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Powerful Presentations: How to Write and Deliver a Presentation to Remember
If the mere thought of standing up in front of an audience makes your knees quiver, you should know that you're not alone. Public speaking is one of the top fears listed by Americans and for good reason- most of us don't do it very often. My personal theory is that the fear stems from the possibility of failure. What if I get up there and can't talk? What if they think I have no idea what I'm talking about? What if I forget my speech? After spending several years as a technical instructor and in sales, speaking to audiences of 4 to 400+, I've built an arsenal of strategies for presentations. The truth is, even the most seasoned public speakers get at least a little nervous before they step on stage. But the seasoned pros also know the tricks to delivering seamless and engaging presentations. Keys to Writing a Winning Presentation ?Create an Outline. You may not think you need to outline your topic, but be assured it will save you time in the long run. Outlining your entire presentation before you set out to write it lets you organize the flow of information and ensure that you have included all of the relevant topics. One great trick for outlining is to write each key topic on a Post-it note and map it out on a large white board. The sticky notes can be moved and reordered until you find a logical progression. ?Determine the Proper Number of Slides. If you are using PowerPoint, the rule of thumb is that each slide should require 2-3 minutes of discussion. If you are speaking for an hour, 60+ slides will be too many. You know your topic best, but 25-30 slides would probably be appropriate for a one-hour presentation. ?Limit the Amount of Text. Slides that are too wordy will cause your audience to lose interest faster than the freeway fills up at rush hour. Try to keep to no more than five bullet points and whenever possible, show instead of tell. This means that you should illustrate your topic with charts, graphs, graphics or other visual representation instead of words to keep your content engaging. ?Minimize the Bells and Whistles. A lot of activity or noise on your slides is bound to distract your audience. Resist the temptation to pepper your slides with flashy activity or music unless it truly enhances your message. ?Proofread and Spell Check- Twice! Nothing kills a presentation faster than grammatical mistakes. You could be the most engaging speaker in the world, but spelling errors and misplaced punctuation can cause your audience to lose focus and question your credibility. I once watched an executive give a presentation with an emphasis on aspirin. He spelled aspirin incorrectly on a series of slides and half the room was talking about it by the time it was over, completely missing a very creative and interesting discussion. If you don't trust your own proofreading ability, have a colleague review your presentation for you. Keys to Presentation Delivery ?Practice, Practice, Practice. Even if you don't have an audience to test your materials on, lock yourself in an empty conference room and start talking to the chairs. It may seem awkward at first, but it's the best way to calm your nerves and to be as prepared as you can. When show time arrives and stage fright kicks in, if you've practiced to the point of practically memorizing the whole speech, you will go into auto-pilot and deliver a flawless performance- even if your brain checks out. ?Pace Yourself. Nervous presenters often talk too fast and rush through the materials. When you practice your speech, time it and give yourself some room for questions or interruptions. To help with pacing, consciously pause between sentences and slides. Two seconds may feel like an eternity to you, but it allows your audience time to absorb what you've just said. Even taking a deep breath between sentences and slides can slow you down with the added advantage of calming your nerves. ?Film Your Performance. Professional speaking programs use video cameras to show students how to improve their presence on stage. As painful as it may be to watch yourself on film, this is the best way to discover your flaws and nervous ticks. You may find that you sway, play with your pen, jingle the change in your pockets or look like you're dancing because you're moving around so much. Using a video camera to capture your performance lets you identify your nervous habits and break them before you leave the audience talking about how many times you said, "Um." ?Use Note Cards or Cheat Sheets. Even the President gets a teleprompter to give his speeches and you have the right to use notes or 3x5 cards to keep you on track. Just be careful not to read them or rely on them too heavily. Fill them with only short bullets to jog your memory and keep your flow, but avoid writing your entire speech verbatim on the cards. ?Warm Up the Audience. The best way to get the crowd on your side is to open with humor. Start with a joke or quip that is related to your topic. For help with locating material, check out www.the-jokes.com or www.jokes.com for free access to all kinds of one-liners. ?Keep an Eye on the Clock. Audiences and event organizers appreciate speakers who stick to the timeline. Keep an eye on the time so you can speed it up or slow it down. You can also plant someone in the audience to give you hand signals if necessary. ?Talk to Foreheads. You should be making an effort to speak to the whole audience, which means looking around the room and making each attendee feel as though you are speaking to them directly. If eye contact makes you even more nervous, then talk to foreheads. Nobody will really notice your lack of true connection yet you will still convey your ability to engage the entire room. ?Don't Forget to Smile. Use inflection in your voice and keep a smile on your face. Your audience can mirror your behavior and if you get on stage with a stone face and monotone expression, the whole audience will be depressed (or asleep) by the time you're done. Weave in some humor or anecdotes and let your personality shine through. Whether you're speaking to a room of six or six hundred, these tips should help you become a more polished presenter. Remember that the number one key to success is to be as prepared as possible. Another great way to learn new techniques is to critique how other presenters perform. Watch presentations on television or at venues in your area. Notice how the speakers engage the audience and watch for tricks that you can incorporate into your own regimen. For additional speaking experience, consider joining Toastmasters: http://www.toastmasters.org/ where you can network with other presenters and develop your skills. You may never develop affection for speaking in front of a crowd, but that doesn't mean you can't master the challenge. With the right amount of effort, your performance can rank with the pros. Stephanie Chandler is the author of "The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide: Seize Your Entrepreneurial Dreams!" and the founder of www.BusinessInfoGuide.com">http://www.BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of free resources for entrepreneurs. Sign up for the BusinessInfoGuide newsletter to receive hot resources and tips every month.
