The Secrets of Effective Presentation

Posted on October 30, 2009. Filed under: Latest News

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Recently, I was asked to speak to a large group of executives at Portland’s Presentation Camp. The group took part in a few sessions - one on how to construct a presentation; one of the importance of great visuals. My session was dedicated soley to the person who is presenting - how to manage the visual and vocal aspects of presentation-making.   The title of my session was “The Secrets of Effective Presentation”.  I want to share them with you:

 Secret #1:

picture1.jpg    YOU ARE YOUR BEST VISUAL!!  You can craft your content until the cows come home; design the prettiest PowerPoint on the block - but if you’re not paying attention to how YOU look, and how YOU sound, your content will fall on deaf ears. 

  •  Make sure that you are dressed at least as well as the best-dressed person in the audience. Solid colors tend to work best, but color is less important than the fact that you feel good in your clothes. If you feel good, chances are great that you’ll look good, too.
  • Smile! Engage! Greet your audience. 
  • Breathe… let your voice relax, and project it well

Secret #2

picture3.jpg   MAKE IT PERSONAL!  I think this is the secret that is missed by too many speakers. So often, a speaker will “blah, blah, blah”  about this product or that service, and never connect why the speech is important to them on a personal level.  For instance, I like to use this picture of my goofy Golden Retriever, Jack.  When you think about presenting yourself in a way that is instantly likeable, you can take a few lessons from Golden Retrievers. They are happy to be with you, and passionate about everything they do.  You are not likely to remember a lot of this text, but you probably won’t forget that I have a darling Golden Retriever named Jack.  My point is this: Make sure you are connecting your presentation to something that is personally meaningful. Your audience will remember that you told a story about something important to you.

Secret #3

picture4.jpg  YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE PERFECT! If you’ve been to this blog before, you know I am a huge fan of Steve Jobs speaking style. Sometimes his presentations are perfect - visually glossy and delivered with ultimate style. But not always. Check out his commencement address at the 2005 Stanford graduation ceremony. He is not perfect. He’s reading his notes, he’s barely looking at the crowd.  But his story is so deeply personal that none of that matters. When you speak from an authentic place, the audience won’t be aware of  your “um”s or “ah”s… because they’ll be listening to your intent. Think of when you get into a lively discussion with your friends. You might mis-speak, or use grammar a bit loosely, and your friend will do the same. Because you are locked in an authentic conversation, those things just don’t matter. The bottom line is this: Authenticity trumps perfection every time.

Secret #4

picture5.jpg  YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE!! How many times have you been handed a PowerPoint deck that someone else crafted for you just hours (or minutes) before it was time for you to speak? That’s a recipe for failure. Let me talk about Steve Jobs again. Before his big MacWorld presentations, he practices… and practices… for WEEKS! I know what you’re saying, you aren’t Steve Jobs, and you don’t have that luxury. But if you want to be an excellent speaker, you have to practice your presentation OUT LOUD many times before you deliver it. Practice in your hotel room, in front of a mirror or, better, use a video camera. (Shameless plug: a professional presentation skills trainer will tell you things you don’t want to hear, but will ultimately make you better!) You should know your presentation inside and out. You should be able to deliver even if the PowerPoint crashes. As you practice, keep the first three secrets in mind. Look and sound your best; look for opportunities to make it personal; ALWAYS remember that authenticity trumps perfection every time.

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