Presentation Tips

In life and in work we are continuously on a ‘stage’ giving ‘presentations’. Some people are better in presenting themselves or their message than others.

When Barack Obama came on the scene few people knew who he was, yet he beat his fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton (a person most people new) to the privilege of running for the presidency. Why?

During the debates, TV appearances, and speeches whomever you spoke to (Democratic or Republican, Hillary supporter or Obama supporter) everyone would say the same thing, “He speaks extremely well. He gives a great speech!”  One of the reasons for Obamas initial success I believe was how he is presented himself, and spoke to an audience.

I recently had the privilege to go through a course in giving formal presentations. An added caveat was it was small group of four participants and a presenter.  As such, we were able to discuss each subject in depth, and get a lot of additional feedback from the presenter who had been doing this for over 25 years. 

During the course I took notes on what stood out to me. I hope some of these ‘tips’ will help you in your future presentations:

3 Key Questions to Ask Yourself:

“What is the point?”
“So What, Who Cares?” (Benefits)
“Why is it material to me, the customer?”

Six Critical Skills for Effective Presentations:

Presence -- Ability to convey confidence and energy. Gain credibility and attention (e.g. sitting or standing, eye contact, project your voice)
Relating- connect with your audience, ability to create rapport (e.g. thank everyone, mirror clients’ body language)
Questioning- anticipate and prepare for questions that may be asked
Listening- being able to pick up on words the audiences are using. Create a 70/30 dialogue
Positioning-tell story from your clients point of view
Checking – get clients input (be spontaneous)

Miscellaneous:
Give information in blocks of 3 (anymore and your message will be lost)
Visuals: Make sure it is uncluttered. “Less is more”.
Divide the audience age by 2 and that should be the font size (presenting a power point)
Handout Leave Behinds: Only give once presentation is done, otherwise the audience will be leafing through them while you are presenting
Ask twice if anyone would like to add to the agenda
Make sure you have your message: “What is your goal”
When asked a question, breath in for 2 seconds, breath out for 2 seconds prior to answering (this will prevent you rushing your answer)
Ask questions on top of questions.
Hand positioning is very important

“There is no such thing as presentation talent, it is called Presentation Skills”
 David JP Phillips

I hope some of the tips will be helpful. Please include in the comment section what works for you.