1. Preparation and knowledge (of subject and
the presentation itself) are the pre-requisites for a
successful presentation, which importantly
produce confidence and control, in turn important for relaxing the
presenter, and the audience.
2. As a presenter, remember and apply
Eleanor Roosevelt's maxim that "no-one can
intimidate me without my permission". When
you are a presenter you are in charge. The audience generally accepts
this, and you are within your rights to control anyone who does not.
3. Remember also that
"Depth of conviction
counts more than
height of logic, and enthusiasm is worth
more than knowledge", (which is apparently attributed to David Peebles,
about whom I have no further details - please let me know if you do).
Passion is therefore a very powerful component in any successful presentation.
4. Good presenting is about
entertaining as well as
conveying information. As well, people retain more if they are enjoying
themselves and feeling relaxed. So whatever your subject and audience, try to
find ways to make the content and delivery enjoyable - even the most serious of
occasions, and the driest of subjects, can be lifted to an enjoyable or even an
amusing level one way or another with a little research, imagination, and
humour/humor.
5. Enjoyment and humour are mostly in the
preparation. These effects are not easily produced spontaneously. You
don't
need to be a natural stand-up comedian to
inject enjoyment and humour into a
presentation or talk. It's the content that
enables it, which is very
definitely within your control.
6. Research and studies generally indicate
that in presentations you have between 4 - 7 seconds in which to make a
positive impact and
good opening impression, so make sure you
have a good, strong, solid
introduction, and rehearse it until it is
'second nature' to you and an action of 'unconscious competence'.
7. Try to build your own credibility in your introduction, and
create a safe comfortable environment for your audience,
which you will do
quite naturally if you appear to be comfortable yourself.
8. Smiling helps a lot. It will relax you
and the audience. In addition to giving you a relaxed calm appearance,
smiling actually releases helpful 'happy' chemicals into your nervous
system, and makes you feel good.
9. So does taking a few deep slow breaths make you feel relaxed - low down from the pit of
your stomach - before you take to the stage.
10. Avoid starting with a joke unless you are supremely confident -
jokes are high risk things at the best of times, let alone at the start of a
presentation.
I was sent this excellent and simple idea for a
presentation - actually used in a job interview - which will perhaps prompt
similar ideas and adaptations for your own situations.
At the start of the presentation the letters T, E, A, and M
- fridge magnets - were given to members of the audience.
At the end of the presentation the speaker made the point
that individually the letters meant little, but together they made a team.
This powerful use of simple props created a wonderful
connection between start and finish, and supported a concept in a memorable and
impactful way. (Thanks P Hodgson)
N.B. There is a big difference between
telling a joke and injecting
enjoyment and humour (US spelling, humor)
into your talk. Jokes are risky. Enjoyment and humour are
safe. A joke requires quite a special skill
in its delivery. Joke-telling is
something of an art form. Only a few people
can do it well without specific
training. A joke creates pressure on the
audience to laugh at a critical
moment. A joke creates tension - that's why
it's funny (when it works). This tension equates to an expectation in
the listener, which produces a small degree of pleasure when the joke
works well, but a very unhelpful awkwardness if the joke is not
well-delivered or well-received. A joke
also has the potential to offend, and jokes
are culturally very sensitive -
different people like different jokes. Even
experienced comedians can 'die' on
stage if their jokes and delivery are at
odds with the audience type or mood.
On the other hand, enjoyment and humour are
much more general, they not
dependent on creating a tension or the
expectation of a punchline. Enjoyment
and humour can be injected in very many
different ways - for example a few
funny quotes or examples; a bit of audience
participation; an amusing prop; an
amusing picture or cartoon; an amusing story
(not a joke). Another way to
realise the difference between jokes and
enjoyment is consider that you are
merely seeking to make people smile and be
mildly amused - not to have them
belly-laughing in the aisles.
11. Apologising to the audience can also affect the moods and atmospheres of presentations...
Generally try to avoid starting a
presentation with an apology - unless you've really made a serious
error, or an apology is part of your plans,
or an intentional humorous device. Usually audiences will forgive you
far more than you forgive
yourself. Apologising for trivial matters
can cause audiences to feel uncomfortable, and may also give the
impression that you are not in control or confident.
If you do have to apologise for something, make the apology briefly and clearly,
and if possible try to make light of it (unless it's really serious of course).
It is normal to make mistakes, and even the
most experienced professional speakers and presenters make mistakes, so
just relax and keep calm if (when) you make one.
In acknowledging minor mistakes it is
usually better to keep the mood light and relaxed, with phrases such as
(or similar approaches):
"Observant delegates among you perhaps will have noticed (refer to the error)..."
or
"Welcome everyone. Who among you has noticed my deliberate mistake?..."
or
"Welcome everyone. You might have noticed
the experimental 'deliberate mistake' icebreaker this morning (refer to
the mistake). Could you split into groups of three; analyse the
situation, and prepare a two-minute presentation as to how the
'corrective-action loop' might be applied to minimize the chances of
this happening again...... No, seriously..."
12. Try to start on time even if some of the audience is late. Waiting
too long undermines your confidence, and the audience's respect for you.
13. The average attention span of an average
listener is apparently
(according to various sources I've seen over
the years) between five and ten
minutes for any single unbroken subject.
Younger 'Playstation' and 'texter' generations will have even less
tolerance than
this, so structure your content accordingly.
14. Any audience will begin to wriggle and
feel less comfortbale in their seats after about 40 minutes of stting
listening/watching. So presentations which are longer than this time
should include a reason for the audience to move a little, or ideally
stand up and move about, after about 40 minutes.
15. Break up the content so that no single item takes longer than a few
minutes, and between each item try to inject something amusing, amazing,
remarkable or spicy - a picture, a quote, a bit of audience interaction -
anything to break it up and keep people attentive.
16. Staying too long (ten minutes or more)
on the same subject in the same mode of delivery
will send people into a trance-like state,
when they are not properly listening, watching or concentrating on the
presentation - often called the MEGO state (My Eyes Glaze Over). So
break it up, and inject diversions and variety - in terms of
content and media (the different ways you
can communicate to people or engage their interest).
Using a variety of media and movement will maintain maximum
interest.
Think of it like this - the audience can be stimulated via several
senses - not just audio and visual (listening and watching) - consider
including content and activity which addresses the other senses too - touch
certainly - taste maybe, smell maybe - anything's possible if you use your
imagination. The more senses you can stimulate the more your audience will
remain attentive and engaged.
17. You can stimulate other things in your audience besides the usual
'senses'.
You can use content and activities to stimulate feelings, emotions,
memories, and even physical movement.
Simply asking the audience to stand up, or snap their fingers, or
blink their eyes (assuming you give them a good reason for doing so)
immediately stimulates physical awareness and involvement.
Passing several props or samples around is also a great way to
stimulate physical activity and involvement.
18. Quotes are a wonderful and easy way to stimulate emotions and
feelings, and of course quotes can be used to illustrate and emphasise just
about any point or concept you can imagine.
Research and collect good quotations and include then in your notes.
Memorise one or two if you can because this makes the delivery seem more
powerful.
See the
funny quotations and
inspirational quotes
webpages for ideas and examples.
Always credit the source of quotes you use.
Interestingly, Bobby Kennedy once famously failed to credit George
Bernard Shaw when he said that "Some men see things as they are and ask 'why?';
I dare to dream of things that never were and ask 'why not?'."
19. Failing to attribute a quote undermines a speaker's integrity and
professionalism. Conversely, giving credit to someone else is rightly seen as a
positive and dignified behaviour.
Having quotes and other devices is important
to give your
presentation depth and texture, as well as
keeping your audience interested... "If the only tool in your toolbox is
a hammer you'll treat
everything as a nail." (
Abraham Maslow)
20. So don't just speak at people. Give them a variety of content, and
different methods of delivery - and activities too if possible.
21. Be daring and bold and have fun. Use props and pass them around if
you can. The more senses you can stimulate the more fun your audience will have
and the more they'll remember.
