Presenting a Disaster? (How to give presentations)

Member Name: GuruOnAMountain

Product:	How to give presentations
Date:	28/06/05 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: n/a

Disadvantages: n/a

A wise man (well, my English teacher) once told me that preparation prevents pathetic performance, and this maxim is never truer than when it comes to the art of the dreaded presentation.

Personally I am well and truly a fully paid-up member of the jelly legs brigade when it comes to presentations. The mere mentions of them has me breaking out in a cold sweat and crying for my mummy, but since they are as inevitable as death and taxes these days I've had to find my ways of buckling down and getting on with things.

First of all, the most important thing to do is the research. It always amazes me how this can cut down my anxiety almost immediately. Once you actually start flicking through the books, the figures, the web pages or whatever else you need, your thoughts start to formulate into something far more coherant and you begin to feel a bit more confident about how this presentation might turn out.

Secondly, I try to build up a rough outline of what I want to say. You could jot this down or just have it in your head, and its at this point I decide if I want to add in any multi-media or visual aids etc.

Finally its time for the hard graft. You might want to write out your presentation word for word onto small cards, but obviously this becomes less of a possibility if the speech is a long one. However, this was the method I stuck by when I was at school and had to do relatively short presentations up to 5 minutes or so. However, it did leave you floundering rather hopelessly if you lose your place and did tend to restrict you in what you could do eye contact wise because you were relying on what you wrote down. Nowadays I prefer to jot down my key ideas and the general order they're in and then just take it from there. Of course, once you've done this part it is time to practice, practice, practice! Pull in friends and relatives to listen to you and ask them where you could improve and don't take their advice as criticism...remember to put it to good use!

On the day of the presentation wake up early, have a good breakfast, try and avoid caffeine if you're already feeling a bit stressed out about the whole situation. If you're using multimedia such as a PowerPoint presentation try to test it out before the presentation, if possible. There's nothing worse than standing in front of a room full of people and trying desperately to open a file that is refusing to do a thing you tell it. At least if it doesn't work before hand you'll have a little time to prepare yourself for possibly having to do the presentation without the multimedia, or it could buy you some time to find someone to help you sort your problem out.

When you go up in front of everyone, take a deep breath. Glance at your notes quickly as you do this and then look at your audience and smile. It is amazing how much a smile can set you at ease, even when it feels like the last thing in the world you want to do. Remember to pace yourself and try to speak at a decent pace and not run off like the Japanese bullet train and try to achieve eye contact with at least a few members of the audience. I know a lot of people advise staring at the back wall, but I find that when a speaker does this it is very obvious and shows that he is insecure and puts me off listening to them straight away. Just attempt eye contact with different people, and you'll undoubtedly find that some respond really well and will nod at your points, smile at you and generally make you feel much more encouraged. You'll also be encouraging them to engage better with what you're saying.

If possible, leave space for questioning at the end, even if you do just want to dart back into a place where you can hide and then try to walk back to your seat without tripping over a cable or a member of the audience and the congratulate yourself for giving the perfect presentation!

Summary: