How do you evaluate and improve your technical presentation skills?

The best way I have found to start a course is not only with looking at the attendees backgrounds and expectations but to build trust with them. The best way to establish that trust for me is to state early in the course how it will be relevant to them. Relevant at the most basic level - this will save you money or time, this will help you communicate with others, this will give you more time to play golf on weekends! Of course the technical side of that relevance is how is this going to better the use of their tools? How to increase the effectiveness of their team? How to set up further individual growth? And to do this without technical jargon but in plain language before ramping it up to meet the appropriate levels of the attendees.

I know many companies that believe that your presentation should have the fewest slides you can manage. Hmmm, a one pager landscape in 8pt font for the Steerco meeting. Anyone bring a magnifying glass? I wonder if they are given bonus points on the least amount of pages as one does with less strokes in golf? It's supposed to be the clarity of the message right? Can't we ignore the page count and instead put less than three clear points on a slide before using the next slide for a continued three, and so on? Remember Dr. Seuss books? Do you think the "Green Eggs and Ham" would have been functionally educational if he left out the majority of the rhymes to make the story shorter? Would you, could you, understand?

One thing I have found helpful in presenting is to walk the room. Get in front of the attendees and also behind and around them. Instead of me reading the slide, I will have the attendees read the most important parts of a slide. And I constantly change the pitch and volume of my voice. When I was a trainer for Novell back in the dark ages I was also taught a great lesson. Go to your trainers manual and for every important concept or technical example, * break it down visually * give the example of how it fits to the whole, and not just stands alone * have a real-life, non-technical story (create a strong mental visual!) and then back it up with real-life technical stories. Ask the students to give their own examples.

Leveraging my theater background, I've learned the importance of confident and enthusiastic delivery in presentations. This has been crucial in everything from training sessions to high-stakes meetings with Ken Griffin, the CEO of Citadel's. Theater taught me to handle nerves and improvise, transforming anxiety into dynamic presentations. Key elements include clear speech, effective use of gestures, and maintaining eye contact. A joke will also lower the pressure. Regularly contributing in meetings and embracing unexpected questions have bolstered my confidence. Recognizing that public speaking is a common challenge, I believe consistent practice and a positive approach can make presentations powerful tools for connection and communication.