenter, Mark Twain wrote, “There are two types of speakers, those that are
nervous and those that are liars.” Let
me preface this post by saying that it is alright to get nervous
Even those I have met who claim to not fear presentations (public
speaking); it doesn’t mean that they are good at presenting or can deliver an
engaging and captivating presentation.
If you can take a boring subject and present it in a way that the
audience wants to hear about it…you are a great presenter.
The ability to deliver an engaging presentation is a skill
that anyone can attain through practice and use of the correct strategies. The steps below outline ways I have greatly
enhanced my presentations, whether it be for the classroom or conference room.
I hope you use these tips to ace your next presentation.
1) Have a purpose for
delivering your presentation
Whatever the reason for giving your presentation, have a goal
that you want accomplished. Create a
goal before delivering the presentation so that there is a definite focus for
your presentation. Whether it be to
impart new information to your audience or to bolster old information with new authoritative
facts, have a goal for presenting.
2) Ditch the
notecards
This step may seem like a shock to those who rely on
notecards or written speeches in order to present but there is method behind
this apparent madness. A speech that is
written out through bullet points or scripts will sound like it is scripted
when it is time to present. You will
come across as boring and static as you will not be able to adapt your
presentation once you get into the classroom/conference room. If something does not go exactly as you
rehearsed, you could fail miserably.
Instead, create a presentation based on the information you studied. Make it into your own words that you would use for a conversation. By doing this you will remember the information since you already learned it, and by using a conversation style of speech you will be able to adapt your presentation in case an unplanned event occurs while you are presenting.
3) Slide deck: simpler is better
Do not worry about throwing in
fancy videos, complicated pictures, or other graphics that can distract from
you, the presenter. If a simple graph,
chart, or picture illustrates a point in your presentation then by all means
put it in your slide deck. Avoid images
that do not reinforce information and that might potentially confuse your
audience.
Also, do not fill your slides
with paragraphs of text. Paragraphs of
text will cause your audience to start “reading your presentation” and not pay
attention to what you are saying. If you
provided the audience with your presentation manuscript, then why are you
giving the speech in the first place?
Just let them read your manuscript and go sit down.
Text paragraphs can cause for a
brutal question and answering session as the audience may have a barrage of
questions if they did not interpret something correctly that was located in
your paragraph of text. Even worse, you
forget to talk about information that is written in your text paragraphs and
the audience is confused why you did not mention it.
It is best to place lower emphasis
on text in your slide deck by placing only strategic bullet points in your
slide deck and then clarifying the information on your own terms throughout the
presentation.
4) Begin with an
attention grabbing introduction
This step may not always find the same degree of utilization
in your various presentations; it depends on the subject and mood of the room
in which you are presenting. However, if
you are clear, succinct, and act passionately on the subject you are delivering
then your audience will reciprocate this energy back. By doing this at the beginning, you are
setting yourself up for a successful presentation.
In the presentations that allow an introduction story to be told, make sure that you tie this story to your presentation throughout the duration and again at the end of your speech. By tying your introduction into your presentation, you give the audience a sense of closure and the audience won't think your beginning story was a tangent that did not enhance your presentation.
5) Practice giving your
speech in front of a mirror
This tip might be recommended by any speech coach today and
this is because presenting in front of a mirror works! I have used this technique many times,
however I must caution against some habits that may render this tip not as
useful. First of all, do not look right
into the reflection of your eyes. If you
get into a habit of looking back at one pair of eyes the whole time, you may
feel lost when you get up in front of a crowd and cannot gaze on one audience
member’s eyes for the entirety of the presentation. Not only would you make
this audience member feel uncomfortable, but you also risk feeling outside your
comfort zone and prone to making mistakes.
Therefore, make sure you look around while practicing in the mirror and
visualize many people sitting in the audience and making eye contact with each
of them for a short period of time.
Utilize the mirror by occasionally glancing at it through
your peripheral vision as you talk and look at your posture and any hand
gestures you make during your presentation.
By looking at the mirror during various times, you are able to see if
you have any annoying habits that can distract from your presentation.
Particularly pay attention to any slouching or excessive arm/hand movements
that will be distracting for your audience and take away from your
presentation.
I prefer to practice with a full length mirror, however if
one is not available to you, then I recommend taping yourself using a video
recorder device and then critique yourself as you watch it on the
playback. This will help you see what
you look like from an audience member and will alert you to any glaring changes
that need to be made before you give your presentation to a live audience.
6) Do not fear “The
Pause”
We are used to listening to sound throughout our day. During our conscious waking time, there is
hardly a moment when we do not hear some sort of sound whether it be talking,
keyboard typing, or music. People try to
emulate this constant sound in their presentations…Don’t be one of them.
If you are talking and you need to take a moment to gather
your thoughts or you want a point you just made to sink in to your audience,
take a pause. The pause will allow your
audience to think about what you just said and therefore should be made at a
time when an important piece of your speech has just been made.
On the other hand, a pause can be useful for you to gather
your thoughts and will make you appear more intelligent in your speech rather
than using the popular “uh,” “uhm,” “like,” or any other words that are used to
cover silence but have no intellectual meaning for the presentation.
By utilizing the above tips, you can deliver a speech that
has been well prepared, has purpose, and is delivered in a professional
manner. Delivering a quality speech is a
great skill to have and can help build credibility for you to your audience. Presenting quality information in an elementary
way can make even the best information seem rudimentary and uninteresting.
Have you put these ideas to work? If so we would like to hear from you to see
what a difference this made for you!
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