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Eight Success Tips for Your First Trade Show Booth Exhibiting in a trade show can involve a major investment of money and time. But the financial returns for your business can be excellent if you learn some of the secrets of trade show booth success before signing up for a show and investing in your displays. Networking: How to Network Within Your Organisation Although there are any number of different networking groups and events you can attend, some of the best networking can occur within your organisation. To build your profile and reputation internally and understand "who's who in the zoo" it is worth investing time to get to know the people around you. Create A Better Impresion With Your Emails How do you come across in your emails?As I receive more and more requests for assistance by email, I also get more and more poorly worded or badly formatted emails.When you ask someone for help, or approach them for the first time, you will get a much better response if you word your initial contact carefully. The Crucial Components of a Lesson Plan MAKING INFORMATIVE LESSON PLANS: --The performance objectives should answer this very basic question - what should the trainees be able to do at the end of the training period that they were was not able to do at the beginning of it? --For evaluation procedures, how will the trainee's accomplishment of performance objectives be demonstrated or measured (written test, skill test, skill demonstration)? Evaluation procedures should provide documentation of the achievement of all performance objectives. --For equipment and supplies needed, what is available? What must be used? What cannot be used? What unusual items will be needed? Any special student materials? Instructor materials? Handouts? Lesson plan for the students? Manuals? Visual Aids? Props? --When entering space requirements calculate room size, number of rooms, seating requirements, seating arrangement, writing surface needs, and any special training environment needs. Presentation Paranoia "The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public." (Sir George Jessel)Have you had this feeling before? Rest assured you are not alone. Presentation Skill Mistakes Last week my husband and I attended an awesome 4 day work conference! I decided to sit in on both days of business presentations hoping there would be a nugget or two I could share with you.Presenting to an audience of 100 to 300 top producers were executives of a large company. 7 Myths That Make Meetings Miserable Myth 1: Executives belong in meetings.Although the demands of business cause executives to attend more meetings than other professionals, executives need to avoid meetings. Lecturing from the Lectern Most people love to hide behind the lectern.. How Storytelling Can Grow Your Business People love stories. We love to hear about other people, and stories help us to learn, remember and put to use new concepts. Practice Makes Perfect - 7 Tips for Making the Most of Your Presentation Practice Believe it or not, preparation is a better determinant of presentation success than knowledge, experience, or even talent. The best presenter is almost always the presenter who is the most prepared. Is Now Really the Time to Hire a Professional Speaker? Since the events of September 11th and the economy slipping into recession, many organizations have been faced with deep budget cuts. Given the current financial hardships and wide spread layoffs, some managers are questioning whether they should continue to invest in bringing professional speakers into their organizations. Special Delivery! Tips for Improving Your Humor Delivering humorous speeches involves a lot more than simply having good material. Take some time to incorporate these tips into your presentations and watch the fun and laughter factors rise. Data Visualization Flash Charts: Information in a Flash Flash chart, flash map, flash graph may be mistaken for flashy visual aids. It is true that many data visualization tools are flashy and consequently overwhelming and counterproductive, but the market has produced data visualization capable of simplicity and speed-thus "flash" does not stand for flashy; it stands for information in a flash. Improve Your Bottom Line with What You Say When was the last time you thought about what you were actually saying to potential clients? Are you closing the deal more often than not? Or maybe it's time to revamp your elevator speech or introduction.Remember potential clients do not want to hear statistics about you and your company; they want to know how your product or service will benefit them and make their life easier. Chairing A Meeting The Most Effective Way How many times have you attended a meeting where the only thing that gets decided is the date of the next meeting? Or where one person dominates the meeting? Or the meeting is swamped with trivia or unrelated information?It is a commonly held assumption that chairing a meeting is simply a matter of reading out the agenda - that is assuming there is an agenda and that the addenda actually covers the topics which are most pertinent to the matter in hand.Chairing an effective meeting is a skill. Plasma Screen Hire - What Do You Need to Know for Presentations How many people will need to see the screen? A 42" plasma screen is the most common size and will usually be sufficient for a smaller meeting - up to 20 people. Several other sizes, bigger and smaller, are available, including 32, 37, 40, 50, 61 inches and now up to 81". Creating Your Presentation Success With a Positive "I CAN" Attitude According to the Lamalle Report on Top Executives of the 1990s, one of the most important factors in determining financial success by those earning over $250,000 is being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude (46%). Apparently, successful people never underestimate the power of positive thinking. Give Your Audience Something to Talk About There is an old saying: "The first thing to do when the audience goes to sleep is to prod the speaker." Most presentations are not intense enough. The Who, What, Where and When of Color In Your Documents This article will help you to assess and maximise the impact your use of color in your documents and presentations will have on the readers. First of all you need to identify the following; who your readers are what your purpose is when to use color where to use color Who and What?Determine who your target readers are and what the specific purpose of the document is. Communication Barriers and Simplifying the Communication Process The communication process can be much more difficult than a person thinks. Unfortunately, many times a presenter does not realize that their message is being lost until it is too late and they have gone through an entire meeting/lecture talking away about something that their colleagues/audience thinks is absolutely meaningless.
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