We’ve recently addressed the Death by Powerpoint syndrome or the poor use of visuals in presentations. Now we turn to the poor use of oneself!
Becoming a great presenter takes time and practice. It’s a combination of art and science. So, I hesitate a little bit in attempting to cover this topic in a single blog post. However, the tips below will provide you with a useful benchmark for where you are now as a presenter and some insights into how to become even better. They will also enable you to choose a presenting coach or training program should you wish to take your existing skills to an even higher level.
1. Prepare, prepare, prepare
Remember, you’re there to tell a story and to achieve something for both you and your audience. So, first you need to know who might be in your audience. Then you need to start with defining your outcome and these questions will help you do this:
- Where do you want your audience to be at the end of your presentation?
- Where are they now or might they be at the beginning?
- What’s in it for them to have them arrive where you want them to be?
Once you’ve answered these the next questions to ask are:
- How would I know that I’ve achieved my outcome?
- What would I be seeing, hearing, doing, feeling at the end of my presentation to know that I’d achieved what I set out to achieve?
The final question to ask yourself is:
- What difference will this make for me/for my audience?
Going Analogue
Now you’re ready to sketch out your story. We recommend you do this in analogue i.e. using a pencil a large sheet of paper and some post it notes. Many people find it useful to write down their stream of consciousness on the topic before doing this. Remember, it’s all about the story you want to tell.
2. Model the Theater
One of the best metaphors that I have found for structuring a presentation is to view your presentation as a theatrical play or movie. After all, great movie makers really know how to present a great story. All great stories have a beginning, middle and an end. But not just any old beginning, middle and end. The beginning needs to grab people’s attention and captivate them from the minute you walk out on your stage. The ending needs to leave them gasping for more. The middle bit must be compelling enough to keep them engaged in your story. So, Act 1, Act 2, Act 3.
You can have several plots and remember a villain and a hero(ine) create contrast and arouse emotions. The late Steve Jobs was a Master of applying this metaphor to Apple’s product launches and I highly recommend that you both read Carmine Gallo’s book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and watch some of Steve’s product launches.
3. Be in the right state
Like me, you’ve probably been to more presentations than you care to remember. I’ve been on many presentation trainings and have delivered Presentation training based on pre-scripted material that as a trainer I was required to follow. In all but one of these training courses emotional states were not explicitly addressed as a way to become a masterful presenter. Your state will be conditioned by many factors in your environment and how you are thinking and processing consciously and unconsciously in that environment. States manifest themselves through our physiology and that in turn is marked out over time through our behavior, which effectively is our states over time.
4. Psychogeography
Spaces have memories! We respond daily to anchors in our environment. Red lights remind us to stop, green lights to go (in most countries!). When called into our boss’ office there is a difference in whether we close the door or leave it open, whether we sit or stand. What does a higher chair mean? Who sits beside who at meetings?
It’s no coincidence that Lead Singers tend to stand in the center of the stage and yet most presentation screens occupy that space, a sign off ill-thought out design. This often means that presenters are ‘forced’ to stand to one side and this has a profound impact on their presence in the room. Learning to master the psychogeography of your presenting stage can produce exceptional results and once again we can learn a lot from the theater in this regard.
5. The Power of Threes
You will have noticed that throughout this post I’ve used the most useful, tried and tested technique for presenting information: The Power of Threes. Here’s how you can apply it in a simple way to your presentations.
- Beginning, Middle, End.
- Take the Middle and have 3 Themes. Introduce these Themes at the beginning, sum them up at the end.
- Each Theme can have 3 main points.
6. Think Differently for a change
To present with impact you may need to break some old habits and all this can be achieved with some Wide Thinking for a change…
