5 golden rules of making a presentation

Have you ever been asked to give your boss a presentation or perhaps you are a university student and you often are asked to do them. In my experience people think that people actually want to hear what you have to say. Chances are unless paid for it … you got it wrong Jack. Here are five things I have learned from years of giving lectures:

1. Get to the point as fast as you can… but not too fast

Most people talk and talk until the audience wish they would stop. Some others read through the material so fast that you are left wondering what the hell was just said. Here is the middle ground: Make every part of your presentation short, sharp and to the point. Don’t waste time!

2. Present your talk as a story

When you have to give a presentation think: the Disney approach. There is start where you tell the audience what is you are talking about. There is a middle, where you tell them what you want them to know (again the core ideas). Then you finish with a conclusion saying what you have just said. Simple. Some people I have had the misfortune to listen to like to think they are Castro and talk for hours. We don’t need all the [tag]information]/tag] (see point 1 please) just enough to get the drift.

3. Break up the content and promote interactivity

I have found that I can talk for 10-15 minutes at the most before my students switch off. To combat this I have started using exercises, jokes, videos or group activities that break up the speaking parts. Sure, I have had to be more strategic in my thinking but it has paid off. My new approach saw my teaching approval rating go up 1.5 times when I stopped using lecture slides so much. I learned: less talking more interaction equals happier students. Consider the simple ideas of mind mapping. These maps are the most effective ways of taking notes I have found besides rich pictures. You can work out how you want to demonstrate your ideas through your activities.

4. Use videos and/or visual content where possible

They say a picture tells a thousand words. In my mind pictures and videos are the best form of information for sharing ideas. They give the audience the point and create an experience for them to link it to. I used a stack of youtube videos to great effect. Students enjoyed them… although at times my simpsons videos wore a bit thin. Remember you are entertain others… not just yourself!

5. Be prepared

Nothing stinks more than a presentation that is not prepared. Remember the audience is filled with intelligent rational human beings… if you don’t prepare and stumble through you are the one who loses credibility. Once I had the unpleasant duty of teaching statistics to undergraduates at a teaching college. One of the lectures I thought I had sown up, so I went in cold. That was a huge mistake. One of the students kept asking why I didn’t know the material and I had to bluff my way around their questions. I had no way out! It was horrible… don’t let it happen to you. Prepare or you will die a thousand deaths. Be ready for questions and play the devils advocate by asking what kind of things you think your enemies might ask you in your preparation time. What would they say to trip you up… be prepared!

You must also remember as a bonus point to always look at your audience when you are talking to them. If you don’t it betrays your nerves and they will know you are not confident. Talk to them. Even if you look just above their heads or at one poor victim most of the time (usually the best looking or tallest person in the room for me!). If you remember these five points I believe your presentations will improve dramatically. People will begin saying, ‘wow he’s such a good speaker’. They did for me!

Technorati Tags: presentation, university, Present, talking

Powered by MightyAdsense