Deliver a presentation: Readings

Initially, presentations can be a nerve-wracking experience. Some anxiety or nervousness is usual in everyone before they do a presentation. However, many people suggest that adrenalin needs to be flowing in order to give an effective presentation.

You may be aware of some physical symptoms, such as accelerated heart beat, dry mouth, shallow breathing and sweaty palms. This is very normal. Some of the following techniques will help you to control these symptoms, although not necessarily remove them altogether.

Practise

To help your sub-conscious, conduct at least one a trial run of your presentation – preferably at the actual venue. You can check out the acoustics of the room, where you’ll stand, what you can see, and hopefully you will put ‘Murphy’s Law’ behind you, once and for all.

If you are unable to practise at the actual venue, practise at home or another venue you have access to instead, using your aids as you intend to on the day of the presentation. Check your timing, pronunciation and general phrasing.

Even though you might feel silly talking to an empty room, it’s amazing how much confidence you’ll feel on the day after having practised your presentation.

Practising out loud more than once (preferably several times) is one of the most important ingredients for success for a presentation. Even though you have researched and prepared resources, a session plan or cue cards, you still must practice.

As you practice you will ‘polish’ other aspects of your presentation such as where to stand, how to use your voice, when to pause, where to look and so on. Practising also enables you to learn your content more thoroughly.

It’s important that you practice as if it is the real event; standing, using your session plan and the visual aids. A word of warning - don’t just read the presentation over and over to yourself; you need to say it out loud, placing emphasis on important words. You might like to try other ways of presenting for example, standing in a different place; pausing for emphasis at critical times in the presentation; using gestures.

If possible, get feedback from someone. Or you could record yourself and watch your practiced performance in order to improve it before the actual presentation.

Also give serious thought to the type of questions you may be asked by the audience and prepare responses to these.

Setup the venue

Go to the venue early or preferably, the day before and ensure that:

  • the room is arranged appropriately
  • resources are ready
  • equipment is turned on and overhead displays are ready
  • administrative resources are ready such as sign on sheets, name badges and stationery
  • refreshments are provided
  • you are familiar with amenities, emergency procedures and other requirements and
  • organisational requirements are adhered to such as complying with safety obligations

Be aware that even if you have checked the venue and facilities the day before your presentation, if others have since used the venue things may not be as you left them. This is why arriving early at the venue on the day of the presentation is critical – you may need to do some very quick rearranging etc.

Relax

Take a couple of deep breaths to calm yourself. Tighten your muscles and then relax them. You have nothing to worry about because you have prepared yourself thoroughly AND you have practised many times.

First Impressions

When you first start your presentation take your time – don’t rush. Make eye contact with the audience and smile. You’re sure to find friendly faces.

Your Plan

Have your plan and any resources and equipment on hand. Don’t read from your plan. Be spontaneous, only use the plan as a guide or a prompt.

Body language

Move naturally as you normally would move, and use gestures which match your words. Be aware of how people sometimes interpret body language, don’t slouch or fold your arms and don’t pace back and forth across the floor. This can distract the audience. Remember to stand clear of visual aids so that all audience members can see the displays. Remember to face your audience.

Eye contact

Distribute your attention regularly around the room and make eye contact with all participants.

Your voice

Speak with enthusiasm. You know a lot about this topic and you can inspire the audience. Use your voice to capture people’s attention and keep it.

  • Speak clearly
  • Speak at a reasonable rate
  • Try not to ‘umm’ and ‘ah’ too much
  • Pause at appropriate times
  • Modulate volume and inflections to give emphasis to important points
  • If you lose your place – don’t panic; just look at your plan to guide you.

Presenting is like a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces fit together to make an enjoyable experience for the audience and for you, the presenter.

You’ve researched your topic and your audience. You’ve prepared all visual aids and other resources.

You’ve planned your presentation session on paper and have some written notes and a plan to refer to. Your plan has a well-ordered structure to it: an introduction, body and conclusion. Your plan has logical sequenced ‘chunks’ of information in an easy to understand format. And your plan includes strategies to engage your audience such as ‘attention grabbers’ and challenging questions.

