Present at your own Peril - by Angela Shearer

Breaking the Bad

Presenting and developing presentations is generally something that most of us have learned flying by the seat of our pants. And here’s how we got started. Someone gave us a prescribed template that was deemed appropriate and contained heading suggestions. They told us to fill it in and then present it to an audience. In most cases we did it because we had to and never questioned HOW BEST it could be delivered.

Somehow the unspoken prescribed standard was to be as boring and as dull as possible when delivering a presentation. We bargained, unsuccessfully, that wearing a suit and using big words, acronyms and far too many slides, would be our saving grace. We were wrong.

We’ve all walked out of sessions with our eyes stuck in the back of their sockets because the presentation was a tick box non-event, mumbling that we’d just lost an hour of our lives that we would never get back.

Here’s the thing we’ve all been getting so wrong. Presentations are generally too long. Just because someone booked an hour, doesn’t mean you have to use the whole hour. The prescribed template is boring. It needs to be beefed up if you want to keep the audience engaged. Most times we are just killing time during presentations. Doing the corporate waffle to justify getting dressed up to take center stage and tell everyone the square root of nothing new. KNOW YOUR MESSAGE! Have a specific message and find ways to deliver it in a meaningful way. 

The slides are not a cheat sheet. They don’t need to contain all the information that you want to share. If you know your subject, you won’t need that level of detail. If you don’t know the subject then you shouldn’t be the one presenting. Your slides, if you are using PowerPoint, should be eye catching, interesting, thought provoking and original. 

If a presentation is not memorable, if we show up over dressed and inauthentic with nothing to back up the claims we make, then the presentation is a failure. Nobody will tell you that you botched it, because we are all kind and polite, but the lack of traction, interest and follow-up will tell a silent story.

I’ve attended thousands of presentations at different size forums. One of my own observations is that I like a presenter who will surprise me, intrigue me and give me something new to think about. I like short presentations with clear messages and I prefer less slides to more. I also want to know why the message is important for me. If the person speaks from a place of knowing and brings their own unique energy to the stage then I am more likely to remain engaged and listen with intent. 

Hot essentials

To spice things up a little, consider this:

1. Authority – we are more easily persuaded by someone who is credible. Own it!
2. Reliability – we prefer to support ideas that we have already heard of. Make sure that you are convinced yourself before you try to convince or inform others.
3. Harmony – we like to know that others like the idea too. It creates a sense of trust and comfort. Make it happen.
4. Likability – we always do more for people that we like. Never read from a script if you can help it. It never works. No really….it never works.

It’s difficult to convince someone of the benefits of your idea if you spend most of the presentation talking about the features and characteristics of a product or service.

Know your limitations and take a long, hard look at yourself, and see where your skills need to be improved. 

Never look like you are trying too hard. By this I mean you need to be comfortable in your clothes and your own skin. If you aren’t, it just puts people off and your message won’t land. If people are distracted by that “something” that they just can’t put their finger on, they will lose interest fast.

Put in the effort to make your presentation great. We all perform better when we are prepared. Making excuses that you had to do something at the last minute won’t let you off the hook, it will just make you look like you don’t know how to pivot.

Keep your language and your words economical. It’s not necessary to try and demonstrate how clever you are. An attempt to demonstrate superiority in anyway will disgust your audience and make any attempt to influence them or win them over impossible.  Stay on the level, respect each person for the value they bring and only tell them what they need to know. Nobody likes a show off. The whole conversation is important so make your presentations interactive if you want them to be valuable. Remember to keep a sense of humor and never make assumptions about your audience. They are generally smarter than you think.

Pace yourself and know when you have said enough. Talking for the sake of taking up time will only make you look insincere and scared. People loathe insecurity and fear and they will hold it against you.

 As a presenter, you must carry yourself with authority but never with arrogance. Learn the difference. Practice active listening and learn to pick up the unspoken cues from the audience. If the audience stops listening and finds other distractions, it’s time to shift gears. The greatest crime is to bore the audience and not do something about it. 

Harnessing the right presence is a balancing act. You need to build rapport, you need to bring real energy, enthusiasm and interest to your subject. You must believe in what you are selling or telling. Remember that everyone around you is human so make eye contact with them, see them, talk to them and they will respond with reassurance and trust.

 Succinctness is the soul of wit and it’s also what will help your audience make it to the finish line. Help them get there with style.

Beautiful and Bold

Your presentation should be something that others would want to look at. Make it worth their while. It should be informative, aesthetically pleasing and entertaining. As presenter you have an obligation to be somewhat of a performer who cares about the audience.

Be Visual

Appropriate imagery keeps your audience alive. Use interesting pictures, not just flow charts and complex diagrams that they can’t make out from a distance.

Don't limit yourself

Your presentation should never be one sided. If you leave Q&A for the end then it’s not a team sport. Let people participate and ignite interest during your session.

Here’s a couple of ideas for the next time you need to prepare something for an audience, no matter what the size.

·      Start with a positive statement.

·      Compliment and acknowledge the audience.

·      Refer to current events in line with your topic.

·      Refer to a historical event for comparison.

·      Make a shocking statement – did you know that most doctors graduated at the bottom of their class.

·      Give the audience hope.

·      Start with something funny.

·      Start with a question.

·      Open with a problem.

·      Start with a story.

·      Find a bridge of commonality – something that you all have in common.

·      Always include a call to action.

·      Include a story somewhere in your presentation if you don’t start with one.

In your Face

Online presentations have become more popular as the world becomes more digital. Be an early adopter of a cool online presence and set the stage for excellence.

Simple rules apply:

1. Lift your laptop up a little so that the angle is flattering and move the camera away from you so that your audience doesn’t have a very close up view of your face.
2. Make sure the lighting is good in the room where you are sitting to keep shadows to a minimum.
3. Remain conscious that others can see you and be aware of how you look to them.
4. If you are going to be live on screen, make sure that you dress the part and neaten up. You don’t need to be dressed to the nines, just make sure you look fresh and have clean decent clothes on.
5. Blur the background behind you to prevent distractions and to maintain some privacy.
6. Refrain from scratching, picking and rubbing things.
7. If you are going to share your desktop with other people on line, make sure that you are prepared. Close all open documents that you don’t need and make sure that what you want to show people is relevant to the discussion. If you can tell a story instead of demonstrating with documents and slides, the story will always win hands down and will remain memorable. People appreciate those who can cut to the chase and be entertaining at the same time.

The Final Bow

A winning presentation is emotional in its delivery and it gives the audience a sense of feeling cared for. Make a point to focus on the other people in the room and forget about yourself. 

The audience is there to take something away from the conversation. Never let it be irritation, frustration or boredom. Your reputation depends on it. 

Be mindful of your character, be someone that others can trust, and remember that your personal brand is what others say about you when you are not in the room. This means that we are always presenting. Be mindful of the consequences. It’s up to you to decide if it works for, or against you.