22. Some trainers of public speaking warn that passing props around can
cause a loss of control or chaos. This is true, and I argue that it's good.
It's far better to keep people active and engaged, even if it all needs a
little additional control. Better to have an audience slightly chaotic than
bored to death.
23. Planned chaos is actually a wonderful way to keep people involved
and enjoying themselves. Clap your hands a couple of times and say calmly "Okay
now - let's crack on," or something similarly confident and un-phased, and you
will be back in control, with the audience refreshed for another 5-10
minutes.
24. Create analogies and themes, and use props to illustrate and
reinforce them.
For example a bag of fresh lemons works well: they look great, they
smell great, they feel great, and they're cheap, so you can give out loads and
not ask for them back - all you have to do is think of an excuse to use
them!
25. Here are examples of fun, humour,
interest, participation and
diversion that you can use to bring your
presentation to life, and keep your
audience attentive and enjoying themselves.
Some people in the presentation field refer to these presentational
elements as 'spice'. Like the spice of a meal, spice in a presentation
gives it a lift - stimulates the senses, and adds texture and richness.
Here are examples of the many sorts of 'spice' elements you can add to a
presentation:
-
Stories
-
Questions and 'hands-up' feedback
-
Pictures, cartoons and video-clips
-
Diagrams
-
Video-clips and sound-clips
-
Surveys and statistics
-
Straw polls (a series of hands-up votes/reactions which you
record and then announce results)
-
Inviting a volunteer to take the stage with you (for a carefully
planned reason)
-
Audience participation exercises
-
Asking the audience to do something physical (clapping, deep
breathing, blinking, finger-snapping, shouting, and other more inventive
ideas)
-
Asking the audience to engage with each other (for example
introductions to person in next chair)
-
Funny quotations (be careful not to
offend anyone)
-
Inspirational
quotations
-
Acronyms
-
Props, samples, physical objects (see the visual aids ideas
page)
-
Examples and case-study references
-
Fables and analogies
-
Prizes, awards and recognising people/achievements
-
Book recommendations
-
Fascinating facts (research is easy these days about virtually
any subject)
-
Statistics (which dramatically improve audience 'buy-in' if
you're trying to persuade)
-
Games and exercises and icebreakers
-
Quizzes
-
Quirky ideas - (use your imagination - have everyone demonstrate
their ringtones at the same time, or see who has the fastest/slowest watch
time, or the most pens in their pocket/bag - depending on the occasion linked
or not to the subject)
-
and your body language, and the
changing tone and pitch of your voice.
26. For long presentations of more than an hour or two, such as training sessions, aim
to have a 'rest' break every 45-60 minutes for people to get up and stretch their
legs, otherwise you'll be losing their attention regardless of the amount of variety and
diversion 'spice' you include.
27. Take the pressure off yourself by not speaking all the time. Get the
audience doing things, and make use of all the communications senses
available.
28. Interestingly the use of visual aids generally heightens retention
of the spoken word - by 70% or more. The figure
is demonstrably and substantially more than 70% for certain things, for
example: try memorising a person's face from purely a verbal description,
compared with actually seeing the face. A verbal or written description is only
fractionally as memorable as actually seeing anything which has more than a
basic level of complexity.
29. Some people refer to the following figures on the subject of
information retention, which are taken from Edgar Dale's theory called the Cone
of Experience:
Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience
-
Read 10%
-
Heard 20%
-
Seen 30%
-
Heard and Seen 50%
-
Said 70%
-
Said and Done 90%
N.B. The original work by Edgar Dale was considerably more than
a line of statistics. The ideas date back to 1946, and are subject to debate
and different interpretation. These figures should therefore be regarded as
much more symbolic than scientifically accurate, especially when quoted out of
the context of Edgar Dale's wider work.
30.
So use visual aids a lot in your presentations.
Your voice is not the only or main tool at your disposal. Get visuals
working fully for you, and your presentations will be more engaging, and
a lot easier for you to deliver and enjoy.
