I can’t count the number of times that I have been to conferences where presentations have been boring and people get restless. I don’t care what topic you may be presenting but if you stand up in front of a crowd and they are listening to you, you are held responsible for their mental wellbeing. Does that not make sense?
The Ultimate Presentation Formula (courtesy of simple algebra)
Mental Wellbeing = Interest + Enthusiasm - Drowsiness or Sleepiness - the “I don’t care” factor
1. Know your material inside out, outside in, backwards forwards, forwards backwards, right left, left right, diagonally, three-dimensionally, and so on and so forth. Pretty much you should know this stuff so well that you dream about it in your sleep.
2. If you have a multimedia presentation, don’t you ever ever EVER read from your presentation slides. Please stop mocking me — I can read too you know? Why am I here 8:30 in the morning listening to you read to me? If I wanted a bedtime story, sure I guess that works.
3. Be unique. I’m shy. I’ll admit it. But even shy people have their unique style to presenting. Do you love what you are talking about? Are you enthusiastic about it? Do you want to make a POSITIVE difference (not just any difference) in the lives of those you are speaking to? No one’s boring when they love the topic they are talking about.
4. Interact with the audience. There are phenomenal speeches that don’t interact with the audience but when you interact with the audience, you change the atmosphere around you and the people who are listening to you. No longer are you talking to them because you are now talking with them. Make sure you understand your audience and their needs and wants.
5. Practice until you can make your presentation in 50 different ways or more! Why? Because there are so many variables that may occur and it helps you re-learn and recall what you know in a different manner. This means there is a much smaller chance that something may knock you off guard and that you are as solid as possible in your presentation.
Oh yea … don’t use notes. At the very most, you can have an outline of what you are going to talk about. Why? Because you will be more likely to use the notes if you know you have them with you.
The people at VideoJug made this great video on How to Deliver an Oscar Winning Presentation. It’s decent…but it gets the point across at least.
Resource: Rands In Repose has an awesome blog posting on developing your presentation. I’d highly recommend reading it and Rands also highlights many of the points I made earlier as well.
Presentations have the power to change a person’s opinion or simply feel like they have wasted their time. Think of a good movie and a bad movie you’ve watched. It’s likely a very similar feeling except now with presentations — you hold the key to change.
Isn’t that brilliant?
Update: Check out Presentation Zen for tips on how to utilize Powerpoint effectively in different ways. (thanks to Melanie McBride)
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