There are a number of reasons why many people don’t prepare for a presentation as effectively as they may need or like to. Two of the most prevalent are time and knowledge.
Every where I go most people are still overworked and underpaid.
Who has time to prepare for a presentation?
It’s no wonder people don’t have the time to prepare for a presentation when the common advice often includes:
Analyse your audience
Set a Goal
Structure your presentation
Practice your hand gestures
Practice until perfect
Create effective visual aids
Practice and rehearse
Manage presentation anxiety
Engage your audience
Prepare for the Q&A
Much of this is good advice but takes time
Please don’t practice until perfect and certainly don’t practice your hand gestures.
In general business presenting today, no one wants to see a perfect presenter. It’s a myth that to be a really good presenter you must be a slick, memorised and perfect speaker; that’s theatre.
In business presenting our audience want to hear someone speak who knows what they are talking about, really cares about the topic or message and can help their audience care too.
Don’t focus on being perfect
Prepare a presentation with the aim of connecting with your audience and helping them in some way.
Hand gestures should be entirely natural. Don’t focus on how to use them to gesture effectively. All you have to do is set them free and they will move as much or as little as they want to naturally.
They can’t move if they are trapped in your pockets, behind your back or clasped in front of you; just set them free and let them do whatever they want to do naturally.
The bad news
As uncomfortable as it may be to hear, I’m afraid there are no short cuts. To prepare for a presentation you have to do the work, and it does take time.
The good news
If you prepare for a presentation mindfully the entire process becomes much mor enjoyable and allows you to tap into a level of creativity, empathy and compassion your audience will be extremely grateful for.
Where do you start?
Before you start to prepare for a presentation the very first step is to ask yourself whether a presentation is entirely necessary.
In other words, what’s so important that you can’t simply share with a group of people in an email or straightforward document that they could read easily in the comfort and quiet of their own mind.
The truth is that many business presentations are unnecessary and a great number of them are far too long.
In our presentation training courses and public speaking coaching sessions at least a third of people when challenged agree that their presentation is unnecessary. They say that the only reason they are doing it is because ‘it’s expected’.
Four questions
If a presentation is necessary or ‘expected’ ask yourself 4 questions:
– What’s my message?
– How will it help my audience?
– How do I want them to feel about it?
– What do I want them to do when I’ve finished speaking?
Once you have clear answers to these questions you can begin to prepare mindfully for your presentation.
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Don’t analyse your audience, ask them instead
It’s unlikely that you will ever ‘know your audience’, unless of course you work closely with them or spend a lot of time with them. Most people don’t like the idea of being analysed but being understood is another matter.
Find out as much as you can about your audience in advance. Learn about their age, backgrounds, roles, and level of experience but don’t stop there.
Once you know more about their level of knowledge and experience on the topic you are presenting on ask them in advance what matters most to them.
Don’t make assumptions that what you have to say will be of interest or value to them. Ask them what would be of interest or value.
Phone them or send them an email telling them what you will be speaking about and ask them how helpful that would be. Ask them what they want, need, and expect from you.
Ask them how you can help.
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Don’t just set a goal, set an intention too
You’d be surprised how many people prepare for a presentation without having absolute clarity of their objective. In other words, what they want their audience to do with the information they’ve received when the presentation is over.
Clarity of your own goal is critical but on it’s own it’s still now enough.
As you prepare a presentation set a clear intention as well as a goal. In other words, to increase the likelihood of fulfilling your objective your audience must feel something too. Your intention is how you connect with your audience emotionally as well as intellectually.
If you don’t know exactly what you want your audience to feel, you won’t feel it and you can’t expect them too either.
Objectives are achieved through feelings. Set a clear intention for how you want your audience to feel.
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Don’t try to memorise your presentation, internalise your message instead
Remember, no one wants to hear a presenter who has memorised every word of their presentation.
It’s extremely difficult trying to be authentic when you are so focused on reciting a script word-for-word. Your anxiety increases, your delivery suffers and it’s extremely easy to sound monotone or robotic.
It’s hard to connect with your audience when you are so focused on memorising a script.
As you prepare for a presentation focus on internalising your message. In a previous article, ‘7 Habits of a Mindful Presenter’, I suggested:
‘Becoming so familiar and comfortable with your key message that if you left your notes on the train or your PowerPoint failed, you could still speak. You may not have all of the facts and data but you could still hold a good account of yourself because you have taken the time to make your message a part of you.
The way to internalise your message is to be absolutely clear in your mind what that one thing is that you want your audience to really understand and remember.’
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Don’t just structure your presentation, craft a memorable journey
Here’s a common approach:
– Greet the audience and introduce yourself
– Introduction
– The main body of your talk
– Conclusion
– Thank the audience and invite questions
Here’s a more mindful, journey-based approach:
– Don’t introduce yourself. Your audience should know who you are and why you’ve called them together before they arrive. Open with impact instead.
– Set the scene. Give them some background and context. Make it short, relevant, and compelling.
– Begin the journey. Where are you taking them, what do you want them to do and why?
– Encounter the obstacle. What’s in the way, the challenge, problem or concern?
– Overcome the obstacle. How are you going to get there?
– Resolve the story. How will things look at the end?
– Close with impact. Include a call to action.
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Don’t just practice, understand how you sound and look
When was the last time you listened to a recording of your own voice after giving a presentation?
How do you sound?
– Do you speak too fast?
– Is there any flexibility in your pitch, pace, tone, or volume?
– If you want our audience to feel excited or inspired, do you sound it vocally?
– Do you say, err, uhm, obviously, like, or so a lot?
– Are you being yourself or have you adopted the corporate spokesperson voice?
– Is the way you speak congruent with the words you use and the way you feel?
Could you listen to your own voice?
Take time to listen to your own voice.
When was the last time you watched a recording of yourself giving a presentation?
Could you look at you?
Most people don’t have the time to prepare a high impact presentation but the truth is, we have to prioirtise it and find the time.
Don’t leave it to chance!
If you’d like help to prepare for a presentation:
– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.
– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.
– Get yourself some excellent presentation training
Image courtesy of Canva.com
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