Dealing with People

Listening

How well do you listen?

Levels of Communication

Questioning

Group Communications

Critical Examination

Influencing Styles

Influencing Power

Negotiating - Overview

Negotiating - Planning

Negotiating - Behaviours

Effective Presentations

Chairing Meetings

© Copyright 2007
Lindsay Sherwin

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Presentations - Preparation

This page is in three parts:

1. Outstanding Presenting Skills - what research shows

2. Preparation for Presentations - what to cover and how to do that

3. The Presentation Proper - the start, handling questions, and the closure.

The five skills most frequently used by people rated by their colleagues as outstanding presenters.

• Fine Tuning - materials refined to audience, before & during the presentation.
• Focused on Outcomes - What do I want to achieve? How will they respond to this?
• Chunking - chunking the information down to manageable segments.
• Viewpoint - seeing their presentation from the others viewpoint.
• Unshakeable Belief - in the success of the presentation.

They achieve this because they make use of three pieces of knowledge when they design their presentation:

1.1    The Media is the Message.

Many studies in this all indicate a very simple and important conclusion - that we tend to base our judgment of others on three main characteristics

• Verbal Content = 7%
• Vocal Interest   = 38%
• Body Language = 55%

Thus at least 90% of your public image depends on how you look and sound rather than what you actually say. In terms of impact, the best speech you write will depend for its success on your presentation style and not on the contents of the speech itself.

1.2    Attention Span

Other studies have shown that most people have an attention span of between 25 and 40 minutes, and can only process 5 to 9 new chunks of information at any given time. We can maintain attention span longer by the way that we structure and "chunk" the presentation into smaller sections.

1.3    On Recall

Further studies carried out on recall of information indicate that we can effectively recall

• 20% of what we hear
• 30% of what we see
• 50% of what we hear & see
• 70% of what we do

The implication for your presentation is simply: Tell it to them; Show it to them; Get them to use or  interact on it.

2. Preparation for Presentations

Nearly everyone approaches a presentation with some nervousness and sometimes panic. A certain degree of nervousness is quite normal and can actually help you to give a better performance. Preparation can help you manage that nervousness.

1.     Setting Objectives

Spend some time thinking about and summarising:

• My aims. What do I want to achieve with the presentation?
• The Audience. What is the audience like - who are they, how many of them, how familiar are they with the topic?
• Venue. What is the venue likely to be like?
• The Subject. What is the best structure - what sections should I have?
• Timing. How long have I got - what timing for each section?
• Visuals etc. What equipment shall I need?

2.     Chunking the Presentation into sections

Break the subject down into separate sections with a list of points you wish to make under each and any information, including examples, statistics etc, which you may need to support the points.

Often best done in a "storyboard" approach - using a sheet of A4 for each section. For each section think about the use of audio visuals and handouts, and about what audience participation you would like - exercises, questions, comments.

Draw up your final plan with the selected sections and points laid out in sequence. Then go through the storyboard and decide how you are going to:

1. Introduce the presentation. Tell your audience:
   • what you are going to say and how long it will take
   • what audio/visuals you are going to use
   • what part you want them to play and when (e.g. questions during or at end).
2. Link each part to the next
3. Link the audio/visuals to your text.
4. Control people’s reading of any handouts, e.g. when and how much tine.
5. Sum up your conclusions and relate them to your objective.

Finally, check your plan for

• content
• sequence
• timing
• balance (the right weight for each section, balance between spoken word and audio/visuals)

3.     Preparing your audio/visuals:

Audio/visuals are there to convey information, to reinforce the spoken word, and to provide background information and atmosphere.

The best advice is to keep it as simple as possible. Too many audio visuals can be difficult to coordinate, and may well distract the audience.

4.     Preparing your notes or script:

Unless you can memorise an entire speech and still seem spontaneous on the day some form of notes or script is essential.

Generally, cards are best for notes as they can be easily held in the hand - write on one side only. For simple headings notes should include:

• The sequence of headings and sub-headings.
• Opening remarks, link phrases and summaries, and your carefully worked out conclusions.
• The points where audio/visuals will be used.
• The points where audience participation is required, with, perhaps, leading questions or prepared discussion topics.
• The timing.

5.     Rehearsal and practice

For some presentations, a rehearsal is valuable/essential. The main reasons are:

1. To make sure you can set the stage and arrange the equipment so that everyone will be able to see and hear.
2. To make sure that your words and visual aids do what you have planned.
3. To check the timing.
4. To gain confidence from the experience.

Whenever possible, rehearse your presentation in the actual venue, using the equipment you will use on the day. If this isn’t feasible, talk through the whole presentation, if possible in similar accommodation and using similar equipment.

3. The Presentation Proper

Make sure that you arrive in good time, not least to check that all your equipment, materials and props are where they should be. Thank the chairman, greet the audience with a smile and start at once on your introduction. Be as natural and relaxed as you can. Keep an eye on the time. The most common mistake is not facing the audience when you are talking to them, especially when you are using visual aids.

If anything goes wrong, treat it humorously: don’t get irritated or embarrassed. Answer questions briefly and clearly. Make sure you are answering what has been asked and repeat the question for the benefit of anybody in the audience who may not have heard the question. After the presentation assess your performance and decide what improvements you can make to your next one.

3.1    The Presentation Start

To be able to give your session the attention it deserves, your audience needs to

• Settle down
• Understand where you are going - what your roadmap for the session is.
• Become hooked - give you their attention and stop thinking about other things.

To achieve this, you need to manage your own nerves and appear confident and comfortable, prove that you and the session are worth listening to, and get the audience’s attention and show them you care about them. Thus:

The two parts of your presentation that will be remembered most clearly are the introduction and the conclusion especially the conclusion. Try to finish a presentation on a positive note - make the audience feel that you and they have shared a worthwhile experience. As they say in show business - "Always leave them wanting more".

3.31    Know when to stop

Don't be afraid to finish early. Speakers often fall into "endless maze" or "more the merrier" mode when they find that they have finished ahead of time and thereby snatch defeat from the very jaws of success.

To put it bluntly, few presentations fail by ending early unless the premature ending is due to lack of adequate preparation. Don't spoil the effect by trying to pad your speech up to the official length.

3.32    What was it all about? - Summarise it for them

The closing section of a presentation is the vital part of that structure and must be something more than just the end of the event. It must summarise all that has gone on before and create a bridge to whatever happens after the presentation is all over. What your audience will really need to know is-

• What (are we supposed to do)?
• When (do we do it)?
• How (will we know when we've done it satisfactorily)?
• Closing comments

3.33    Some Common Errors

• The emergency stop - without a hint of warning the speaker pulls up - Well, I think that's all I have to say, so I'll stop there
• The endless maze - where the speaker clearly ends up as lost and confused as his audience, And so I'll finish on that point and remind you of the comment I made earlier about ...
• The more the merrier - often due to lack of order and structure - And in addition ... I'd also like to say/point out/remind you