The document discusses strategies for reducing 'noise' in presentations, emphasizing the importance of audience engagement and proper environmental conditions. It highlights common sources of distraction such as inadequate preparation, poor audiovisual equipment, and presenters focusing too much on their self-gratification. The author, Emmanuel Otori, suggests organizing events effectively and communicating clearly to ensure successful interactions with the audience.

1. HANDLING NOISE
IN YOUR
PRESENTATION
Emmanuel Otori

2. “Don’t use a five dollar word when a 0.25 cent word
will do.” – Mark Twain
I attended a conference last week, where I gave useful
support to the convener – a colleague. All that needed to
be in place for the conference was set. The audience were
well sited in a hall full of over 200 hundred people, Special
guests, Master of Ceremony and the public address system
was in place. I got there when the program had already
taken shape. You could see presenters preparing to take
the stage. I took note of the things I observed weren’t in
place despite all they had done to ensure the organization
of the programme was at its peak. This piece will look at
possible ways of not just to avoid noise, but understand it
as a symptom of the lack of some essential ingredient.
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Overview – Managing Your Audience

3. In any form of communication, there is always a sender,
a receiver, a message, a feedback. I know we also
understand the fundamentals of the channels of
communication, we will assume our English 101
teacher must have handled all these in our High
Schools. Noise is a barrier to communication
Before an individual comes down with a disease, if he has
been consistent with his body system, he would
understand through his feelings of his unhealthy
condition, before any symptom is visible or diagnosis is
carried out to confirm his state.
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Noise is a Symptom

4.  Heat
People are very sensitive to weather conditions, and
sometimes unconsciously, because they need to find a way
out of this discomfort. They preoccupy themselves with
discussions of some sort with a friend or a close participant
during the sessions.
If the Organizer of an event can take a look at the condition of
the environment, the furniture, the microphone, the
speakers, the wall, the ceiling. It looks we’re getting into
maintenance function, but that’s okay as it will save you of
negative Lasting Impressions. It’s worth going through the
pain except you are expecting ancient idol worshippers
who are comfortable in huts.
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Noise could be as a result of these - Heat

5.  Self Gratification
Most Presenters assume they know better than the
audience forgetting that they are people with different
background, scope, perspective, education and
training. Presenters should justify the reason of their
presence in such gatherings instead of making
themselves focus of the talk, their achievements, fame
and fortune. You make the audience uninterested and
become grumpy, as they also have worthy
achievements that could be aired. Speaking
engagements should never be a stage for “Forbes
ratings”
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Self gratification

6.  Projector, Smart boards, Whiteboards
Don’t think for once that these gadgets are negligible,
while I’m also not in favour of reading through your
slides without making contact and gestures to those
you are speaking to. It is important to consider that
even the unavailability of whiteboard markers could
change the mood of the speaker. Trust me, this little
item can lead to a short fall in the speaker’s evaluation
of the outcome of his speech, even if he had been well
prepared. It would take consistent practice and
experience to douse stage fright and inconsistencies as
a result of lack of adequate preparation
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Use of Multimedia gadgets

7. I have seen the reasons for allowing professionals do
their job if you can afford the budget. Some of these
are Red Sapphire Nigeria Limited, Gomok Events,
Zappaire events, all based in Nigeria etc. They have a
list of gorgeous, educated and beautiful hosts and
hostesses to direct people from the entrance of the
event through a structured sitting arrangement. You
can always improvise by asking friends to assist instead
of not having any. You wouldn’t want invitees who
have come with high expectation meet you in the
primordial era. Organize! Organize!! Organize!!!
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Arrangement for host/hostesses

8. I have made previous pitches and got feedbacks of “I still
don’t understand”. We have the innate way of thinking, all
our expressions are understood by the other person,
forgetting that they also have a mind of their own, that is
continuously undergoing numerous thoughts. Talk in plain
language without creating a divide. A medical doctor has
learnt terminologies that has no useful meaning to the
patient until simplified, a tech guy talking about Java in App
development will find it difficult to make the end user a
disciple. I have always stood by this, “if you cannot make it
simple, then you don’t understand it”. Realize you are
talking to laymen who know nothing about your field, here
is the time to use illustrations.
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Not well understood

9. I don’t mean you should memorize all you have to say, what I
mean by this is that you prepare against unpredictable
circumstances. In the third world, where power supply is
not consistent. What if your slide did not just come up? Or
you had in some way forgotten your presentation notes.
Know your subject by heart, you will be talking to people who
would evaluate you, and determine your return as a repeat
speaker or not. Practice memory mastery, I recommend
Harry Lorayne’s book on Memory Mastery. It would
increase your understanding, Intelligent quotient and
ability to remember information that you forgot. Practice in
front of a mirror, avoid internal conflict of inadequacy on
your path and give your best shot.
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Inadequate Practice

10. To say we can control noise is to undermine its effect, we
should rather try in our capacity to prevent it, or put in place
some control measures to act as a cushion effect against it.
Here are some useful suggestions
 Engage your audience : Our audience is why we are
attending to make a presentation, keep them involved and
they would be shareholders in noise reduction.
“No involvement No Commitment”
 Ask them to come along with their writing pads so they
don’t listen all the time, but participate actively. Research
has it that passive involvement in meeting reduces
knowledge acquisition to less than 50% after one week.
They cannot be talking while writing, that is the idea.
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Here is how to shield yourself from NOISE

11.  Let the concentration be on you, not on your multi-media
aids, learn to blank the screen momentarily when it is not
use for illustrations.
 Comedians are good at events, you may not consider one
in a formal event, but a compere that that can add humour
to the proceedings.
 Try as much as possible to have given details of the
meeting to your organizer, one of these could be,
avoidance of suggested items from individuals that is not
on the programme.
 Be in good shape, and be Psychologically alert to present
your best and mitigate any form of situational
circumstance.
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
Here is how to shield yourself from NOISE

12. Emmanuel Otori is the Managing
Partner of Business On Webs LLC.,
and consults for corporations in the
Manufacturing, Banking, Health,
Non-profit and Telecoms industries
on Digital Marketing Strategies.
Visit his blog on
www.businessonwebs.com/blog
© 2015 Business On Webs LLC
About Emmanuel Otori