Rupa is one of Chris' Spring 2012 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here she writes about presentations.
There are two
perspectives of any issue. The way you look at it and the way the rest of the
world looks at it. They might not always be the same. When you are presenting
something important, it is imperative that you understand what it feels like
being the audience to the presentation. Be prepared for the following questions
from them: Why am I here? How do you think that would really matter? So what do
I have to do next?
Why?
The
first few minutes of your presentation should tell your audience how you intend
to treat them for the next precious hour of their life. Explain the flow of the
presentation so that they have a basic idea of why they are there listening to
you. You get only one shot at creating a good first impression. Give your best!
How?
This
is when you educate, entertain or explain depending upon the subject you are
dealing with. Most often, it becomes necessary that you do all three with
emphasis on one of them. Be specific and focused on what points you wish to
cover. While you go about giving them your point of view, make sure you engage
them in the best possible way.
Some tips for better
engagement are: Maintain proper eye contact. This would give the listener an
impression that you are talking to him/her alone and grabs their attention. Tell
them stories! We are a social species and we connect to stories. Leave room for
questions and conversations. This is when you tend to develop a rapport with
the audience.
State facts and back
them up with real time examples. Giving examples from your personal experience
also helps to connect to the audience as it improves your credibility of
presenting the issue. Tell them what their key takeaway from the presentation
is and focus on the value to the audience.
So
What? The outcome is as important as the issue. Be very
clear and specific about what steps need to be taken next and close with a
point that the audience can take along for further action. Nail your final
point!
If all this is what you
need be prepared to cater to the audience’s point of view, here is what you
need to concentrate on your side of the story: When putting forward an idea, be
excited and enthusiastic about it. It helps induce interest. When you yourself
do not show interest in the presentation, you cannot expect the audience to show
interest in it. Time management also plays a great role. From arriving at the
venue early to pacing the presentation well, each step requires proper time
management. You can make your presentation better by including humor. Creating
a common ground with the audience also helps.
The look and feel of
your presentation creates a great impact on your audience. A guest lecture by
Professor Dan Boyarski, School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University, gave me
insights on improving one’s presentation skills. One of the key takeaways was
to ‘show them what you want to tell them’. Pictures always create a greater
impact than just textual information. Making the presentation interactive by
using audio could help improve it a great deal. Apple, Adobe and many others now
offer tools that help combine textual, audio and visual effects.
While I wish you good
luck with your presentations, here are some words of caution:
- Be
tactful in putting forward negatives.
-
Remember
that people have short attention spans. Grab their attention at every possible opportunity!
-
Don’t
be lost in your world of presentation. It is important that you be alert.
-
Do
not include too many issues that you wish to address in a presentation. Three
would be a good number.
Lastly, make sure that
you enjoy the presentation and so does your audience!
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