6 Tips for Outstanding Presentations

I love giving presentations. Having spent years in sales I guess you can say it’s a good thing I do. The thing is I haven’t always felt this way. Public speaking has provided enjoyment most of my life however putting a presentation together used to be a bit of a pain. I would spend hours labouring over each slide making sure I had all the information down only to find when I presented it I could see the audience disengaged. I would then lose confidence a bit and start talking too fast before then having moments where I completely lost where I was going and just praying for the final slide to get here sooner. The result of which being I then felt frustrated and confused as to why it went so wrong.

I got some training in presentations and then started researching more about presenting skills and watched a ton of TED talks. I looked at the body language, the pace and overall presentation style. Putting a presentation together then gradually became a highly enjoyable task in creativity. I played around with a number of different options and really experimented with how I was delivering. I mirrored the body language I had seen in TED talks and saw results instantly. I would feel excitement knowing what slide was next and what I was going to be saying. The audience felt this excitement from me which kept them engaged.

Each presentation is different and sometimes you can’t be as creative as others however here are my top 6 tips I found made all the difference and hopefully will help you too:

1) Audience – Before putting your presentation together have a think about what your audience wants rather than what you want to tell them. Research your audience and determine what part of your expertise will provide value. A good starting point when thinking about what your audience wants is understanding that most of your audience want to be somewhere else with others doing something completely different. Tough gig eh? Being aware and understanding this is actually the first step to delivering awesome presentations. You now know that early on you need to focus on opening up the audience and providing value. Be entertaining, include humour and don’t use overly complex language.

2) Presentation Aid – The most common presentation aid people will use is PowerPoint. For this reason alone I think it’s worthwhile looking into other options to ensure your presentation stands out. PowerPoint has been around for years and is purely a digital replacement of the slide and projector system. Today there is a plethora of presentation software available to really aid the flow and impact of your presentation. My personal software of choice is Prezi. This is very easy to use and provides a number of options to ensure your audience stay engaged. I was recently told about a presentation relating to sound that used a 20 minute audio track with the presenter talking over it which had massive impact on the audience. Whatever you choose as your aid remember that it is an aid, it’s not your presentation.

3) Stories – People like stories. Remember the scene in the film “Catch Me If You Can” where Christopher Walken gives the speech about the mice in the cream? A well thought out and delivered story is going to be memorable. Everyone likes to be inspired and motivated and a story can do that extremely well. Imagine 2 Sales Managers giving presentations to their teams mid-way through the year. Both teams are under performing and have to deliver an outstanding second half of the year to hit target. The first manager talks about the figures, points out the shortfall and then proceeds to tell them to do more and be more effective etc. The second manager starts with a story about a sports team being almost out of the game at half time, how nothing seemed to go right for them in that first half. However the team then came out and dominated in the second half eventually winning the game. If told with passion the audience will be so motivated and inspired that all the manager would have to then do is point out the figures, say this is their half time meeting, and open to the room for suggestions on how they can win their game. I certainly know which presentation would have more impact on me.

4) Pictures – We all know a picture says a thousand words however we still see presentations full of words. If a slide of a presentation is filled with text the audience will read it rather than listen to the presenter. As a presenter you’re then either left pausing to allow the audience to read or you turn and read the slide to them. Using a thought provoking image that sums up what you’re saying allows you to retain the attention of the audience as you provide the details to the point you’re making. The picture is aiding what you want to say. The next time you’re putting a presentation together see if you can have no text, just pictures. You will find by doing this you not only produce a well thought out presentation but you will also be very passionate about it and excited about delivering it.

5) Practice – Make sure you know what you’re going to say but don’t practice too much. You don’t want every word of a presentation to be worked out and planned as you then risk it not flowing naturally. Instead work out key elements you want to cover and practice those. Have your opening lines worked out so you can start strong eliminating nerves. As you go through the presentation talk naturally having some pre-planned sentences cut in when needed. Also work out extra information you can add in or talk about. This way if you find you have a bit more time at the end or there are questions about areas of your presentation you will have an extra stock of information on hand to resort to.

6) Move Away From the Lectern – We’ve all had times when we have been nervous for a presentation and we then create barriers between us and the audience as a defence mechanism. It could be hiding behind a lap top screen, notes or a lectern. Having these barriers stops an audience connecting with the presenter. Get rid of the barriers and move on the stage. Have open body language and use your hands and arms to add passion and meaning to what you’re saying. As you talk keep facing the audience not breaking the open body language. Look around at different areas of the audience to keep connection with the whole group rather than just a portion of the group.

Remember presenting can be extremely enjoyable and rewarding. Work on your own presenting skills. Try out different things and learn what works for you and what doesn’t. Watch some TED talks and have a think about what you can include in your next presentation. For motivational and inspirational stories check out our Motivation Monday posts on this blog for ideas.

Those are my top tips for increasing presenting skills, what are yours?

This article was originally published on Green Onion's website www.greenonion.biz