We have all, somehow, needed to present a topic in the past or will have to do so in the future. In the book series of "Smart Business", we try to teach you to look at a subject from different angles, and choose and apply the best method based on your circumstances. In this book, in simple language, we explain the different aspects of a presentation. What you will learn includes the types of presentations, the steps for preparing a presentation program, the features you can use to improve the presentation, the importance of nonverbal communication in the presentation, and finally, the things you need to know when presenting.

2.
Smart
Presentation
Stuff Every Business Should Know

3. Smart Presentation (Stuff Every Business Should Know )
Title
Master Steve
Author
Somayeh Amiri, Tara Kamangar
Colleagues
Keyvan
Layout
Designer
Silk Road Publishing (Toronto, Canada)
Publisher
Printed Book: 978-1-927060-99-5
EBook: 978-1-990236-00-6
ISBN
www.MasterSteve.com
Website
Attributions:
Images Credits: pch.vector - stories / Freepik
Note: The author of this book gives the right to use
the present content, provided that the source is cited,
to professors, educators, teachers, lecturers, and aca-
demic and non-academic educational centers, for an
indefinite period.
The copyright of this bookis internationallyregistered
for the author.

4. Content
Introduction ...........................................................................................5
Chapter 1: Types of Presentation.............................................6
Chapter 2: Steps in Preparing a Presentation ............ 10
Chapter 3: Means of a Better Presentation.
....................16
Using Image and Picture............................................................... 17
Animation, Video and Audio Files...........................................19
Using Presentation Software Tools ........................................20
Handing Out a Summary............................................................ 22
Tips for Using Slides ..................................................................... 24
Color Scheme Strategy ................................................................26
Chapter 4: Non-verbal Communication in Presenta-
tion ...............................................................................................................28
Body Language in Presentation................................................29
Tone and Voice Clarity.................................................................. 34
Ways to Reduce Anxiety ..............................................................36
Smart
Presentation
3

5. Chapter 5: During Presentation.............................................39
The Beginning of a Presentation.............................................40
Question and Answer Strategy.................................................. 42
Presentation Conclusion ............................................................. 43
General Points in Presentation................................................. 44
List of figures and tables
Figure 1: Types of presentation ..................................................8
Figure 2: Types of presentation based on time ..................8
Figure 3: Steps in preparing a presentation ........................11
Table 1: Presentation preparation ............................................14

4

6. Introduction
At some point in our life, we all either had to or will
have to present a topic somehow. To realize the differ-
ence between an ordinary presentation with a smart
one and to identify the standards, we need to look at it
from outside.
In “Smart Business Series”, we teach you how to
consider a topic and its standards from different per-
spectives so you can select the best method based on
your unique experience and circumstances. Then
apply that same smart method in your business and
have unprecedented results or profit in your business.
In this book, we clarify various aspects of a presen-
tation in a simple language. First, types of presenta-
tion are explained. Then, steps in preparing a plan for
presentation and the resources you can use to make
your presentation better are introduced. In the follow-
ing sections, we talk about the importance of non-ver-
bal communication in presentation, and finally, the
points you need to know or use during a presentation
are provided for you.
Smart
Presentation
5

7. Chapter 1
Types of
Presentation

8. Presentation has different forms based on presence or
absence of the presenter, number of audiences, and
duration or length of presenting. There are generally
two types of presentation:
ƒ
Written presentation: you send a written script
via mail or email. In this type of presentation,
you are not there with the presentation and you
have simply sent it to the audience.
ƒ
Live presentation: it’s when you are personally
present for presentation and present your idea to
the audience in real time.
Based on the number of audiences, live pre-
sentation is divided into two categories:
¾
Face-to-face: presentation for few indi-
viduals
¾
Group presentation: presentation for a
group of people
Smart
Presentation
7

