When you make presentations to any group, you probably ask yourself: To whom am I presenting? Who is my audience? What is my objective? What do I want the outcome to be? What am I selling? What do I want my audience to go home knowing?
We can all agree that these are important questions but what can you do to enhance your message? A lot of it is in the way you deliver it. Have you experienced presentations that were late in starting, rushed, ended late, or were less than professional? Were you distracted by the unprofessionalism and did you learn all you could have?
Let's discuss delivery. Delivery is how you make a professional statement when you stand up in front of a group. The content needs to be the star of the show, not you.
I'm going to assume that you, as trainers, have done your homework and know your material. We'll look at 16 topics that will help you get ready to make a professional presentation.
1. I'm a Traveling Man
If you've every experienced that nail-biting experience of thinking (or knowing) that an essential part of your presentation may be on its way to baggage claim in Des Moines when you're in Phoenix, you know it's important to carry what you really need.
Be sure to carry with you the basics that will allow you to recreate your presentation should it get lost in your checked baggage. That includes:
• Your Laptop
• Flash Drive(s) with your presentation, your script, your handout documents, travel info, address of the closest Kinko's etc. Did you know that an iPod with space on it (20 gig or higher) makes a great flash drive?
• Hand-out master (even if you have it on your flash drive)
2. Are We There Yet?
Timing is everything. People hate it when you're not ready, you start and finish late and then you hand them a questionnaire and ask what they thought of your presentation.
Setting up is the key. Get there early, and that doesn't mean 30 minutes before you are scheduled to start.
• Check everything twice
• Run through your presentation
• Leave everything ready to go
• Check the room layout and call the banquet captain if it's not right
When it's time to present:
• Get there well ahead of time (30 minutes) and turn everything on and recheck
• Welcome everyone (you shouldn't be still setting up)
• Have your first slide up and running with music playing if available
• Start on time-don't wait for latecomers, they know when the presentation starts
• Plan to finish early. If you plan your session to be 10-15 minutes shorter than your allocated time, you'll actually finish on time.
3. Lights! Camera! Action!
You should have a good idea of what you are going to say and the order in which you are going to say it. It only makes sense to run through your presentation at least once before standing up in front of an audience. PowerPoint has a nice rehearsal feature to check your timing (Slide Show > Rehearse Timing). Trim your script and/or presentation if necessary.
In an ideal world, practice in front of people who have at least a passing knowledge of what you're talking about. Presenting to yourself in the mirror doesn't count.
• Know what you are going to say. Have key phrases that sum up key points written into your script. Don't rely on your steel trap memory and a one-page outline.
• Anticipate questions. Allow time for questions. Plan answers to questions you might get but aren't included in your presentation.
• Do your research. You should know more than you're presenting.
• Know your audience. Have a good idea of the type of people that will be in your audience and adapt your presentation style accordingly.
4. Can you hear me now?
Using audio in your presentation is OK, but limit it to sound effects, necessary music or voice clips. Never hand over your presentation to a disembodied narrator on your laptop.
If you use audio, make sure you have good speakers. Small computer speakers will not fill a room. A good friend recommended the Altec-Lansing Portable USB-Powered Audio System-XT1-good quality, very portable.
When your audience arrives, music is always welcoming. A separate music system is preferable. An iPod is perfect. When you're ready to start, fade the music out before you stop it. Make sure you have a quick way to restart it when you break. Choose your music wisely-bright but not heavy.
Needless to say, your cell phone should be turned off or silenced and you should encourage your audience to do the same.
5. 'I'm sorry but it's not my computer.'
Using someone else's laptop can be a good thing, or a very bad thing. Get to know the unfamiliar laptop ahead of time. Does the other computer have the same version of software? Does it have all the cables you need? Will you be comfortable using it? Is the battery charged? Is it a Mac?
Nobody like lame excuses. Using your own laptop is always preferable but it you have to use someone else's:
• Have everything you need on a CD or flash drive or both.
• If it's a PowerPoint presentation, save it properly and make sure you embed fonts to avoid that funky font look. (Save as > Tools > Save Options > Embed True Type Fonts - 'Embed characters in use' is OK)
6. Working the room
If you're not familiar with it, it's always a good idea to get a floor plan of the room or to at least talk to someone who has seen it.
Find out:
• What does your room look like? (shape, size, seating capacity)
• Where exactly is it? (Is it close to where audience will be before presentation?)
• What is the room set-up? (classroom style, round tables, theatre style?)
• Where does the equipment and screen go? (locate power supply and find out if you can run your audio through the sound system)
• Is there enough light? (locate light switches, optimize lighting for needs)
• Where will you stand? (make sure you can be seen by everyone)
If you're in a hotel, know how to reach the banquet captain and maintenance and always know where the closest bathroom is!
7. You deserve a break today
Plan your breaks and know when you are going to give them. If your audience is drifting off or drifting out, you're overdue for a break.
Break at natural breaks in your subject matter. Don't just suddenly stop and take a break.
Five minutes every hour is about normal. Ten minutes every 2 hours is good for longer sessions.
The hardest thing about breaks is getting people back on time. Having an on-screen timer helps as long as you start when the break is over. Google Break Timers for some timers you can download and use in your presentation or build your own using PowerPoint's slide timing feature.
8. PPS
What is PPS?
PPS is the file extension for a PowerPoint show.
PPT, on the other hand, is the file extension for a PowerPoint presentation.
What you want to be using is a PPS, not a PPT.
When you open a presentation, you open the file in PowerPoint with all the menus and are ready to edit.
