Rcently I sat through a set of presentations from my students at the Smith School of Business, where I am an Adjunct Professor. They generally did a good job, but by the same token it was clear that many of them had never been exposed to any sort of training on presentations skills. I prepared a short document for them with some thoughts on presentations skills, and since many of the readers of this blog also have to make presentations, I thought I would share some of those thoughts here.
Presenting is an art that takes time to master, but having some appreciation of basic concepts and rules will make anyone a better at being a presenter. Sooner or later during a career all of us will be asked to express opinions in a smaller or larger forum. How you present often matters as much as what you present.
Because so many of us hate public speaking (in fact when asked in polls more people are afraid of public speaking than death), when we see someone that is a good public speaker we generally admire them. Becoming a good presenter, or at least someone who holds an audience’s attention, is achievable by just about everyone. And, more importantly, even incremental changes in presentation skills will make a significant difference in how you are perceived by your audience, superiors and peers when you are called upon to present.
Body Language
Body language is important. Standing, walking or moving around with appropriate hand gestures or facial expressions is better than sitting down or standing still with your head down and reading from a prepared speech. Avoid folding arms in front of the body, or cupping in them in front of you as these are widely recognized signs of nervousness and discomfort. Keep your feet firmly on the ground – don’t bounce or sway (unless you are presenting a new way to dance). Keep your arms at your sides or behind your back if you are not a person who is comfortable using your hands in general conversation.
But, for Most of Us It’s Better to Use Our Hands
People will fidget, particularly if they are nervous. It’s better to give your hands something to do; use them help make a point, or get a pointer and use it to accent your slide points. The most important thing is to be natural. If you are a natural “arm waver” don’t try to hold still – it will look unnatural. If you are generally a person who doesn’t use your hands to speak, keep them still. In other words, use your hands in a presentation as you would in a general conversation. It is always better to look genuine in a presentation – it helps the listener feel that you are truthful.
Don’t Just Read the Slides
Slides are not an outline; don’t merely read the slide back to the audience. They are a way to trigger a conversation around a slide. If all you are going to do in a presentation is read the slides, you might find that the audience looses interest (or perhaps gets a bit annoyed). The audience really doesn’t need your presentation at all. You could send them the slides and call it a day and they could go back to what they were doing – at least that is what they will be thinking while you read your slides.
Other Slide Rules (Forgive the Pun)
Use audio-visual aids or props for enhancement if appropriate and necessary. Master the use of presentation software such as PowerPoint well before your presentation. Do not over-dazzle your audience with excessive use of animation, sound clips, or gaudy colors which are inappropriate for your topic. Do not torture your audience by putting a lengthy document in tiny print on a slide and reading it out to them.
Speak With Conviction
Speak with conviction as if you really believe in what you are saying (which hopefully you do). The material you present orally should have the same ingredients as that which are required for a written research paper, i.e. a logical progression from Introduction (Thesis statement) to Body (strong supporting arguments, accurate and up-to-date information) to Conclusion (re-state thesis, summary, and logical conclusion). Never finish a sentence at a higher pitch then you started unless YOU INTEND TO ASK A QUESTION. A questioning tone is a sign of insecurity in a presentation and the audience will pick up on it.
Using Notes
Do not read from notes for any extended length of time although it is acceptable to glance at your notes infrequently. Audiences expect you to know your subject matter – remember you are presenting because you are the authority on the topic presented.
Speak Clearly
Speak loudly and clearly. Sound confident. Do not mumble. If you made an error, correct it, and continue. There is no need to make excuses or apologize profusely. Often your audience won't have even noticed the error at all.
Eye Contact
Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience. Use the 3-second method, e.g. look straight into the eyes of a person in the audience for 3 seconds at a time. Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved.
Take Control of the Audience
If you can pull it off, many good public speakers open with a joke or funny anecdote as a way to break the ice and take control of the audience. What does “taking control” mean? The basic challenge of public speaking is to manage the dynamics of taking and keeping the attention of a group-- effectively taking the power to control the agenda from the group and keeping it. There is always an underlying tension that exists between an audience and the presenter. Go to an open night comedy show for a good example of this dynamic. The audiences are harsh and quick to turn on the presenter. Although groups are more polite elsewhere (they may not call out abusive comments) they will turn on a presenter who does not take control. How? By ignoring the presenter. The audience will be polite and quiet, but the room will “feel dead.” The audience will be focusing their attention elsewhere. If you aren’t comfortable taking control through a joke or anecdote a good opening is to open by addressing the following three questions: What's the problem? Who cares? What's your solution?
Make Sure the Audience Gets the Point
A good presentation will have a number of key themes that are the basic guideposts of your presentation. The Three (or more) Important Points that the audience must take away from the presentation. Never forget a presentation has a reason – it is to persuade the listeners. For every subtopic (i.e., the information that supports your Important Points) it is useful to present by reference to an Important Point first, and then provide specifics and if possible reference again to the Important Point. Certainly, this can make for a very tiresome presentation, so use this rule carefully. Perhaps nest a group of subtopics together under a single Important Point, and then only cross reference at the beginning and end of that portion of the presentation.
Adjustments
Sometimes your presentation will be unsuitable, but you won’t figure it out until you start. Unsuitability generally means that you have shaded the presentation in a way that isn’t connecting with the audience. Usually that is because the there is a mismatch between the audience and the presenter in the “level” of the presentation. The level is a way to describe the “level of knowledge” that the audience must have to appreciate the presentation and benefit from it. Usually the presenter assumes a too high level of knowledge, but either way, a good presenter will be able to adjust the level of a presentation, particularly if the slides are not sentences but talking points.
To determine whether a presentation is at the right level, or whether to adjust you should use your use of eye contact to scan the audience for attentiveness, solicit and listen to their questions, respond to their reactions, adjust and adapt. If what you have prepared is obviously not getting across to your audience, change your strategy mid-stream if you are well prepared to do so. Remember that communication is the key to a successful presentation. If you are short of time, know what can be safely left out. If you have extra time, know what could be effectively added. Always be prepared for the unexpected.
Slow Down!
Most people are nervous when they present, particularly in the beginning. Often this manifests in a desire to motor mouth, or get through the presentation as soon as possible. Don’t do it. Slow down. And, then when you think you have slowed down, slow down some more. Pause. Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflect and think. Don't race through your presentation and leave your audience, as well as yourself, feeling out of breath.
Humor
Add humor whenever appropriate and possible. Keep audience interested throughout your entire presentation. Remember that an interesting speech makes time fly, but a boring speech is always too long to endure even if the presentation time is the same. Having said that please be careful about humor that is “off color” no matter how secure you are in the make up of the audience, and avoid humor at the expense of others.
Be Ready
When using audio-visual aids to enhance your presentation, be sure all necessary equipment is set up and in good working order prior to the presentation. If possible, have an emergency backup system readily available. Check out the location ahead of time to ensure seating arrangements for audience, whiteboard, blackboard, lighting, location of projection screen, sound system, etc. are suitable for your presentation.
Handouts
Have handouts ready and give them out at the appropriate time. Tell audience ahead of time that you will be giving out an outline of your presentation so that they will not waste time taking unnecessary notes during your presentation.
Don’t Run Out of Time
Know when to STOP talking. Use a timer or the microwave oven clock to time your presentation when preparing it at home.
How to End a Presentation
To end your presentation, summarize your main points in the same way as you normally do in the CONCLUSION of a written paper. Terminate your presentation with an interesting remark or an appropriate punch line. Leave your listeners with a positive impression and a sense of completion. Do not belabor your closing remarks. Thank your audience and sit down.
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