9. Figure 1: Types of presentation
One of the critical variables of presentation is con-
sidering its length.
Presentation can be divided into two types accord-
ing to the time it takes:
ƒ
Short presentation
ƒ
Long presentation
Figure 2: Types of presentation based on time
When the presentation is live, time is even more
important because you are the presentation host and
you basically need to know how much time you have
at your disposal.
Types of
Presentation
Live
Written
Face-to-face
Group
Types of
Presentation
Based on Time
Short
Long
Types
of
Presentation
8

10. Whether the presentation will be short or long is
determined based on what content should be deliv-
ered to what kind of person and who the audience is.
The presentation strategy dif-
fers according to the presenta-
tion type.
The following contents are almost always true for
all types of presentations in various circumstances
even for university theses. However, they are mainly
applied in business, suiting people who need to give
sales presentations.
Smart
Presentation
9

11. Chapter 2
Steps in
Preparing a
Presentation

12. Figure 3: Steps in preparing a presentation
1.
1. Determining the type of a presentation: for a
start, you need to know whether the presentation
is written or live.
2.
2. Defining the objective of a presentation: what
is your purpose of presentation? Providing a
performance report? Or introducing products
and services of your company? Or doing a
business trade? And so on.
3.
3.
Determining the audience of a presentation:
for who is your presentation provided? Are its
audiences individuals or groups?
Answering these key questions determines all the
outlines of a presentation.
Determining
Type
Defining
Objective
Determining
Audience
Preparing
Main Titles
Determining
Method
Preparing
General
Scheme
Formulating
Introduction
Formulating
Introduction
Smart
Presentation
11

13. After determining the presentation’s objective, you
need to know what kind of audience you are dealing
with. Research the audience of your presentation:
z
Who are your audiences?
z
What status do the audiences have?
z
What is the position of the audiences in the
market?
z
How is your relationship with the audiences?
z
Is the audience a company? What job position
and at what level do the representatives (your
audience) of that company hold?
So far, you have gained some general knowledge
about the people you may meet for this presentation
and the people who are your audiences. Determining
the audience defines what you say and how to say it.
In the next stage, you need to know more about
personal characteristics of the audience, especially in
businesses where your customer is a B2B1
company:
z
What temper do your audiences have? Are they
grumpy people? Or are they people who com-
municate intimately?
z
How do you know the audience? Through
attending a fair? Or in seminars and confer-
ences? Or through referral by others?
1. B2B or business to business is a situation where a company sells products or
services to another company.
Steps
in
Preparing
a
Presentation
12

14. Gain as much information
about your audience as possi-
ble before starting any type of
presentation.
These perceptions define your performance and
determine what contents should be presented to what
kind of group.
4.
4. Preparing the main titles of a presentation: in this
stage, you prepare your presentation based on
the assets and the data you have already collected.
First, list the titles of items that must be conveyed.
5.
5. Determining the method of presentation: define
how you want to present the contents and points
in question. Based on the knowledge you have
gained about the audience and according to your
objective and type of your content, determine
how you need to present the contents to achieve
your goal.
Determine what tool you select to help with
your presentation. In case you are going to use
PowerPoint for live presentation, then are you
going to use images and video/audio files or not?
If it’s a written presentation, do you need to attach
additional items to the text of your presentation
or not?
Smart
Presentation
13

15. 6.
6. Preparing the general scheme of a presentation:
to do so, create a table with three columns.
z
In the first column, write your audience’s
information (who is your audience?)
z
According to the goals you have defined, in
the second column, write the main titles of
the topic you want to present.
z
In the third column, define your speech
method, i.e. Tape record some of the dis-
course of your presentation and write down
everything you want to say live. In other
words, state how you want to convey the con-
tent to the audience you have identified.
Table 1 shows a prototype of the table you need to
create.
The Method of
Speech
Main Titles
Audience
- Using examples
- Formal tone
- Displaying a
video of the
production line
- Explaining
on the actual
prototype of the
product
- Introducing the
company
- Mentioning the
company’s records and
honors
- Introducing the product
- Method of collaboration
- Clarifying profit and
finances
- The sales manager
of the supplier
company
- Senior rank
- Serious
- Principled
- Higher education
Table 1: Presentation preparation
The general scheme of the work becomes clear
while these contents are being written on the paper.
Steps
in
Preparing
a
Presentation
14

16. 7.
7. Formulate an introduction according to the titles.
Write an introduction in one or two paragraphs
based on the type of audience and your
presentation’s objective.
Your introduction informs your audience
about what they are going to read or what they will
hear. Through introduction, they realize why they
are the audience of this presentation.
For the introduction, write down everything
that comes to your mind in any possible way.
Make sure the text you write indicates the points
you aim to make.
8.
8. At the end, prepare the contents you want to
convey (the body of your presentation). Select the
contents that are easy for you to convey.
So far, these items are determined:
z
What is the objective of the presentation?
z
Who is the audience of the presentation?
z
What items do you intend to state?
z
How should you state these items based on
the objective and the audience of your pre-
sentation?
In fact, you have a script so far and almost all neces-
sary contents are written down in there; you can have
a presentation using these simple writings. If you want
to make your presentation better, you need to orga-
nize these writings.
Smart
Presentation
15

17. Chapter 3
Means of
a Better
Presentation

18. Using Image and Picture
There is a general rule for presentation: the audi-
ences mostly like to see pictures rather than listen
to you.
It’s better if you show the related image to your
topic when you’re talking. By doing so, your audience
will easily grasp what is being discussed. If you simply
put what you are saying in the presentation software
and say exactly what you have written without show-
ing any image to buttress your points, people won’t
follow what you say.
Using images is one of the smart things to do that
attracts audience.
What distinguishes an inter-
esting presentation from a
boring one is using excellent
visual tools such as images.
Smart
Presentation
17

19. However, you need to consider the following points
when using images:
z
Don’t over use images.
z
Select images that are relevant to the topic
of your presentation. An image that doesn’t
convey anything is useless.
z
Under an image, write its title. Caption helps
audience understand why the image is used.
z
When intending to show a text, you fade
other items on the page so they won’t be
seen much. You need to take the same action
when showing an image. For example, you
can increase its size. An image highlighted by
a text conveys lots of points to the audience.
z
The quality, resolution and size of the image
must be appropriate.
z
Leave a part of the image in the background
and show the text over it, if necessary.
z
The text over the image shouldn’t be too long
as you need to keep it brief and concise. Oth-
erwise, you may have to decrease the font too
much to fit the text on the image, and the text
might not be readable at all, or the text might
run through several pages; both cases are not
right. Each page must be over once and for
all as much as possible. So, write your text as
brief as possible.
Means
of
a
Better
Presentation
18

20. Animation, Video and Audio Files
To make your presentation more interesting, you
can use animation, videos and audio files briefly if
necessary.
Going too far in using these elements makes your
audience drift away from you. Avoid anything that
steals the audience from you.
I emphasize that it’s tough to bring back the audi-
ence who has drifted away from you. When you pre-
pare a video, you need to know where and when it will
be displayed.
Sometimes, you need to give a quick explanation
before displaying the video. In this case, you grab the
audience’s attention.
Note that you are not inside
the audience’s mind and you
can’t decide what happens
there. Therefore, you should
make your presentation clear
and logical.
Smart
Presentation
19

21. Using Presentation Software Tools
There are software tools for live presentation that
can help the presenter. PowerPoint is the most avail-
able and widely-used one. However, there are other
software tools with different functions. Therefore, in
the following section, we discuss the points of presen-
tation with these software tools.
Sometimes, your audience may ask you to do the
presentation using a special software tool whether due
to certain services that tool provides or because the
content will be more understandable when you use
that specific software tool.
In this case, check whether that software is com-
patible with your personal computer’s operating sys-
tem Mac, Windows or Android device. Does it require
some special tools? If so, is it costly?
There are software tools that can be run online and
require high-speed Internet. Web-oriented presentation
software tools make possible the presentation of several
people as a group without them being present in a certain
place. Such quality saves time and prevents mistakes.
Sometimes, it’s better to have
a group presentation; present-
ing by several people is attrac-
tive, but the group members’
coordination is important.
Means
of
a
Better
Presentation
20

