Making & Delivering Presentations
Giving a presentation, whether in the form of a training, an information sharing, or any other form is a daunting thing many of us may come across. We may panic and try to awkwardly stumble across the finish line, dreading the time when we have to next present. Anxiety may normally set in. Even if you are a natural public speaker, you may have issues with your presentation on how it’s made. This will be a hindrance to the actually presentation as it will give an image of low quality.
This blog is to help with anyone who may have a presentation in the future. We will focus on three parts:
How to make a great presentation
Warming yourself up
Presenting
How to Make a Great Presentation
Before we go on, we must remember that any presentation we use or make is a tool to support the story we are presenting. You cannot solely rely on a brilliant presentation slide. However, saying this it is an essential tool and one which we make your life, and those in the presentation, easier. We will give 3 of the most important tips on how to make a great presentation.
Short & Simple
Do not put everything you will say on the slides. Summarise the points to bullet points. Make the point you’re trying to make easy to understand and in bitesize chunks for your audience. A point of a presentation is for the audience to focus on the presenter, not on the slide. This means the slides should be something the audience does not need to constantly have their eyes on. Their eyes should be on you!
Positive Example of Short & Simple
Negative Example of Short & Simple
Visualization
It is important to not let the slides suffocate by putting too much words on the slides. Instead, adapt the slides to have more images and less text. Once you have the images, you can expand on these with your presentation. This will make it clearer and allow a more pleasing look for your audience. For any data on your slides, turn these into graphs or charts.
Positive Example of Visualization
Negative Example of Visualization
Consistency
Be consistent with your theme, the layout, the color and the font you are using. Pick colors to match your target audience (bright for vibrant presentation/younger audience and basic for a formal presentation). Use a consistent font throughout the presentation. It is recommended to use Verdana, Calibri or Helvetica as they are all safe fonts, found in all computers. Be consistent with the size you are using throughout. It is recommended to use a minimum of 18pt for the body and a minimum of 20pt for the heading.
Positive Example of Consistency
Negative Example of Consistency
Warming Yourself Up!
As an athlete warms his/her body before a game, or a singer warms his/her vocal chords before a performance, a presenter should warm themselves up before any presentation. Warming yourself up gives you a psychological advantage and acts as a confident boost before the presentation.
Power Pose
Before any presentation, we recommend to practice your ‘power poses’. These are powerful poses such as victory poses in front of a mirror by yourself for two minutes. Whilst it may seem silly, you will boost your self-confidence before your presentation. Not only this, it is important to also visualize the event from start to finish, visualizing what you would do if you trip on stage and how you can bounce back up! It is important you are able to carry yourself in a powerful way in your mind before the presentation even happens. The only person who can change this mindset is yourself!
Amy Cuddy talks about the benefits of power poses!
Vocal Exercises
Your voice will be one of the most powerful tools when presenting. You need to ensure your voice is clear, concise and projecting what you want it to project during your presentation. You can’t be quiet as no one will hear but you can’t shout when presenting. As the presenter, you will need to know the right volume to use, the correct timing of your pauses and the intonation in your presentation. All of this can be conquered by warming up your voice before giving a presentation. Below we have one vocal exercise you can do, as well as a video excerpt from Julian Treasure on some useful vocal exercises!
The Jaw Release
Purpose: Reduces tension in the mouth and jaw area during speaking
Place your palms on the sides of your face and slowly massage the jaw and cheek muscles with slow small circular motions
Continue to massage while lowering and raising your jaw
Add the sound “mamamama” with a very light lip contact for the “m”
Change to “wawawawa” with very light lip round for a slightly distorted “w”
Julian Treasure shows 6 important vocal exercises to do before any speeches or presentation
Presenting
It is a misconception that extroverts make the best presenters. Anyone can be a great presenter and there’s no one perfect style. However there are some important traits a presenter must exude. Below are some important points you need to have if you are to become a great presenter:
Passion: Whatever you are presenting on, you will need a level of sincerity and passion in your emotion when communicating with the audience. If you aren’t passionate, you can’t expect them to be moved by the presentation
Practice, don’t memorize: Do not memorize your presentation, but rather practice what you will say, how you will say it and when and why you will say it. If you memorize, it will come off as robotic and stiff. Practice allows authenticity, as well as flexibility in the case the unexpected happens
Paint a picture: Humans are wired for great story-telling. When presenting, look to build a story for your presentation. Allowing a picture to develop for the audience will allow them to remember the presentation long after it has finished
Confidence: Give your audience a reason to believe in you by being secure in your abilities. Confidence is not nature, but nurture and something we can all develop over time. It’s ok if you’re not the most naturally confident person! Build up your confidence before the presentation
As a presenter, it is also important to know the most effective ways to start and end a presentation. Below are some tips on starting and ending a speech or presentation.
Starting a Presentation
Below are some of the most effective ways we have found to start a presentation. You do not need to do all of the ways below, but choose the best for you and your audience!
Thank your audience: Be genuine in your thanks to the audience member. This is a great technique when considering how to begin a presentation. Thank the audience with passion!
Make a strong statement: A strong statement will leave a strong impression from the start. The statement could be as simple as the purpose of the presentation, or something more memorable or controversial. Be careful not to offend!
Tell a joke: Humor can be a great ice breaker. It can present you as someone fun and likeable. It will also relax the audience and get them on track. Be careful not to offend!
Have an engaging warm up: Get the audience involved with an engaging warm up. This can range from a group activity to a mingle activity between the audience. Warming the audience with something relevant to the audience will make them feel attached to the presentation from the get go!
Ending a Presentation
The final part of your presentation is key and a strong finish can make or break a presentation and determine your audiences lasting impressions of what they saw. Below are some ways to end a presentation.
Summarization: Summarize three or four of the key points, with the core message being echoed to the audience
Call to action: Present your audience with a call of action with something they can take away and do themselves. This will empower them to make a change!
Use a powerful quote: A powerful quote related to your topic will leave your audience feeling inspired. The key is to use a quote which is powerful but slightly more obscure to avoid quote cliché
Use of questions: You can either end by asking your audience some questions, rather than them asking you, or asking a thought proving question to make them think of the presentation once it has ended
Looking to up-skill your own or your team’s presentation skills? Click the link below to see our training on Effective Presentation Skills
