The FINANCIAL — We’ve all been through that terrifying experience of having to present something in front of a group of our peers or superiors. Before we go “on stage” sweat starts coming out of our pores. When we stand up to present, our the audience looks at us with contempt, silently saying “proof yourself to us, kid”.
When we start, we fumble. Sentences that ran smoothly in our heads now stumble towards completion. We stand there like a deer in the headlights. The audience’s questions catch us off-guard. If this also describes you, is there anything you can do to not have to go through those terrifying experiences? Yes, and these are the key things that we will start with to make sure that you become a better presenter: be prepared, keep it short, and make it visual.
First, the need to be prepared sounds very obvious, but it is something that many people overlook. They think that with only slight preparation, they can probably “wing” (improvise) the the presentation. It makes sense that people think this, because it is the way that we normally operate: when we talk about something with someone else, we don’t rehearse that conversation for hours, we just talk. Usually this works well, because presumably we know what we’re talking about, and we are confident and relaxed. However, when we present, we are stressed. We know that we have a message to get across, and we want to make sure that we say the right things. When we are stressed, the most primal part of our brains take control, shutting down the creative parts that can potentially come up with brilliant things to say on the spot. As a result, you will fumble. That is why you want to be very prepared before you present: know what you are going to say, and make sure you have answers ready for questions that you expect the audience to ask.
Second, keep it short. Most people keep their attention on something for more than 20 minutes, and for many of us, our attention span is significantly shorter. And that is only if you have something interesting to say. This means that you have a limited window of opportunity to get your point across and engage people. Less is more in the case of a presentation: long presentations will lead to a disengaged audience. If you have a lot of details to go through, presentations are rarely the right venue for doing so. People are much more likely to grasp details if you send them materials before or after the presentation that they can read through at their own pace. Also, when you practice your presentation, please time yourself. Most of us have difficulties estimating how long we actually talk for, so make sure you know beforehand. If your presentation absolutely than 20 minutes, try to split it up to keep the audience engaged. Maybe have an interactive session in the middle, or allow for a short 5 minute break: manage your audience’s energy
Third, use visual elements in your presentation. If you are using any presentation aides like Powerpoint, pay attention to your slide design. A professionally designed slide deck can make all the difference in convincing the audience that you actually know what you are doing. Make sure your slides have a somewhat uniform style: nothing looks worse than slides with different text sizes and layouts. Stick to one message per slide: too much text will confuse your audience. Your slides are there to support your message, not do the talking for you. If you have very dense technical information to present, it is better to print this information and give it to your audience, instead of forcing them to try to decipher tiny letters on your slides. If you use other visuals, like flipcharts or whiteboards, make sure everything is clearly legible. A good place to learn more about presentation design is Jan Schultink’s blog at http://blog.ideatransplant.com
Presenting can be a stressful experience, but if you make sure that you are well-prepared, keep it short, and have good visuals to back up your presentation, it doesn’t have to be. Good luck!
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