| |
| |
|
Presentation Information |
|
|
|
Secrets of Successful Presentations
Does the thought of speaking in front of others send you running in the opposite direction? Youâ??re not alone. Many people avoid public speaking at all costs â?" and there is a cost. Public speaking is one of the quickest, most efficient ways to market yourself, your message, business, or cause. Those who are willing to make presentations immediately stand out from the majority who are not. Whether itâ??s an audience of five people or 500, itâ??s worth it to invest in your skills. After coaching hundreds of clients in presentation skills, Iâ??m convinced that anyone can improve and gain confidence by following a few simple techniques: Know Your Audience. Most presentations fail because the speaker never took the time to find out anything about his audience. Knowing your audience means finding out as much information as possible in advance so that you can successfully match your message to their interests and needs. Helpful information includes: gender breakdown, average age, and their current or past experience with your topic. If itâ??s not possible to learn your audience in advance, then at the very least, arrive early and spend a few minutes meeting people. Or, begin your presentation by asking some general questions like, â??Who has experience withâ?¦?â?? This also helps to calms nerves as you are taking the focus off you, and putting it on your audience where it belongs. Forget Memorizing. One of the biggest fears Iâ??ve heard from my clients is that theyâ??ll freeze up and forget what comes next. That can happen if you try to memorize your entire speech. All it takes is forgetting one word to trip you up. Instead, only memorize the opening and closing. Looking directly at your audience when you start and finish makes a strong, positive impression. For the middle section, itâ??s fine to glance at note cards with bullet points, or refer to your PowerPoint presentation to jog your memory. Do not, however, write out your whole speech word for word! Youâ??ll be tempted to read it instead of connecting with your audience. Open with a Bang. Itâ??s important to grab attention immediately. A good opening sparks interests, sets expectations, previews whatâ??s to come, and offers benefits. There are several ways to start: ask a question, tell a story, humor (careful with this one unless youâ??re naturally funny), quotes, dramatic statistics, or music/video. Give your audience a reason to listen, and build your credibility as the best person to be speaking on this topic. Make it Memorable. Signposting is a way to help your audience follow and remember what youâ??re saying. Phrases that focus listening are: â??The point is this,â?? and â??The most important thing to remember is.â?? Another strategy is to number your points as in, â??Iâ??ll be offering three ideas, the first one isâ?¦â?? In Closing. Audiences are most likely to remember the last thing they hear. A strong closing should be memorized and review your main points. Motivate the audience to do something â?" take an action, ask a question, have an emotional response, or think differently. Make it clear what it is youâ??re asking them to do (and if you donâ??t know, re-think the purpose of your speech). Calming Nervousness. Most nerves are caused when the speaker focuses on himself instead of the audience. A speaker might think to himself, â??What if I say something stupid?â?? or â??I hope I donâ??t trip.â?? That kind of self-absorption puts up a wall between you and the audience. By shifting your focus to the audience, youâ??ll forget about yourself and start connecting with them. Second, some nervousness is a good thing! Itâ??s an indication that you care what your audience thinks and can serve as a strong motivator to do well. The goal is not to eliminate nerves, but to use that energy in a positive way. Susan Fee is a licensed counselor, communications expert, and author of Positive First Impressions: 83 Ways to Establish Confidence, Competence, and Trust (available through her Web site at http://www.susanfee.com). She specializes in coaching individuals in making successful presentations.
MORE RESOURCES:
Presentation - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
I Love the Smell of PowerPoint in the Morning: The 5 Sensory Approach to Business Presentations You're in a conference room. You're giving a PowerPoint presentation to several of your colleagues. Incorporate Humor in Your Next Speech Some speakers say, "I could never use humor in my speech; I just don't feel comfortable with it." I believe that anyone can use humor and that it is a valuable tool in speaking. Is Now Really the Time to Hire a Professional Speaker? Since the events of September 11th and the economy slipping into recession, many organizations have been faced with deep budget cuts. Given the current financial hardships and wide spread layoffs, some managers are questioning whether they should continue to invest in bringing professional speakers into their organizations. Presentation Power Does Not Come From PowerPoint You speak before a group. You present your message. The Relationship between Information Sender and Receiver: The Art of Communication For communication to take place, a message must be transmitted by a communicator and correctly received by a listener. If the message is not understood, there is no communication. Beetle Bailey and Presentation Skills In March 2002, the comic strip Beetle Bailey contained a valuable lesson for business presenters. As General Halftrack walked into his office, his secretary asked: "How was Lt. Creating Your Presentation Success With a Positive "I CAN" Attitude According to the Lamalle Report on Top Executives of the 1990s, one of the most important factors in determining financial success by those earning over $250,000 is being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude (46%). Apparently, successful people never underestimate the power of positive thinking. Audience-Friendly Presentation Style Habits in Three Easy Steps You have presentation style habits that automatically appear when you are speaking in public. Where did these habits come from? Most likely you picked them up from watching other people give presentations, or they are carry-overs from your own conversational style. Communication Barriers and Simplifying the Communication Process The communication process can be much more difficult than a person thinks. Unfortunately, many times a presenter does not realize that their message is being lost until it is too late and they have gone through an entire meeting/lecture talking away about something that their colleagues/audience thinks is absolutely meaningless. Present Your Message with Power and Pizzazz If you're ready to kick your career or business up to the next level, then make it a goal to become a powerful presenter. People view savvy communicators as being more capable, intelligent, and knowledgeable than those individuals who have difficulty in communicating their ideas. Facilitating Panel Discussions A client recently called to say she was going to facilitate a panel for the next business meeting. She had never done so before and asked if I could coach her. Networking: How to Network Within Your Organisation Although there are any number of different networking groups and events you can attend, some of the best networking can occur within your organisation. To build your profile and reputation internally and understand "who's who in the zoo" it is worth investing time to get to know the people around you. Story Telling As A Tool For Trainers Once upon a time????."Yeah right, don't tell us a story, we are not kids". Group Meetings: Being Prepared Makes a Difference MANAGING MEETINGS--BEING PREPARED MAKES A DIFFERENCE: You can schedule all the meetings you want to, and if you are not prepared to take charge then you're wasting your time. The time you invest planning a meeting is time well spent. 1,000,001 Reasons To Connect With Your Audience Eye contact is mandatory when giving a public presentation.The goal of public speaking is to connect with your audience. Qualities of Good Communication Webster's Dictionary defines communication as "a giving or exchanging of information, signals, or messages by talk, gestures, writing, etc." The primary goal of communication in a training setting is to transfer information to participants in such a way that a maximum amount of the message is understood and retained. Conducting Successful Training Activities Whether you are training preschoolers in the classroom or executives in the board room, here are 15 premises you might want to keep in mind the next time you're designing training activities.1. Choosing the Right Work Shirts for Your Small Business Company attire says a lot about your business philosophy to your customer. Company shirts project professionalism and advertising. Audience Respect One of the biggest mistakes most presenters make is in not considering or respecting their audience when preparing their talks. Showing respect means not boring them to tears with a data dump of information which is meaningless to them. Story Telling As a Business Tool Long long ago, it was the time when time itself stood still That was the time this story of story telling began When everyone listened to the story and people learned And that was the time people were also very happy Because they were listening to a story.Stories have been the purveyor of knowledge from time immemorial.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