22. In group presentation, divide
the responsibilities based on
the personality of the group
member.
Smart
Presentation
21

23. Handing Out a Summary
Handing out a summary is helpful in live presenta-
tion. You can even hand out an important part of the
presentation to the audience before the session starts
and to make that part distinctive.
Note that you don’t need to hand out the exact
materials of the presentation to the audience. Rather,
it should only complement your presentation; your
handout shouldn’t be the content they are going to see
in the session, unless a part of your speech requires
mental preparation.
If the audience has the content of your presentation
at their disposal before you present anything, they will
leave the session because they have a copy of it at hand.
Therefore, the summary of a presentation must:
¾
Be complementary to the presentation.
¾
Create active communication with the
audience and keep them engaged, active
and involved.
For example, ask them about some of the slides,
or when the time is right, ask them some questions
during the presentation which they can easily answer
by referring to the handout.
Sometimes, the venue of presentation makes it
hard to see the tables, or the table itself is complex.
Therefore, you can hand out the table to the audience
so they can easily read it.
Means
of
a
Better
Presentation
22

24. Therefore, a connection between the audience and
the content on the handout is created. It’s not an easy
job to make such connection.
To make the presentation better, you need to frame
the presentation in a way that it would raise questions
in the audience’s mind and you can answer these ques-
tions at the end.
When are you supposed to give these small hand-
outs to the audience?
¾
Sometimes, it must be in accordance with
the time the same contents are being pre-
sented. For example, when a slide containing
a diagram is displayed, the supplementary
papers must be handed out.
¾
Sometimes, it’s better if you hand out the
pamphlets at the beginning and notify
everybody that the pamphlets will be used
during the presentation at some point.
Note that the pamphlet you hand out to
the audience should not raise a new ques-
tion in the minds of audience but rather,
it should resolve what is ambiguous for
them.
Smart
Presentation
23

25. Tips for Using Slides
ƒ
It’s better not to put too much textual content
in the slides so it won’t distract the audience.
ƒ
The text of a presentation must be simple and
legible. Sometimes, the font size is not prop-
erly managed in slides or even in “written pre-
sentations”. Try and keep the content legible
using proper font and size. If reading the con-
tent is difficult for the audience, they won’t
follow what you say.
¾
Fonts such as Arial and Times and size
between 24 to 30 are recommended.
¾
The font size of 30 point for the text in
a presentation, the number of maxi-
mum 10 slides and the period of about
20 minutes for an ordinary presenta-
tion are recommended.
ƒ
Whether the presentation is live orwritten, you
need to avoid generalization. You must be log-
ical and comprehensible because if the audi-
ence is supposed to pause for a few seconds
to understand what you say or think about it,
then they will miss a part of your presentation.
Therefore, the message clarity is one of the
principles of making a presentation fascinat-
ing.
Means
of
a
Better
Presentation
24

26. ƒ
While using tables and diagrams in slides,
you need to highlight your targeted import-
ant topics by zooming on the main section.
This helps the audience find the main topic
quickly. You can cover the unnecessary parts
in tables and diagrams and show only the
desired sections.
ƒ
Use a specific design style in your presen-
tation but don’t get too much involved in
design.
Smart
Presentation
25

