10 Tips for Better Presentations
Over the years of working with people who want to improve their speeches and presentations, I’ve boiled down most of my advice to a few maxims, phrases, and acronyms.
These tips aren’t “everything you need to know about giving a presentation.” They’re not listed in any particular order. Some of them cover the same ground. They’re just ideas, suggestions, or advice that I keep returning to. I hope you find them helpful
I’ve kept the explanations to a minimum, so if they don’t make sense to you let me know. Email me with your questions, reservations, or suggestions and I’ll get back to you. I promise.
Tip 1: You are the message...but it isn't about you.
Who you are—your character, values, knowledge—shapes how people hear your message. So don't hide off to the side of the stage in darkness or act as if your PowerPoint slides are the most important element of your presentation. Keep the focus on your audience and how your message benefits them.
Tip 2: What's the Big Idea?
A presentation is only as good as the idea it sets forth. Everything else—the graphics, your delivery, the powerful phrasing—is secondary. Build your talk around one—and only one—clear, logical, and emotionally engaging idea.
Tip 3: BLUF
BLUF is a military acronym that stands for Bottom Line Up Front. When you're making a technical presentation, start with the conclusion you’ve reached through research, analysis, and reflection. Then present the evidence and rationale that support or explain the conclusion.
Tip 4: You and Me
Presentations are a relationship, not a transfer of knowledge from you (the expert) to the audience (the passive recipients). The more you connect with the audience—as individuals, not as a faceless collective—and connect them with each other, the more successful your presentation will be.
Tip 5: Action. Action. Action.
Repeat after me: The goal of any presentation is to move the audience to do something with the ideas or information you're presenting.
Tip 6: Be Visual (for a Purpose)
Use visual aids like PowerPoint and handouts to explain or clarify your ideas. Be sure they are clear and visible to everyone in the audience. And don't let them become the main focus of your talk.
Tip 7: Q&A Is a Must
Q&A is one of the most important elements of your talk, not an afterthought. Schedule sufficient time for it. Prepare for the questions you might get asked. And enjoy it.
Tip 8: Start with a Structure
Gather your information. Select the essential elements and discard the rest (or save them for a later talk). Group similar elements into a few (three to five) main sections. Determine how those sections relate to each other. Create a clear and logical outline.
Tip 9: Repeat Yourself
People don’t (sadly) hang on to your every word, and they don’t remember every word that they do hear. So repeat your main points several times within your talk. If you’re a leader, repeat your main ideas again and again in your major talks.
Tip 10: Recycle
Use bits and pieces of one talk in another talk. You can reuse, recycle, and repurpose whole sections or small fragments. (Believe me, the best speakers do this all the time.)
Let me know if you have any ideas or tips you find helpful. Email me at chris@wittcom.com.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment