Winning Presentations Blend Great Technology with Skill and Preparation

Successful business presentations require a combination of top-notch hardware, sophisticated software and finely honed presentation skills. All the companies featured in this month's special section offer tools that can help road warriors become more efficient and more effective. At the same time, Boston-based presentations expert Claudyne Wilder, author of "The Presentations Kit, 10 Steps to Selling Your Ideas," offers these 10 steps for delivering winning presentations.

1. Channel Your Nervousness Practice out loud and with the technology you plan to use in your presentation, suggests Wilder. "Before you get in front of a live audience," she says, "put yourself in a good mood; get to know some of the people in your audience in advance."

2. Define Your Objective Knowing what you plan to achieve will help focus your presentation. "Research your audience," says Wilder, "and present using a format that meets your objectives, such as benefit-selling, report progress or teaching skills."

3. Organize Everything Preparation and organization are essential to giving polished presentations. "Make your notes brief and readable," suggests Wilder, "and cut out unnecessary details. Review your talk in advance with someone not familiar with your subject. Then take out jargon or buzz words and be sure to spell out and explain acronyms."

4. Create and Use Visuals It is important to select the visual media-electronic, overheads, slides and hard copy-that will best meet the objectives of your presentations. "Vary the visuals," says Wilder, "and have a back-up plan in case something is inoperable. When creating visuals, it is important to thoroughly edit them in order to ensure accuracy and eliminate typos. Finally, when making a presentation, she says, "Be sure to talk to the audience, not to the visual."

5. Energize Yourself Energy creates energy, so when making a presentation, it's important to energize yourself, says Wilder. "Project your voice and use examples to keep your voice lively," she advises. "It's also important to make eye contact, gesture and change the pace of the presentation."

6. Motivate Your Listeners Establishing a rapport with the audience will keep them interested and attentive. "Control the room temperature and set-up so everyone can see you and your visuals," says Wilder. "Dress appropriately for your role and appeal to all senses: visual, auditory and kinesthetic, by using pictures, exercises, sounds, questions and examples."

7. Conclude with Conviction A confident voice and an energetic stance help convey conviction to an audience. "Plan concluding sentences and practice them out loud," advises Wilder. "And vary your conclusion with a combination of facts and opinions."

8. Manage Questions Give guidance to an audience when you start a presentation by telling them when to ask questions: during the talk or at the end of the talk. "Talk to the whole audience when answering the question," advises Wilder. "Answer briefly and then ask if they need more information on that subject now. It's also a good idea to prepare a second conclusion for after the question-and-answer period."

9. Recommend Next Steps Help the audience put what they have learned from your presentation to work by recommending next steps, says Wilder. "Clarify people's roles and responsibilities regarding the next steps," she adds.

10. Take the Leap The best presenters adapt their own personal strengths to be effective. "Use your unique talents and tailor your talk to the audience. Be passionate in speaking about your subject and, when it's appropriate, use humor," says Wilder. "And always remember to just be yourself."

Gregory Sandler, a business writer based in Northampton, Mass., can be reached at 413-586-8588 or by e-mail at greg@thinkglobal.com. This article is reprinted from the March 2000 edition of Hemispheres Magazine, www.hemispheresmagazine.com.