27. Color Scheme Strategy
Use color scheme strategy in your presentation:
ƒ
Use suitable colors depending on the topic.
ƒ
Apply colors in a way that they don’t over-
shadow the texts so it can be properly seen.
ƒ
Find out about the favorite colors of the audi-
ence and apply them.
ƒ
Be aware of the connotations and meanings of
colors you want to use. Applying an intensely
bright color for the background must mean
something such as highlighting a certain topic;
otherwise, don’t use intensely bright colors in
your presentation.
The color black has its inherent meanings.
The color blue means peacefulness, why would
you use it? Have you used the color green in
a part of your presentation which is about
environment? For instance, in a section about
charity, use the color orange which is generally
associated with cancer.
Therefore, consider the meanings of colors
before you apply them. This is because there
are already memories in humans’ minds that
can be accompanied by these colors. The
color used in your presentation reinforces
the topic being discussed, hence it is logical
Means
of
a
Better
Presentation
26

28. to use relevant color to buttress your points.
Though, there is a risk they go off course due
to a wrong choice.
ƒ
Using colors is necessary in a general presen-
tation, but when you want to make a presenta-
tion for a company or present to a company,
use the company’s favorite colors. Some
people do it elaborately and make a separate
presentation for each company. They put the
logo of that company on the first page and
consider colors suitable for that company.
Because of that, the company decides from
the very first moment if they want to follow
you or not.
One way to make the other party satisfied
with your presentation is to put signs associated
with their company. Colors are the best signs
(in written presentations).
ƒ
Keep harmony in non-live and written pre-
sentations because you are with your pre-
sentation. You can add points to slides in live
presentations. However, in written presenta-
tion, you need to have comprehensible texts
to compensate for your absence.
Smart
Presentation
27

29. Chapter 4
Non-verbal
Communication
in Presentation

30. Body Language in Presentation
Your character and temper play a vital role in the
way you do your presentation. The presenter’s good
energy and body language during a presentation are
some good factors that can save a presentation.
Sometimes, you have properly done all the works
before the presentation, but you realize during the
presentation that your audience is not the one about
whom you have information or the information you
have gathered is incorrect. In such circumstances,
you, the presenter, are the main determining factor.
You need to be in control enough to change the course
of your presentation immediately to wherever you
intend.
Try and predict various sce-
narios before presentation and
prepare yourself for each one.
Smart
Presentation
29

31. Put yourself in the audience’s shoes, guess what
questions may occur to them, and prepare yourself to
answer the questions of any type of audience.
Sometimes, there have been cases when a product
hasn’t been good enough to compete with its compet-
itors, but the presenter has managed to impress the
audience.
ƒ
Practice before the presentation.
ƒ
Divide your energy during the presentation so
you don’t face losing your energy. The audi-
ence shouldn’t feel that you have become beat
halfway through the job. It’s better to practice
for it. For example, record a sample of your
performance as rehearsal and see how you
have managed to divide your energy and how
your voice rises and falls.
ƒ
Payattentiontoyourticsandmannerismbecause
they may distract the audience. For example, if
you constantly look at a certain direction, the
audience may follow where you look.
ƒ
Body language is important in presenta-
tion. Presentation is not just talking and you
shouldn’t only rely on the tone. Pay attention
to your posture and body language. If you are
not standing upright and your shoulders are
droopy, fix it. Identify your body language
through your rehearsals. Ensure that you
maintain a positive body language and if you
notice any negativity, adjust accordingly.
Non-verbal
Communication
in
Presentation
30

32. Notice that body language
must be a means of presenta-
tion, and it shouldn’t turn into
a tic.
ƒ
It’s quite important and vital to be concen-
trated. If you get distracted, everyone of your
audience gets distracted, and it’s a hard job to
do to bring them back to the presentation. This
is because you don’t know when those people
lost their focus. It’s hard to do it no matter how
professional you are. In such conditions, the
rule of thumb is not to go back to fix previous
issues. Just continue the course because you
still have to do the last part and the conclusion.
ƒ
If you are presenting to a group, it’s better to
focus everybody and not focus your attention
on some certain members.
ƒ
Look slightly above the heads of people. This
will help you get over stage fright.
ƒ
Set how long you are going to look at each per-
son based on the number of audiences.
ƒ
Don’t keep looking at your writings. Rather,
try and make eye contact with the audience.
ƒ
While practicing before the presentation, look
at yourself in the mirror and see how you look
at people and what status your face and shoul-
ders have.
Smart
Presentation
31