You look good: you’ve dressed appropriately and you’ve practised your presentation numerous times. Peers have given you very positive feedback, and that has helped you to improve your delivery strategies.

The time has now arrived for you to present to a real audience.

  1. Explain and discuss desired outcomes of the presentation with the target audience

The introduction is a critical element of a presentation; it’s where you lay the foundations of developing a rapport with your audience.

In addition to welcoming the audience and capturing their attention, an effective introduction will clarify the purpose of the presentation and present an outline of what will follow. The introduction is also an appropriate time to state the specific objectives and set the pace for the presentation.

The introduction acts as a ‘road map’ for the audience. In addition to stating the purpose, it enables the audience to preview the flow of material, the structure of the session and the presenter’s position. An effective introduction will instil confidence in the audience that the session will be one of structure and professionalism.

Knowing your audience characteristics and expectations are vital to the success of your presentation. If the audience has different expectations than you do for this presentation, you may need to clarify the purpose. Alternatively, if it is your intention to convince or persuade the audience to your way of thinking, then you will need to use strategies throughout the presentation to achieve your desired outcomes!

Depending on the purpose of the presentation, you may want to consider:

  • drawing out audience reasons for being there and
  • their level of commitment.

In making expectations transparent early in the presentation, the presenter is establishing two things, relevance and motivation of the audience.

For example, you may ask the audience to jot down what they hope to gain from this presentation (this could be confidential or shared with the group).

What I hope to gain from this presentation
1
2
3

Next, ask the audience to think about how committed they are to achieving the desired outcomes of this presentation? For example, individuals mark the scale below indicating their level of commitment (again, this could be confidential or shared with the group).

12345

(1 is the lowest end of the scale and 5 the highest)

Of course, it is not always necessary to identify and write down audience expectations. For example, some presentations progressively lead participants to self discovery that they never anticipated in the early stages of the presentation. Also, some presentations may not lend themselves to this type of strategy for example, an informal presentation to a small group of colleagues in a meeting room at your workplace. Although you must still prepare for this type of presentation, the strategies that you select may be less formal.

‘Tell them what you’re going to tell them’. The introduction is your opportunity to give an outline of your talk and introduce a structure that the audience will be able to follow throughout the remainder of the session. It is important you invest a lot of planning to your introduction; the reality is you may win or lose your audience by the time the introduction is over.

  1. Use presentation aids, materials and examples to support target audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas

Visual aids

Visual aids enhance a presentation by adding interesting and informative dimensions to it. They emphasise the key points that you want to make. Use visual aids when you want to:

  • focus audience attention on a particular point
  • reinforce your verbal material
  • stimulate interest
  • illustrate elements that are difficult to visualise and
  • to maintain a logical order of key points

Prepare your aids carefully. If not of a high standard they will detract from your session and distract the audience. For example, spelling errors or hard to see slideshows may cause the audience to feel frustrated.

Poor quality resources may also project a poor overall image. The audience may think that low quality resources are representative of all the other features of the presentation. Therefore, you should proofread all resources carefully. You should also prepare resources so that they do the job they’re meant to do - complement your presentation and reinforce your message.

Your presentation plan, for example cue cards or brief notes, should alert you to using visual aids at the right time. Don’t overuse the aids however. You should time your use of aids so they add impact but do not distract the audience. Don’t use the aids to show off your skills. The aids are to support the presentation not compete with it!

Ensure that any equipment necessary to display visual aids and other physical resources such as models, are in working order, you have access to them and that you know how to use it.

There are many aids that can be used effectively in a presentation, some of the most common examples being:

  • PowerPoint or flash slideshows
  • Videos and DVD/CDs
  • YouTube film clips
  • Music
  • Overhead projector transparencies
  • Computer screens
  • Handouts
  • Maps and charts
  • Whiteboards, flipcharts, Smartboards
  • Models or diagrams.

Overheads and PowerPoint slideshows

These are probably the most commonly used visual aids used in presentations. They are easy and reliable to use. You can use a slideshow as a prompt for your talk instead of using cue cards or brief notes. The slides may contain the key points which guide your presentation.

