HINTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION

The Greek Way  To make a great presentation take a cue from the people who did it first and did it well: the ancient Greeks  They developed a number of presentations techniques as they began their experiment with democratic government  The five-part outline for a persuasive speech : introduction, narrative, argument, refutation, and conclusion has never been significantly improved

 Presentations – a powerful way to communicate your message to a group,  - to gather feedback  - to persuade the audience to take a particular course of action  - to convey information  - to gain commitment  - to provide a forum for discussion of controversial or challenging ideas

today  1 tell your audience what you are going to say  2 say it  3 tell them what you just said

The Greek way  In learning how to make a great presentation we have to follow the Greeks  You can use them to strengthen your own presentation  They found the rule of the thumb predictable and boring  Instead:  THE INTRODUCTION: 1. Talk about the audience It is a pleasure to be with a group that has demonstrated, once again, what sales excellence stand for.

2. Talk about the previous speaker (who made a deep impression on the audience): Jane moved us all with her eloquent appeal to the core values of this company. Now, I’d like to talk to you about a subject I feel as strongly about as Jane feels about the company values: cost accounting. 3. Talk about the event: draw the participants’ attention to something that is special or unique about the event – it heightens their interest – they’ll listen more closely: This morning you will have the distinct privilege of meeting three of the most important innovators in our industry

 4. talk about a moment in history – a historical context – a greater sense of purpose and gravity:  Three years ago this week, I stood at this same podium and described to you the desperate financial condition of our company. What a difference three years have made.

 5. talk about the place: the hall, the town, the state, the country:  This town, a town that two hundred years ago witnessed the first stirrings toward freedom is today the proud site of the new Greater Lexington Shopping Mall

 6. Talk about the point of speech: it is your privilege as the speaker to frame the topic, to create the context for the conversation – you steer away the audience from topics you do not want to discuss, or refocus:  We are here today to talk about our company’s profit profile over the past six months. Frankly, it’s not very good. But what really lies at the heart of the profit issue is customer satisfaction, and I’d like to spend a little time addressing that.

 THE NARRATIVE  Its essence is a story  You must get to the heart of the matter – it involves something you want your listeners to do, something you wish to convince them of  THE ARGUMENT  You present the proofs, the supporting logic for your point  The most important part of your presentation for bringing your audience around for your point of view  Keep your factual evidence to the necessary minimum and your main arguments to three or four

 THE REFUTATION  You anticipate objections to your argument  It is particularly important when the subject is controversial  Handle the refutation in three ways:  1. answer anticipated rebuttals to your own arguments  2. take the opportunity to rehears and reject your opponents’ arguments  3. mix the two approaches

 THE CONCLUSION  It should not summarize your arguments, rather it should appeal to the audience for understanding its action, and its approval

The modern way  Favours a slightly truncated version of 4 parts:  1 the opening  2 the problem  3 the solution  4 the action step

 Spoken presentations to an audience can come in a variety of forms:  1. A company sales team offering a range of goods or services to a potential client  2. A training session for new employees  3. A college lecture

 During the opening use a “hook” – a comment, a question, a relevant story, a statement or an example – to get your audience’s interest and attention  Tips: variety in pitch, time speed and body language, personal stories, analogies, humor, examples, quotes, illustrations, expert testimony, statistics, charts and graphs, audience involvement, personal energy and eye contact

PREPARATION  1. PLANNING – MUST BE DONE CAREFULLY, IT WILL MAKE YOU MORE CONFIDENT AND HELP YOU OVERCOME YOUR NERVOUSNESS  2. OBJECTIVES: THE OUT COME YOU SEEK:  TO INFORM  TO PERSUADE  TO TRAIN  TO SELL  TO ENTERTAIN

 Most presentations provide information  To avoid the attitude “good stuff, but far more than I could take” break information talk into different kinds:  Straight facts (data) figures, dates, names, events – put them into contexts, patterns and pictures  Stories – easier to remember as they already have a built-in pattern  Description and explanation – are easy to remember, help the audience visualize what is being described by using images

 When you are clear about the objective, you’ll have a better idea about the following issues:  -whether to give the presentation at all  -what to say and how to say it  -what the follow-up needs to be  -possible objections

 3. AUDIENCE: the better you understand the audience, the more you can customize your presentation making it more appealing and effective in its impact  -whom will you be addressing?  -how many people will be attending?  -what do they need to know?  -what do they already know?  -what will they expect in terms of content and approach?