33. When practicing, use the
important rule of recording to
review your work.
ƒ
Use body language as a strategy to construct a
bridge from one topic to another. Construct-
ing a bridge means a case is closed and you go
after the next topic.
When moving to the next subject in the
presentation, make some clear yet explicit
changes. You can show the changes by shifting
where you stand, the way you talk and the tone
you use. The audience must recognize where
you are constructing a bridge and when the
subject will be changed.
ƒ
Determine your mis-en-scène (movement in
the stage). If you don’t know where/when your
presentation is going to be done, keep a sce-
nario in mind to move, say, at three points
during the presentation. Don’t stay at one
place. Change your position. For example,
write beforehand that you will move from left
to right. A part of the presentation is to insert
the idea that you are taking the customer to a
higher level by these services.
Non-verbal
Communication
in
Presentation
32

34. ƒ
During the presentation, you can walk among
the audiences. This move shows your profi-
ciency over the topic.
ƒ
Don’t play with your hands too much because it
may distract the audience from your presentation.
ƒ
During the presentation, don’t forget to smile,
depending on the occasion. Smile mildly when
you pause.
ƒ
Don’t smile on any or at every occasion. When
you want a group of people to go along with
you, look for someone who easily does that.
ƒ
Don’t count on compliments you receive from
a group. However, they are sometimes good
resources for motivation.
ƒ
A rule of thumb is that if you are a good story-
teller, you will be a good presenter. One can
tell a story about everything even an industrial
subject. To attract the audience, do things that
are attractive.
Hence, energy, body language and look are import-
ant items that should be considered during the pre-
sentation. The tone and manner of speech are other
important points in a presentation which will be dis-
cussed in the following section.
Smart
Presentation
33

35. Tone and Voice Clarity
Your tone defines the general style and format of
your presentation. Many audiences make their minds
from the first minutes before they are provided with
full explanation about the corresponding subject.
This preference of mind is simply based upon your
tone.
So, it’s imperative to use an appropriate tone in
each situation and for each audience. In addition
to your tone, you need to pay attention to your
speech’s clarity to yield the best result out of the
presentation.
ƒ
Don’t have a monotonous voice. Raise and
lower your tone. What matters is knowing
when to slow your speech pace or raise your
voice to grab your audience’s attention.
ƒ
Mark in different pages of the scratchpad
you have at hand, and leave instructions for
yourself about what to do at which part of the
speech. For example, an arrow at the side of
the text means you should raise your voice
or rise your intonation, or a dot with a circle
around it means you need to pause. Then, you
can use the proper tone by lots of practice.
ƒ
Avoid drawling during the presentation
because the audience won’t listen and it will
just bore them.
Non-verbal
Communication
in
Presentation
34

36. ƒ
Your tone must suit the type of audience you
are dealing with. For example, the tone used
in front of a young team of a newly formed
startup can be intimate and casual. However, a
formal tone is more appropriate in an official
meeting with a governmental organization’s
senior managers.
ƒ
Be clear. Clarity is regarded in two parts: in
writing and in speech.
¾
In writing: use clear and legible font
with suitable size so it would be read-
able, and write things briefly so they
would be comprehensible.
¾
In speech: record your voice and check
how much clear you speak and how
much the way you talk is hearable and
comprehensible for the audience. Make
sure you fix your drawbacks by practice.
Some people are used to mumbling or mispro-
nouncing or not pronouncing words completely.
Swallowing your words makes the audience dislike
your presentation or miss your key words. Further-
more, speaking unclearly shows lack of confidence
or lack of proficiency over the presentation, which
leaves a bad impression on the audience. Practice
well to speak clear and raise and lower your voice
appropriately; then, listen to yourself to find your
drawbacks.
Smart
Presentation
35

