8 presentation skills

8/6/2019 8 Presentation Skills

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Presentation Skills


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Introduction

y Presentations are a way of communicating ideasand information to a group. A good presentationhas:

y Content - It contains information that peopleneed. It must account for how much informationthe audience can absorb in one sitting.

y Structure - It has a logical beginning, middle,

and end. It must be sequenced and paced so thatthe audience can understand it.

y Packaging- It must be well prepared. A reportcan be reread and portions skipped over, but the

audience is at the mercy of a presenter.


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ORGANIZING CONTENT

y Make sure your talk has a beginning that introducesthe content, and an end that explains yourconclusion.

y

Know your audience. Talk at the audience level.y Humor is good if it makes the talk easy to listen to,

but questionable if it is offered at the expense of anart or cultural object or a person, living or dead.

y Don't try to convey all the information.

y Thank people in a fresh, real, meaningful way.


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The Voicey The voice is probably the most valuable tool of the

presenter. One of the oddities of speech is that wecan easily tell others what is wrong with theirvoice, e.g. too fast, too high, etc., but we have

trouble listening to and changing our own voices.y There are four main terms used for defining vocal

qualities:

1. Volume

2. Tone3. Pitch

4. Pace


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The Body

y People not only listen to you, they also watch you.

y Displaying good posture tells your audience thatyou know what you are doing and you care deeply

about it. Also, a good posture helps you to speakmore clearly and effective.

y Throughout you presentation, display:

yEye contact: Speakers who make eye contact

open the flow of communication and conveyinterest, concern, warmth, and credibility.


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Cont.

y

FacialExpressions: Smiling is a powerful cuethat transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth,and liking. So, if you smile frequently you willbe perceived as more likable, friendly, warm,and approachable

y Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking,you may be perceived as boring and stiff. Alively speaking style captures attention, makesthe material more interesting, and facilitates

understanding.y Posture and body orientation: You

communicate numerous messages by the wayyou talk and move. Speaking with your backturned or looking at the floor or ceiling should

be avoided as it communicates disinterest.


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y Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortabledistance for interaction with others.

y Varyyour voice. One of the major criticisms of

speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice.Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring anddull.


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Active Listening

y Good speakers not only inform their audience, theyalso listen to them.

y Some good traits of effective listeners are:

y Do not answer questions with questions.

y Aware of biases. We need to control them.

y Never daydream or become preoccupied with theirown thoughts when others talk.


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Cont.y Let the other speaker talk. Do not dominate the

conversation.

y Plan responses after others have finished

speaking...NOT while they are speaking.y Provide feedback but do not interrupt.

y Keep the conversation on what the speakersays...NOT on what interest them.


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Cont.

y You don't need to fill every available second withthe sound of your voice. Take your time. Pauses mayseem like millennia to you, but they help theaudience keep up with you and digest what you'resaying.

y Let the silences BE silent. "Um" and "Uh" and othernoises to fill silence are distracting. You can usesilence to emphasize important points.

y Try not to read from a text if at all possible. Know

your topic and rehearse it so well that you can speakthe talk with your head up.


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Cont.y One technique to make your talks more intimate is to

speak in a friendly, relaxed manner, as you would to afriend standing next to you. The audience is yourfriend, they want to like you and to hear what you

have to say. People want to hear the new information,resources, or ideas that you are giving them, they are

interested...so keep their interest!


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Nerves

y The main enemy of a presenter is tension, whichruins the voice and posture. The voice becomeshigher as the throat tenses. Shoulders tighten up

and limits flexibility while the legs start to shakeand causes unsteadiness. The presentation becomes"canned" as the speaker looks in on the notes andstarts to read directly from them.


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Cont.

y If you welcome nerves, then the presentationbecomes a challenge and you become better. If youlet your nerves take over, then you go into the flightmode by withdrawing from the audience.

y

When you feel tension or anxiety, remember thateveryone gets them, but the winners use them totheir advantage, while the losers get overwhelmedby them.

y Tension can be reduced by performing some

relaxation exercises.


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Cont.

yMental Visualizationy During the presentation: Take a moment to

yourself by getting a drink of water, take adeep breath, concentrate on relaxing the most

tense part of your body, and then return tothe presentation saying to your self, "I can doit!"

y Know that anxiety and tension is not asnoticeable to the audience as it is to you

y Know that even the best presenters makemistakes. The key is to continue on after themistake. Winners continue! Losers stop!


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Questionsy

After inviting questions, do not rush ahead ifno one asks a question. Pause for about 6seconds to allow the audience to gather theirthoughts. When a question is asked, repeatthe question to ensure that everyone heard it.

y Answers that last 10 to 40 seconds work best.If they are too short, they seem abrupt; whilelonger answers appear too elaborate. Also, be

sure to keep on track.y Keep coolifa questioner disagrees withyou. You are aprofessional! No matter howhard you try, not everyone in the world will

agree with you!


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Habitsy We all have a few habits, and some are more

annoying than others. For example, if we say"uh," "you know," or put our hands in our pocketsand jingle our keys too often during apresentation, it distracts from the message we aretrying to get across.

y The best way to break one of these distractinghabits is with immediate feedback.


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Etiquettey Be brief. If asked to speak for 45

minutes, speak for 30, andencourage discussion afterwards.

y

Never, ever, ever go over yourallotted time slot.

y DO NOT go over your allottedtime. This is unprofessional and

discourteous.


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Tips and Techniques For GreatPresentations

y Speak to the audience...NOT to the visualaids. Also, do not stand between the visualaid and the audience.

y Speak clearly and loudly enough for all tohear. Do not speak in a monotone voice.

y The disadvantages of presentations is thatpeople cannot see the punctuation and this

can lead to misunderstandings. An effectiveway of overcoming this problem is to pauseat the time when there would normally bepunctuation marks.


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Cont.

y List and discuss your objectives at the beginning ofthe presentation.

y Stand up straight. You'll be more believable.

y If you have glasses that you must push up

constantly, tighten them. If you have hair that fallsover your eyes, fix it. Some audience members arereally distracted by these things.

y Try not to turn all the lights off. Keep a few lights on

along the sides or at the back.


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Cont.

y

Learn to edit. You may have 1,000,000gorgeous slides, but the audience will notknow what they missed if you edit. If youdon't, the audience will remember that you

went severely over time and that they didn'thave a chance to appreciate the slides becauseyou went so fast trying to show it all.

y Keep eye contact with the person who posed

the question.y You don't have to know everything, so don't

try to bluff if someone asks you a questionyou cannot answer.


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Cont.

y Diffuse hecklers quickly and politely. A calm,compassionate voice of reason can effectively getthem off the microphone. "Sir, I understand yourobjection. Let's not take up anymore of the

conference time with this issue. I'll be happy todiscuss this with you in private. Next question,please?" Attacking the heckler will only make theaudience sympathize with the heckler and make

you look bad.


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Cont.

y Dont agonize over mistakes, and dont say youresorry. Keep confident and if you mess upmove on.

y Learn from your mistakes.

y If youre getting lots of questions, dont be afraid to

ask the audience member to hold that thought ifyoull touch on the material later, or find adiplomatic way to say that its an interestingquestion and then ask them to ask it again at Q&Atime.


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Cont.y Dont pay attention to distractions.

y Have complete control on your audience like youare the leader of them.

y

Never argue with any audience.y Thanks the audience for the patience to listen

you.


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Thank You

8 presentation skills

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