As David Brent’s excruciating seminar in The Office proved, where he left the stage in baseball cap, punching the air to ‘Simply The Best’, there are right ways and wrong ways to make a presentation. “Don’t focus on yourself,” says Anthony Etherton, senior partner with communication specialists the Impact Factory. “Ask yourself what the audience wants from you, rather than whether you’re standing in the right place, can be heard and so on. Think about them and why they’re there.”
#01
CONTENT ISN’T KING
What you want to say is important, but if the delivery is lacking you won’t make your point properly. “Most people prepare the content, the slides and everything except how they’re going to make an audience feel,” says Etherton. “If you’re simply going to read out a pre-prepared script you may as well send an email instead and save everyone time.”
#02
CONQUER THOSE NERVES
Dry throat? Sweaty palms? Knees knocking? Don’t worry — stage fright is common. Even the word ‘presentation’ can put people into a certain frame of mind. “But if you can think of it as merely bringing other people up to speed with a project or proposal then it will, almost instantly, put you more at ease.”
#03
YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS
Whether you need an answer or not is irrelevant, but asking your audience questions is an effective way to reach them. “If they are engaged,” adds Etherton, “you stand every chance of getting the message across.”
#04
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS
You are who you are, so use what you can do well to your advantage. If you’re funny and you know you can tell a joke, then do it. Just be careful. “If you crack a joke and it stinks, you’re making it very hard for yourself,” says Etherton. “Only do it if you know you can deliver.”
#05
IMAGINE YOU’RE THE HOST
It’s your party and you want the guests — the audience — to feel entertained and engaged. That means being interesting and interested. “Put the word ‘host’ in your head and the attention will soon deflect from you to the audience. Having a conversation with the audience helps establish a rapport with them.”
#06
BE YOURSELF
Often the very idea of presenting can turn individuals from confident, outgoing people into introverted wrecks. That, in itself, will affect the way you speak and the way you behave. “Once you get out of your seat you are then on show and that’s what makes most people just deliver their content and try to get off. Fear does that to people.”
#07
PRACTISE WELL
Rehearsal is important but not as important as the way you rehearse. It’s like golf. Practise as much as you like but if you’re practising in the wrong way, you’re only working on a bad habit. “If you only learn your lines, then the moment you lose your way the whole presentation can fall apart like a house of cards because there’s nothing else to back it up,” adds Etherton.
#08
REMEMBER WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT
“Training is what you do with horses and dogs,” says Etherton. He’s right. You can’t be trained to be a good presenter. The secret is to develop those facets of your personality that let you become an effective and entertaining communicator. “Most people only ever think about what doesn’t work within their presenting style, not what they get right.”
#09
GET FEEDBACK
Don’t be afraid to ask people what they thought of your presentation, good or bad. A word of warning though. Try to retain the positives. “Most people will tell you only too readily about what they disliked and you can go away forgetting about the good parts and believing that it all went wrong. You have to become more aware of what you are good at it, not what needs work.”
#10
NEVER FORGET…
“It’s up to you to control the energy of room,” concludes Etherton. “Keep the audience awake, keep them engaged, and you’re almost there.”
By Gavin Newsham. Visit impactfactory.com
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