37. Ways to Reduce Anxiety
For you to be relaxed and overcome your stress
during the presentation, you should take the following
actions before you start:
ƒ
Before the presentation, talk to people. Let
words come out of your chest. Shake hands
with people, smile and talk about casual sub-
jects such as a football match. Talk about
sideline subjects to reduce your nervous ten-
sion.
ƒ
You can relax your mind by greeting people.
If you greet people before you start the pre-
sentation, your fear of looking at them will
be gone. If they have higher ranks and better
positions, you will need to get rid of your fear
before the presentation. Otherwise, you will
be stressed out when presenting the contents
and the quality of your presentation will be
reduced.
My first speech happened at a fair. While I was an
expert in presentation, I couldn’t breathe in a normal
way immediately as I stepped into the podium and
wanted to start speaking. As I was bigheaded and had
experiences in arts, I never thought I couldn’t speak
up easily.
Non-verbal
Communication
in
Presentation
36

38. There were three reasons behind the problem I
faced that day:
¾
The nature of the presentation was
accompanied with anxiety and contro-
versy.
¾
The lighting in the salon resembled a
theatre, everywhere was dark except
the podium and I practically couldn’t
see anybody to make eye contact and
receive feedback.
¾
And the third reason was that I started
without any introduction and greeting,
and I was a shy person, as well.
The following actions are other items you can con-
sider to reduce your stress and anxiety:
ƒ
Don’t go back no matterwhat you miss because
you haven’t missed the conclusion and you
have the chance.
ƒ
Dehydration sometimes brings anxiety. Bring
a bottle of water with you.
ƒ
Take a deep breath inside and then, start.
ƒ
If you found the situation complicated, change
the mood.
ƒ
It is better to have plans about changing
the mood somehow if a critical situation
occurred.
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39. To change the mood, sound effects are used. An
example would be a special computer sound effect.
This is wrong. Try and apply a meaningful tool to
change the mood so by seeing a certain image or a
page, the audience realizes you have gone after the
next subject. Don’t engaged in computer sound
effects because such thing reduces the value of your
work.
You may experience anxi-
ety despite checking all these
points and predictions. You
should know that it’s normal
to have stage fright when you
present to a new audience.
Non-verbal
Communication
in
Presentation
38

40. Chapter 5
During
Presentation

41. The Beginning of a Presentation
When you start a presentation, try and grab the atten-
tion of your audiences from the beginning. If you fail
to grab their attention, you have slim chance to suc-
ceed.
Based on the audience and topic, find subjects to
create attention-grabbing situations. For example,
thanking everybody at the beginning is a good move
and it’s an introduction to tell people how today you
all want to spend few minutes together.
Some people start with a poem or witty sayings,
but I prefer the start to be directly related to the
topic. Try and proceed based on the plan and the
audience of that particular day and the opening cer-
emony.
Because of their characters, some people can start
the presentation with jokes and humors. They use that
to break the ice. Such start must be consistent with the
mood and character of the audience and the setting of
the presentation.
State clearly and explicitly in your presentation
what you want to talk. Mention the list of issues and
During
Presentation
40