 4. CONTENT  – brainstorm your ideas first  - decide which are the most relevant and appropriate to your audience and your objectives  - carry out your research  - be selective, don’t cram too much into your presentation

 Define your key message: - what you want people to remember and what action you want them to take  Identify the arguments that best support your message – avoid excessive detail  Identify at which point you need audience participation, agreement

 5. APPROACH: RULE OF THUMB  -tell the audience what you are going to say  -say it  -tell the audience what you’ve said  Try to develop your key points in an interesting way  Draw the attention upon relevant examples, figures  You may include one or two anecdotes for additional variety and humour

 6. ORGANIZATION  -CLEAR COHERENT STRUCTURE  -COVER THE POINTS YOU WISH TO MAKE IN A LOGICAL ORDER  INTRODUCTION: - use a “hook” – a comment, a question, a relevant story, a statement, an example – to get your audience’s interest and attention - define the purpose of the presentation - describe the importance of the topic for the audience - preview very briefly the main points to be covered

 THE SECOND PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION:  - make clear to the audience why they should care about your message  - develop a clear need that you and the audience will solve together: incorporate relevant arguments, examples, supporting materials  - involve the audience by asking for their suggestions  - test acceptance by periodically asking for feedback

 THE THIRD PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION: THE SOLUTION  - explain the audience how you think the problem should be solved  THE FOURTH STEP: YOU WRAP UP WITH A STRONG CALL TO ACTION:  - reiterate the presentation’s key message  - integrate your opening points into your closing comments  - recommend action  - suggest agreement  - obtain commitment

 7. VISUAL AIDS;  - use charts, graphs, diagrams, handouts  - make sure they are appropriate and clear  - don’t use white letters on light background  8. REHEARSAL  - allow time to practise your presentation  - check the timing  - pronounce figures and proper names correctly

DELIVERY  1. NERVES  - most people are nervous  - do not speak too fast during the first couple of minutes  2. AUDIENCE RAPPORT:  - try to be enthusiastic  - eye contact is essential  - pick up signals of disinterest

 3. SPEAKING EFFECTIVELY:  - do not talk from a script  -avoid jargon  - face your audience  - walk around your audience  - take a deep breath during pauses  - be aware of any repetitive hand gestures or awkward mannerisms  - don’t let your voice drop at the end of the sentences, but vary your intonation

 4. PROJECTING A POSITIVE IMAGE  - dress appropriately: dress formally  - make sure your facial expressions convey interest in the audience  5. AUDIENCE REACTION  - ask a question  - ask for a show of hands  - put your audience in the hot seat  - add humour  - Q&A  - hostile questions

 5. CLARITY  - active verbs and concrete words are much clearer and easier to understand than passive verbs and abstract concepts  6. SIGNALLING  - indicate when you’ve completed one point or section in your presentation and are moving to the next  7. SUMMING UP AND INVITING QUESTIONS

Signalling devices  Introducing the topic:  Let me start by…  First of all…  Starting with…  I’d like to begin by…

 Reaching the end of a point:  Right, I’ve told you about…  We’ve looked at…  That’s all I have to say about…  So much for…  Switching/turning to  Let me turn now to…  Let’s move on to…  I’d like now to…  Next…

 Developing/analysing:  Where does that take us?  Let’s look at this in more detail  Translated into real terms,…  What does that mean for us?  Examples:  For example…  A good example of this…  To illustrate this point…

 Dealing with questions/explaining a point to come later:  I’ll deal with this later, if I may, but for now…  I’ll come back to this question later in my talk…  I won’t comment on this now,…  Summarising/concluding:  Let’s recap, shall we?  I’d like to sum up now…  Let me summarise briefly what I’ve said  If I can just sum up the main points…

 Sequencing:  Firstly… secondly… lastly…  First of all…then… next…  After that… finally…  To start with… later…to finish up