When you open a show, the slide show starts. No one wants to see you open the file and then start the show. Look professional. Create a link on your desktop that goes straight to your PowerPoint Show file.
Creating PowerPoint presentations is a whole other subject but here are a few pointers:
• Follow Rodney Morris' 6 x 6 rule-no more than 6 lines of 6 words per line on a slide
• If you want to show your audience the complete sales figures for last year, use a handout not a PowerPoint slide
• People will be more impressed with your PowerPoint skills if they don't notice them.
9. Batteries not included
Unless you plan to do your presentation using finger shadow puppets, always carry power with you. Always use your laptop's power cord and always bring it with you (power cables are not one size fits all).
If you are using peripherals such a remote mouse, an iPod or a laser pointer, always carry spare batteries. If the presentation is really important and you don't want to risk messing up, put a fresh battery in each essential peripheral.
Don't forget other power cords for LCD projectors, sound systems, etc.
Always do a double check of any equipment you're carrying with you. Set it up and make sure it all works before you leave. Don't forget those other cables for audio and video connections.
10. EEK! A Mouse!
Your audience wants to hear what you have to say. They get distracted every time you have to dart over to your laptop to press a key to advance a file. If you're standing behind a podium, this is OK but the mouse can give you freedom to walk around.
Mice:
• The remote mouse-gives you freedom, but always test it
• The air-mouse-allows you to point and click on the screen, but requires practice
• The portable mouse-a small optical mouse attached to your laptop, beats using a touch pad mouse when you're in a hurry to fix something
• The touch pad and laptop mouse-OK to use in a pinch
Pointers:
• Laser pointers are great if you really need them. Remote mice with built-in laser pointers are even better.
• Never go up to a screen and point with your finger.
11. EEK! A Cat!
Your computer is a reflection of you. You set it up to bring comfort and ease of use. It reflects your personality. It can also be embarrassing in presentation if you have a picture of your cat as your wallpaper. Before you take your laptop out in public, make sure it's presentable:
• Clean up your desktop-put your shortcut icons in a folder-better yet, plan your presentation so you never have to show your desktop and link to program and presentation through PowePoint (Slide Show > Action Buttons)
• Use a non-themed wallpaper
• Turn off those sound effects
While I'm talking about your laptop, don't forget to turn off those timers that blank your screen out if you're on battery power for more than 5 minutes. And don't forget to turn off screen savers.
12. Screen of Death
The screen of death is that friendly (and oh so helpful message) that says 'Page cannot be displayed.' If you have your presentation on your website or FTP site and plan to link to it in your presentation, you are in danger of getting this screen.
The internet is a wonderful thing, but to reduce your personal stress and avoid going out to the internet, put your presentation on a laptop file or at least have a back-up.
Also, check and call your connections ahead of time. Give your presentation a test drive to make sure you can access the internet.
13. Did you hear the one about....?
There's no doubt that a little humor can add that extra zip to your presentation but it should be carefully planned.
It's all about comfort levels-your comfort and your audience's. If you're not comfortable being humorous, don't try. If your audience is not expecting you to be funny, don't try.
That said, humor nearly always has a place
Using it in your presentation:
• Planned humor-appropriate jokes or bon mots placed at appropriate moments in your outline are OK. Ideally, they should relate to your subject or to your audience. Don't make fun of your audience.
• Surprises-the slide they weren't expecting is always a treat. Photos that humorously illustrate your point work well. Humorous phrases worked in among the serious ones work well. One of my favorites is having a slide that's upside down (followed, of course, with one that's right sideup).
Remember! If you use humor, always run it by a few disinterested co-workers before you embed it in your presentation. It might not be funny.
14. Plan B (or C)
Identify the key elements of your presentation:
• Presentation
• Handouts
• Equipment
• Room
• Date/Time
Now ask yourself the relevant questions:
• What if things don't work?
• What if the power goes out?
• What if you lose something?
• Is there a way/place to source a replacement locally? (and do they deliver)
At the very least, find out if there's equipment you can borrow or rent and where you can get handouts printed (and delivered if possible).
15. Lovely Parting Gifts
You've made a stunning presentation. Your audience is clamoring for your autograph and wants to know if they can have this information to take home and share with their fellow workers. So, what do you give them?
• Printed copy of your slides-if you choose this option, give it to them before you start so they can take notes
• PowerPoint handouts-if you do this, don't give them the one slide per page, full-color edition. One can't take notes on that. Three slides to a page is best.
• Color is nice-but not necessary. If you are printing in black-and-white, make sure all graphics and script are legible.
• Handouts-a custom handout that's a bit more than slides often makes a better take-away than sheets of paper stapled together at the top. At least, staple at the side to make it look like a book.
• Gifts-everyone loves a freebie. If you have any corporate/promo items, use them.
• CDs-if you're willing to share, let your audience know you can send them your presentation. Since we are prone to last minute changes, sending the presentation on CD ensures that it looks the same as the one you presented,
• Business cards-always give out your business cards.
16. Questions, Questions??
The main reason you run out of time is questions. We love questions. The trick is to plan for them and control them
To control questions, use simple techniques to stall:
• If you plan to cover the answer to a question, just say 'I'm going to get to that.' Answering a question out of sequence is confusing for you and your audience. Avoid detours!
• Use a flip chart as a parking lot to write down questions for the end. Better still; appoint an audience member as your parking lot scribe.
• Allocate time for questions. You know you'll get them to allow time.
• If you're running out of time, tell you audience that you really want to cover all the planned content and if there isn't enough time at the end for all their questions, they can email it to you.
This article comes from Hotel News Resource
http://www.hotelnewsresource.com
The URL for this story is:
http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article25982.html
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