42. your solutions. In this case, the audience is absorbed
enough to listen to the presentation to the end.
Some people shock the audience by giving cer-
tain information or statistics or presenting something
nobody expects. Shocking the audience may question
the entire course of the presentation as it continues,
unless you offer a solution after the shock. Otherwise,
the audience becomes preoccupied. This type of start
doesn’t always result in the desired outcome, but if
you can manage it and offer solutions, it can engage
the audience with you to the end.
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43. Question and Answer Strategy
Have a strategy for questions and answers (Q&A).
You should either move all the questions to a point at
the end or must have ensured you can get back to the
presentation easily after answering interjected ques-
tions.
When you have a presentation for sale, the audi-
ence constantly wants to interrupt you. If you don’t
have a strategy for this issue, the presentation will be
repeatedly stopped and the audience will lose track of
what you are saying.
It is better to move the questions to the end of your
presentation. Otherwise, you must speak so appeal-
ingly , give short answers, get back to the presentation
and leave the long answers for the end of the perfor-
mance. Otherwise, a great deal of time will be wasted,
and the huge drawback is that there will be no more
time allocated to your presentation and you have to
leave out the contents.
Sometimes, you may find some individuals among
the audiences who attend the session unwillingly.
Absorb these individuals. For example, ask them yes/
no questions.
You can engage the audience
with you by raising questions
or asking for a vote.
During
Presentation
42

44. Presentation Conclusion
Conclusion is the last part of a presentation. A proper
conclusion is of vital importance for the quality of the
work. Everything you use in the presentation is to
introduce the company, product, service, self-report,
etc. however, you state the final words and results in the
conclusion. In fact, the whole presentation is an intro-
duction to what you will say in the conclusion.
This sayinghas become atrend in the market that they
would take somebody for a ride and palm off something
onto him! Impressing must mean that you will get their
minds to go along with you so they hear what you say.
This is not fraud, but rather, both parties are going to
reap the benefits. In fact, sales presentation is a win-win
situation so the relationship and the sale will continue.
Whatever you state in a business presentation is
aimed at introducing your services to the other party;
the presentation is simply designed to let them know
what profit they stand to gain if they work with you.
Therefore, the more powerful you start your pre-
sentation, the more you grab your audience’s atten-
tion. However, the audience must know you demand
and what type of cooperation they can form with you.
These items must be mentioned in the conclusion and
the final goal and results of the presentation must be
presented to the audience.
Your presentation is successful
when both parties realize they
have reached mutual benefit.
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45. General Points in Presentation
ƒ
Take a break; rest enough before the presenta-
tion and don’t stayed up late.
ƒ
Eat enough before presentation. Your body’s
cells shouldn’t be thinking about rest and hun-
ger during the presentation; the body must be
fully conscious and focused on the presenta-
tion.
ƒ
Be prepared and focused during the presen-
tation.
ƒ
Wear neat, professional and cozy clothes that
are suitable for the setting of your presenta-
tion. Your clothes shouldn’t be so tight that you
keep worrying about your buttons popping off
or that you look stiff in them.
ƒ
Be calm, whether before the presentation,
or when it’s your turn, or when you return
because you are under observation before and
after the presentation. The audience judge you
based on your behavior before and after the
presentation.
ƒ
Get to the location of your presentation on
time. If you arrive at the last moment, the
audience will feel uncomfortable. Worse than
that, arriving late affects your calmness nega-
tively and distracts you.
During
Presentation
44

46. When you arrive earlier, you get to see and
set the equipment and the setting as you like.
By arriving earlier, you also have time to check
the computer and electricity, see how the
microphone works and whether it’s handheld,
tie-clip or earpiece.
Microphone defines your body language.
If it’s supposed to be stationary and you can’t
move, the plan for moving at three points will
be ruined. Check the control for PowerPoint. If
the video projector requires adaptor, you must
have a connecter with you.
ƒ
Before starting, read your scratchpad once
so you won’t face any problem in reading the
words. It’s noticeable when the text is in front
of you and you read it word by word. In this
case, the audience will think you aren’t profi-
cient and in control.
Showing off proficiency is of great
importance in presentation. The more the
audiences get engaged in your knowledge
and proficiency over the topic, the more they
believe and agree with you. What matters is
that you shouldn’t have to use irritating pauses!
Such sounds convey this message to the
audience that you don’t know what to say next.
ƒ
Have a glass of sweetened water or tea and so
on at your disposal so your blood sugar won’t
drop!
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