2. Presentations are a way of communicating ideas
and information to a group. A good presentation has:
Content - It contains information that people need.
It must account for how much information the
audience can absorb in one sitting.
Structure - It has a logical beginning, middle, and
end. It must be sequenced and paced so that the
audience can understand it.
Packaging - It must be well prepared. A report can
be reread and portions skipped over, but the
audience is at the mercy of a presenter.
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3. Make sure your talk has a beginning that
introduces the content, and an end that explains
your conclusion.
Know your audience. Talk at the audience level.
Humor is good if it makes the talk easy to listen to,
but questionable if it is offered at the expense of
an art or cultural object or a person, living or dead.
Don't try to convey all the information.
Thank people in a fresh, real, meaningful way.
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4. The voice is probably the most valuable tool of the
presenter. One of the oddities of speech is that we
can easily tell others what is wrong with their voice,
e.g. too fast, too high, etc., but we have trouble
listening to and changing our own voices.
There are four main terms used for defining vocal
qualities:
1. Volume
2. Tone
3. Pitch
4. Pace
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5. People not only listen to you, they also watch you.
Displaying good posture tells your audience that
you know what you are doing and you care deeply
about it. Also, a good posture helps you to speak
more clearly and effective.
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6. Throughout you presentation, display:
◦ Eye contact : Speakers who make eye contact open the flow of
communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.
◦ Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits
happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you
will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and approachable.
◦ Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived
as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures attention, makes the
material more interesting, and facilitates understanding.
◦ Posture and body orientation : You communicate numerous
messages by the way you talk and move. Speaking with your back turned or
looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates
disinterest.
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7. ◦ Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable
distance for interaction with others.
◦ Vary your voice . One of the major criticisms of
speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice.
Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring and
dull.
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8. Good speakers not only inform their audience,
they also listen to them.
Some good traits of effective listeners are:
Do not answer questions with questions.
Aware of biases. We need to control them.
Never daydream or become preoccupied with their own
thoughts when others talk.
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9. Let the other speaker talk. Do not dominate the
conversation.
Plan responses after others have finished
speaking...NOT while they are speaking.
Provide feedback but do not interrupt.
Keep the conversation on what the speaker
says...NOT on what interest them.
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10. Begin with a joke to grab the attention of the
audience and put them at ease. Starting off with a
beautiful or unique image (when speaking to visual
people).
Identify words you have difficulty pronouncing and
use alternative words. Practice foreign words and
difficult names until they fall readily off the tongue.
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11. You don't need to fill every available second with
the sound of your voice. Take your time. Pauses
may seem like millennia to you, but they help the
audience keep up with you and digest what you're
saying.
Let the silences BE silent. "Um" and "Uh" and
other noises to fill silence are distracting. You can
use silence to emphasize important points.
Try not to read from a text if at all possible. Know
your topic and rehearse it so well that you can
speak the talk with your head up.
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12. One technique to make your talks more intimate is to
speak in a friendly, relaxed manner, as you would to a
friend standing next to you. The audience is your friend,
they want to like you and to hear what you have to say.
People want to hear the new information, resources, or
ideas that you are giving them, they are interested...so
keep their interest!
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13. The main enemy of a presenter is tension, which
ruins the voice and posture. The voice becomes
higher as the throat tenses. Shoulders tighten up
and limits flexibility while the legs start to shake
and causes unsteadiness. The presentation
becomes "canned" as the speaker looks in on the
notes and starts to read directly from them.
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14. If you welcome nerves, then the presentation
becomes a challenge and you become better. If you
let your nerves take over, then you go into the flight
mode by withdrawing from the audience.
When you feel tension or anxiety, remember that
everyone gets them, but the winners use them to
their advantage, while the losers get overwhelmed
by them.
Tension can be reduced by performing some
relaxation exercises.
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15. Mental Visualization
During the presentation: Take a moment to
yourself by getting a drink of water, take a deep
breath, concentrate on relaxing the most tense
part of your body, and then return to the
presentation saying to your self, "I can do it!"
Know that anxiety and tension is not as
noticeable to the audience as it is to you
Know that even the best presenters make
mistakes. The key is to continue on after the
mistake. Winners continue! Losers stop!
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16. After inviting questions, do not rush ahead if no one asks
a question. Pause for about 6 seconds to allow the
audience to gather their thoughts. When a question is
asked, repeat the question to ensure that everyone
heard it.
Answers that last 10 to 40 seconds work best. If they are
too short, they seem abrupt; while longer answers
appear too elaborate. Also, be sure to keep on track.
Keep cool if a questioner disagrees with you.
You are a professional! No matter how hard you
try, not everyone in the world will agree with
you!
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17. We all have a few habits, and some are more
annoying than others. For example, if we say "uh,"
"you know," or put our hands in our pockets and
jingle our keys too often during a presentation, it
distracts from the message we are trying to get
across.
The best way to break one of these distracting
habits is with immediate feedback.
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18. Be brief. If asked to speak for 45
minutes, speak for 30, and
encourage discussion afterwards.
Never, ever, ever go over your
allotted time slot.
DO NOT go over your allotted
time. This is unprofessional and
discourteous.
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19. Speak to the audience...NOT to the visual aids.
Also, do not stand between the visual aid and
the audience.
Speak clearly and loudly enough for all to hear.
Do not speak in a monotone voice.
The disadvantages of presentations is that
people cannot see the punctuation and this can
lead to misunderstandings. An effective way of
overcoming this problem is to pause at the time
when there would normally be punctuation
marks.
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20. List and discuss your objectives at the beginning of
the presentation.
Stand up straight. You'll be more believable.
If you have glasses that you must push up
constantly, tighten them. If you have hair that falls
over your eyes, fix it. Some audience members are
really distracted by these things.
Try not to turn all the lights off. Keep a few lights on
along the sides or at the back.
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21. Learn to edit. You may have 1,000,000 gorgeous
slides, but the audience will not know what they
missed if you edit. If you don't, the audience will
remember that you went severely over time and that
they didn't have a chance to appreciate the slides
because you went so fast trying to show it all.
Keep eye contact with the person who posed the
question.
You don't have to know everything, so don't try to bluff
if someone asks you a question you cannot answer.
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22. Diffuse hecklers quickly and politely. A calm,
compassionate voice of reason can effectively get
them off the microphone. "Sir, I understand your
objection. Let's not take up anymore of the
conference time with this issue. I'll be happy to
discuss this with you in private. Next question,
please?" Attacking the heckler will only make the
audience sympathize with the heckler and make you
look bad.
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23. Don’t agonize over mistakes, and don’t say you’re
sorry. Keep confident and if you mess up—move
on.
Learn from your mistakes.
If you’re getting lots of questions, don’t be afraid to
ask the audience member to “hold that thought” if
you’ll touch on the material later, or find a
diplomatic way to say that it’s an interesting
question and then ask them to ask it again at Q&A
time.
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24. Don’t pay attention to distractions.
Have complete control on your audience like you
are the leader of them.
Never argue with any audience.
Thanks the audience for the patience to listen you.
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