When designing your slides you should:

  • Use large font for example, size 18 to 24 point.
  • Keep slides simple, uncluttered and neat
  • Use dark colours and keep to a minimum of three different colours
  • Use a consistent theme on all slides
  • Use no more than seven to eight main points on each slide. Use only five or six words per line
  • If you include graphs, diagrams, pictures or tables on a slide, remember to cite your reference, that is where you got your information from
  • Don’t use too many slides. Frequent changing of slides can be annoying
  • Make sure the audience can see the overhead screen
  • Allow enough time for the audience to jot down notes from the slides
  • Allow enough time for the audience to absorb the information on the screen in conjunction with your verbal explanation

Copyright and sensitive material

When displaying material from the internet or other sources, you must ensure that you comply with copyright laws i.e. reference the source and in some instances gain permission to use from the author/s. You must ensure also that any material you display is not of a sensitive, discriminatory or otherwise distressing nature to audience members.

Anecdotes and other examples

An anecdote is a short story that is used to help illustrate a point. Anecdotes may establish empathy with an audience and can be sad, funny or interesting in some other way. Be selective in their use and ensure they do add to the presentation and are not being used just because you think you should have an anecdote.

Rhetorical questions

A rhetorical question is one that has an obvious answer such as “Who here would like to earn more money without having to put in any more effort?” Immediately, you will gain attention.

Maps, charts, handouts and other material

When producing visual aids, the rule is - keep it simple. If you need to provide complex facts and figures to the audience, provide them in the form of a handout in an easy to read font. Allow the audience enough time to process this complex information. Alternatively, if time is an issue, ask the audience to study the handouts in their own time when the presentation ends. Instead of providing a handout, it is quite common to email a copy of electronic slideshows to the audience soon after the presentation.

Audience Handouts

Handouts can take a number of different forms and be given out before a presentation, progressively during the session, or at the end. Like slides, handouts should contain accurate, neat and relevant material.

  1. Monitor non-verbal and verbal communication of participants to promote attainment of presentation outcomes

Building a rapport with your audience is critical to the ultimate success of the presentation. Understanding their interests, needs, problems and expectations in the context of this presentation, will help you to establish a positive relationship with them.

In order to ‘connect’ with each and every member of this audience you will need to engage them using both verbal and non-verbal communication techniques.

Here are some points to remember to build rapport and keep the audience’s interest in attaining the intended outcomes of the presentation:

  • Project your enthusiasm
  • Have a lively facial expression
  • Make eye contact with all your audience
  • Speak with lively intonation in your voice
  • Pronounce your words carefully
  • Don’t speak too fast, too slowly or too softly
  • Pause where appropriate
  • Gesture where appropriate
  • Show energy and confidence through your posture
  • Be aware of the audience’s reactions to you
  • Respond to the audience’s behaviour
  • Make the audience feel comfortable
  • Share your knowledge

You should interact with the audience in order to be aware of how they are reacting. Are they interested, are they bored or confused? Here are some techniques to re-engage the audience’s interest:

  • If audience members look confused, ask if anyone would like you to clarify any issues. You may need to review key points or explain a point again.
  • Check that the audience understands the content by asking, for example “Does that make sense?” or “Is that clear?”
  • Be open to questions. You may choose to respond to questions

throughout the presentation or you may need to allocate a specific time to question and answer time. (the introduction is a good time to discuss with or advise the audience when you will respond to their questions).

  • Questions from the audience are a good gauge that they are engaged. It indicates that they are listening with interest.
  • If questions are difficult, you may choose to involve the audience in finding solutions or use other strategies to find solutions.
  • If the audience looks bored, distracted or preoccupied, find appropriate strategies to ‘energise’ people. Examples include:
  • present content in short manageable ‘chunks’ of information, for instance every ten minutes a new ‘thread’ is introduced
  • have a short break
  • have the audience participate in a practical activity or group activity
  • vary your speech so that it’s not monotone
  • have the audience participate in a fun game (make sure it’s appropriate)
  • refresh key points and objectives
  • pose ‘though-FULL’ questions to the audience

Tips for dealing with difficult situations

All presenters, even those who are very experienced, occasionally have to deal with difficult situations. It may be that some audience members are too noisy or exhibit inappropriate behaviours to the presenter or to other members of the audience.