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Presentation
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NERVOUSNESS GETTING TO YOU?
Recently I heard some fascinating comments from
presenters about their nervousness. Here are the issues that surfaced.
Food
and Drink: A presenter told me that he has learned if he drinks
coffee before a talk, his adrenalin kicks in and he starts to
sweat and feel edgy. He has since decided not to drink coffee
and feels much calmer when he is talking. He was totally surprised
by this discovery.
Someone
else told me she really needs to eat protein and vegetables for
lunch. If she eats pasta and then presents, she doesn't feel energized.
Instead, she feels like taking a nap. She gets nervous because
she doesn't feel enough energy to get up and talk.
Preparation:
Another presenter said that she prepares, but fails to take into
account the audience's questions. And many times the questions
come as soon as she starts talking. Consequently, for a 40-minute
presentation, she has to take 10 minutes of questions from her
managers right up front. She now has less time for her talk and
feels very nervous, speaking very fast to finish on time. Now
she only prepares a 25-minute presentation. She knows that, in
this situation, she won't have more time than that to talk.
THE
PERSUASION CHALLENGE
Like almost everyone else, you are trying
to persuade your audience. Persuading them to see the situation
through your eyes. Persuading them to buy your products or services.
Persuading them that you know what you are doing. Given that this
is the scenario in most presentations, what is your strategy for
persuasion? And is it working? Here's what I see.
Data
or Story/Example Persuasion: Most people think that if they
show enough data, the audience will be persuaded. So rather than
two clear, succinct slides, the audience has to sit through five.
Stop this data-driven method-it's just not that persuasive. Instead,
tell your audience stories about the situation. Give examples.
Show them images that help them understand the situation. People
will remember stories much longer than statistics.
Talk
or Listen Persuasion: Many presenters, when given the option
of presenting for 50 minutes, talk the whole time. They believe
that the more they talk, the more the audience will be convinced
they know something. How about switching the idea? Listen to your
audience. This strategy is especially effective in a sales situation
or one in which the audience wants to discuss the information
as it is presented. Put questions for your audience on your slides.
Ask them which direction they believe makes most sense. People
like information, but then they like to discuss it. This way,
they will persuade themselves.
TRY
THESE IDEAS IN POWERPOINT
Two before-and-after
slide examples follow. They show you how to use your slides to
tell a story that makes your message clearer. The “after”
examples are not fancy slides, but see how they make the message
easier to understand while enabling the presenter to tell a story
about the key points of the slides.
Format
Painter: If you have more than a couple objects, boxes you
want to make another color, or text to change the size or color,
use the format painter. First change one object, then double click
format painter, then click it over each object to make the changes.
If you single click format painter, it will only change one object.
Change
Case: Someone gives you a presentation with titles all in
caps. You prefer Title Case-it's much easier for your audience
to read. Go to Format and click Change Case then select Title
Case.
Straight
lines: Select the Line AutoShape and hold down the shift key
to draw a straight line.
Arrow keys:
Select an object and move it using the arrow keys.
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Here
the information is hard to compare and understand. In order
to make sense of this slide, the presenter will have to explain
each piece of data. |
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With
this table, it is easy to see what needs to happen in the
future. Now the presenter can give stories and examples for
each item in the list. The data does not have to be explained—instead,
the time is spent discussing what’s behind the data.
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It’s
hard to see which line goes with which percentage. What’s
the story here? |
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The
real story is not so much statistics concerning drug events,
but that these statistics are only the tip of the iceburg.
This pictures helps show the message on the slide.
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