Death is often quoted as
second greatest fear for people. While, public speaking has reigned at number one for quite some time. Although I would pick a speech over death, there was probably a time in my life when I would have seriously considered choice. In college, Communications was my minor, but I never signed-up for Communications 101 because you had to present in front of class. I thought I was pretty slick for avoiding class. Little did I realize my leadership career would place me in presentation situations on a regular basis.
Thankfully, I am now fully recovered from my Laliophobia (fear of public speaking). I decided this fear was not going to limit my career. To that end, I attended trainings and performed my own research on presentation skills. Below are seven of most helpful tips I discovered for becoming a dynamic presenter.
Prepare: Know your audience and what you want them to know. Understand demographics of your audience (i.e. profession, standards of dress, education level). Prepare your presentation to meet their needs. People tend to remember only 3 or 4 points from a presentation. What are main points you want your audience to walk away with? To help your audience remember those points: * Tell them what you will tell them; * Tell them; and * Then tell that what you told them.
A large part of my preparation actually focuses on eliminating information not in support of my primary points (i.e. fluff).
Humor: Make fun of situations, yourself, but never audience. Jokes often help a presentation, but even one bad joke can hurt a presentation beyond repair. Sometimes less humor used, more impact it has on presentation when it is delivered. When using humor, keep in mind these rules: * This is a business setting and jokes must be clean and non-offensive; * Have some connection between joke and your topic; and * The only safe bunt of a joke is speaker; never alienate audience with insults.
No Apologies: Never start a presentation with an apology. How many times have you heard a presenter begin by saying 'I am sorry I have a cold, or I am nervous? If you have a cold, sniffles do a fine job of making that apparent. Or, if there are no outward signs, who really needs to know you don't feel well? Many people use such statements as a way of requesting leniency from audience. Apologies like this announce to audience, 'the presentation you are about to receive is less than you deserve, but please don't blame me."
Attention: Get and keep their attention. Different people have different learning styles. Some learn by simply listening, some need to see it, and some learn best by experiencing it. If appropriate, try to fit all aspects into presentation. Visual aides are a great way to keep your audience's attention. No matter what your medium (projector, flip chart, power point), it is important to remember a few rules about visual aides: * Allow for some white space, don't fill entire paper or slide with details or pictures; * Use alternating colors for easier reading; and * Visual aides support presentation; do not use them as entire presentation - be prepared to add commentary to visual aides.
