Give an
Effective Presentation
1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience
It’s hard to
be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.
But time and again, the great
presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience,
and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine
through.
Be
enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.
2. Focus on your Audience’s Needs
Your
presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of
the presentation.
As you
prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience
needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.
While you’re
giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience’s
response, and react to that.
You need to
make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.
3. Keep it Simple: Concentrate on your Core Message
When
planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:
What is the
key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?
You should
be able to communicate that key message very briefly.
Some experts
recommend a 30-second summary, others that you can write it on the back of a
business card, or say it in no more than 15 words. The important thing is to
keep your core message focused and brief.
And if what
you are planning to say doesn’t contribute to that core message, don’t say it.
4. Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience
This sounds
very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.
If you smile
and make eye contact, you are building rapport, which helps the
audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less
nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown
people.
5. Start Strongly
The
beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience’s
attention and hold it.
They will
give you a few minutes’ grace in which to entertain them, before they start to
switch off if you’re dull. So don’t waste that on explaining who you are. Start
by entertaining them.
Try a story
(see 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.
6. Remember:
If you use PowerPoint…
·
Contain no more than 6 slides;
·
Use a font size of no less than 30 point.
This last is particularly
important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide.
This whole approach avoids the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.
As a general rule, slides should
be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use
without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than
more, information, expressed simply.
If you need to provide more
information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your
presentation.
7. Tell
Stories
Human beings
are programmed to respond to stories.
Stories help
us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in
your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your
points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a
wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.
Think about
what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation
to tell it.
8. Use your
Voice Effectively
The spoken
word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses
only one of your audience’s five senses. That’s why presenters tend to use
visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your
voice effectively.
Varying the
speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to
make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.
9. Use your Body Too
It has been
estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.
That means
that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting
your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages. Body
language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your
pockets, and pacing the stage.
Make your gestures open and confident,
and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.
10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy
If you find
presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.
One option
is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure
that you’re breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath
occasionally during your presentation too.
If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It’s well worth a try.
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