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	PRESENTERS: WHAT DO YOU LOOK LIKE?
	PRESENTERS: DON'T PREJUDGE YOUR AUDIENCE
	DESIGNERS: PERFECT MEDICAL PRESENTATIONS
	MONTHLY CHALLENGE

WHAT DO YOU LOOK LIKE?

How you look in front of your audience makes a difference. Are you standing with confidence and poise? Or are you ill at ease and shuffling, not really looking at anyone? Take care to look as confident as you feel. How do you do that?

Your posture: Let's face it. Once you are presenting, it's a little late to tell yourself to stand up straight. At this point, you are concentrating on the best way to communicate your message and engage your audience. You're not focusing on posture. Luckily, posture is something you don't have to worry once you incorporate a few simple exercises into your daily routine.

• First, do some type of sit-ups every day, 20 is a good beginning. They strengthen your abdominals and your back.
• Second, develop strong hamstrings. Try this. Stand in front of a mirror the way you usually do. Now look in the mirror and push your heels into the ground. You will see your shoulders open up as you engage your abdominal muscles and hamstrings. You'll feel stronger and more in control of your body, which translates into more in control of your talk. This is what you need to do when standing in front of your audience. Practice so you are comfortable pushing your heels into the ground.
  

Your face: Don't be so serious all the time! Smile once in a while, but only when appropriate. Keep your hair out of your eyes. It is not very interesting to look at someone in profile when all you see is hair over his or her face.

Your arms: You have several choices.

• Keep your arms by your side.
• Gesture with both arms, then put them by your side.
• Keep one arm up by your waist and gesture with that arm, leaving the other by your side. This works well when you're using a remote mouse: it's best to keep the hand holding the remote by your side instead of waving it around.
• Don't put your hands in your pockets, behind your back, in front of you below your waist, or by your chest. And don't hold your wrist as you talk. All these gestures will make you look nervous.
• Don't put your hands on your hips as you look at your audience. Depending on your size, you can look intimidating.

Your feet: Stand on both feet most of the time. Don't move your weight from one foot to the other while shifting your hips. This swaying stance does not exude a lot of confidence, and watching someone sway back and forth is unpleasant after a few minutes. Stand with your feet close together side by side, or with one foot in front of the other. Don't plant your feet too far apart.

At a recently one-day training session, a woman sat in the first row and gave the impression, I thought, of not really being interested. She sat back in her chair. When I asked her something, she didn't really answer. She seemed to be thinking of other things. Although everyone else was very engaged in my topic, I was a little bothered by this one audience member's attitude and had to keep telling myself not to be upset. After the session, she came up to me and said, "This was a wonderful session! I learned so many things. Thank you very much." You can imagine my surprise.

What did I take away from that experience? That you can't always go by external appearances. You can be totally wrong in your assessment. Be careful, as you present, not to prejudge how an audience member is thinking or feeling about your talk. You could make yourself nervous or uneasy for no reason at all. This is especially true when people in the audience are doing other things besides just listening to you. Some individuals are multitaskers, listening and doing something else at the same time. Granted, for those of us who are visual types, like me, it is disconcerting when someone isn't giving you her full attention. But don't let one person's behavior influence your excellent job of presenting information.

PERFECT MEDICAL PRESENTATIONS

Are you responsible for developing medical, dental, or scientific presentations? Take a look at Perfect Medical Presentations, coauthored by Julie Terberg. This is the first book on presentations written specifically for the healthcare professional. I work with Julie on client presentations. She's a fantastic designer who has written a wonderful book that I highly recommend. For more information, go to www.perfectmedicalpresentations.com or Julie's site at www.terbergdesign.com. Julie writes for Presentations magazine and posts her articles on her site. She gives very specific hints on using PowerPoint.

FREE POWERPOINT TUTORIALS

Need any pointers? (Don't we all!) Go to:
www.soniacoleman.com: excellent tutorials.
www.indezine.com: great help from Geetesh Bajaj.
http://ellenfinkelstein.com/powerpoint_tip.html Look through Ellen's list of hints. You'll find the answer to your question.

WHY AREN'T YOU ORGANIZING YOUR SLIDE IDEAS BEFORE MAKING THE SLIDES

I realize everyone is too busy, has too many projects, works too many hours and feels frustrated by so much pressure. Here is one way you can reduce your pressure. But you have to be patient. Below is an abbreviated format from Presentations in a Hurry. Just notice the organization. See how the first slide, which will not be in your final presentation, forces you to consider the purpose of your talk. You fill this out and print it. Every slide you make must meet your objective and fit with the theme of your talk. If not, you don't include it.

Just consider how much time you could save if you had formats for your presentations. Make your own. Buy mine. Just do it!!! I guarantee you will save days of your work life over a year. You'll get to go home earlier. You'll have more time to practice your talks out loud.

Fill this out before you create your slides. See an example on next slide.

 

This executive summary at the beginning of your presentation tells your audience the overall message of your talk in one slide. Executives like to know this overview before you get into the details.

 

You may need more than one slide to describe the present situation with all its problems.

This slide shows visually all the areas affected by the problem.

 

Now you tell your audience the real advantages of solving this problem. You have explained the problem, but they need to hear what will happen when it is solved.

 

These are different ideas on how to address the problem. By not just giving one solution, you can involve your audience in the decision making process.

TRAVELING OVERSEAS ON BUSINESS

Visit Aquent's newest website, Business of Touch at www.businessoftouch.com to learn about overseas business etiquette.
As a business traveler or host, it is essential to make the right first impression, setting a positive tone for future meetings. Business of Touch will help. Illustrated by renowned artist Paul Davis, the site offers colorful sights and sounds of cross-cultural greetings in nine languages and fifteen countries.

WEARING A JACKET

Whilst reading your 'Presentation Points' website I was pleased to see that you mentioned that a man's three buttoned jacket should have the top two buttons only fastened, as my husband seems to button the middle only and I am constantly telling him it looks very old fashioned!

However, I wondered if the same rule applies to women, as some of my colleagues fasten just the top, others all three and I fasten the top two.

Mary Lou Andre of Organization by Design answers this question. She is the author of Ready to Wear: An Expert's Guide to Choosing and Using Your Wardrobe, a great resource on how to dress and organize your wardrobe so you look fantastic and have an easy time dressing for work every day. See her website at www.dressingwell.com.

"Women have a bit more wiggle room (literally!) on this issue. I personally opt to have all the buttons on my jacket buttoned when I stand to present in front of an audience. It creates a cleaner, less distracting line which positively impacts communication. Having said that, many women who are a bit thicker through the mid-section can relax the fit of the jacket by buttoning the top button and then leaving one or two of the buttons below unbuttoned. While it's okay to have all your buttons un-buttoned while sitting at your desk, working solo on a project etc., I do recommend that women button at least one button on their jacket when communicating with others. Again, it's all about the line and proportion of the jacket and how it enhances, rather than distracts from, the business at hand. Extra Tip: We advise to refrain from buttoning just the middle button on a suit jacket as it can cause an unflattering, gapping effect.

OH, LA LA! PRESENTATION TRAINING, FRENCH STYLE

I am pleased to announce that my seminars are going to be taught in French! Philippe Garnier of Avenys: Marketing Operationnel will be teaching them in France. Go see his wonderful web site at www.avenys.com. Philippe has some interesting free backgrounds that would be wonderful for title slides at http://www.avenys.com/bibliotheque.htm.