LEADERSHIP | How to deliver a compelling presentation
LEADERSHIP | The ability to deliver compelling presentations is an essential skill for success in almost every field, including business, sales, training and teaching. Indeed, research shows that being presentation savvy is the most critical communication skill needed to move up in today’s business environment as managers are often required to deliver presentations before a group of people.
However, research reveals that only about 25 percent of people are very comfortable delivering a formal presentation or making a speech.
Compelling presentations help to increase personal influence and “visibility” which are important to managerial success; present opportunities to demonstrate one’s expertise and leadership ability; help to elicit the desired response or action from the audience; and promote better decision making.
All presenters experience “stage fright” or some form of anxiety. Surveys show that 76 percent of experienced speakers have stage fright before taking the floor. Stage fright is also often overestimated in the mind of the presenter. Research shows that the presenter appears much more confident than he or she actually feels.
10 tips on overcoming presentation anxiety
1. Prepare early and thoroughly. Preparation can reduce your stage fright by as much as 75 percent. Know your subject matter thoroughly. Write your key points on note cards which act as a safety net in the event of a blank mind. Practise your presentation several times. Anticipate your audience's questions and prepare thoughtful answers.
2. Have a good introduction that arouses the audience’s interest...
LEADERSHIP | The ability to deliver compelling presentations is an essential skill for success in almost every field, including business, sales, training and teaching. Indeed, research shows that being presentation savvy is the most critical communication skill needed to move up in today’s business environment as managers are often required to deliver presentations before a group of people.
However, research reveals that only about 25 percent of people are very comfortable delivering a formal presentation or making a speech.
Compelling presentations help to increase personal influence and “visibility” which are important to managerial success; present opportunities to demonstrate one’s expertise and leadership ability; help to elicit the desired response or action from the audience; and promote better decision making.
All presenters experience “stage fright” or some form of anxiety. Surveys show that 76 percent of experienced speakers have stage fright before taking the floor. Stage fright is also often overestimated in the mind of the presenter. Research shows that the presenter appears much more confident than he or she actually feels.
10 tips on overcoming presentation anxiety
1. Prepare early and thoroughly. Preparation can reduce your stage fright by as much as 75 percent. Know your subject matter thoroughly. Write your key points on note cards which act as a safety net in the event of a blank mind. Practise your presentation several times. Anticipate your audience's questions and prepare thoughtful answers.
2. Have a good introduction that arouses the audience’s interest. It helps to boost your confidence for the rest of the presentation.
3. Focus on your message and the audience, not on yourself. Act confidently. Stand erect, look your audience straight in the eyes, and gesture emphatically.
4. Visualise yourself giving an effective presentation. Mentally, picture yourself being calm and in command. Picture the audience reacting positively to your presentation.
5. Take a few slow deep breaths before you start to speak. Deep breathing can reduce stage fright by 15 percent.
6. Use appropriate visual aids which help you feel less conscious.
7. Realise the audience is there to learn from you, not to see you fail. Smile and establish eye contact with a few friendly faces in the audience.
8. Seek presentation opportunities to fortify your confidence.
9. Memorise the first few sentences of your presentation to eliminate any possibility of forgetting them or not saying them correctly. You may also wish to memorise your concluding sentences to end the presentation effectively.
10. Arrive early for your presentation to familiarise yourself with the equipment and room set-up. Mingle around with some members of the audience before you speak.
10 guidelines on making effective oral presentations
1. Define clearly the purpose of your presentation. Ask yourself, “Why am I making this presentation?” Formulate precise objectives and determine the desired results. Is your objective to inform, make recommendations, sell or to clarify a particular issue?
2. Suit the presentation to the audience. Analysing the audience is crucial to an effective presentation. What are the interests or expectations of the audience? How familiar are they with the subject? What are their attitudes towards the speaker, subject or organisation? What is the educational level of the audience? Tailor your presentation to suit the audience. Speak at the audience’s level. Use simple, familiar and precise words. Avoid slang or jargon.
3. Organise material in a coherent and logical manner. Determine your central theme or idea. Break it down to the main points and sub-points which are supported with convincing data. Points can be arranged logically by using the problem-solution format, cause-and-effect format, compare-and-contrast format, topical format or chronological format.
The presentation should have an introduction (introduce the subject and overall approach), a body (main points with supporting evidence and illustrations) and a conclusion. As a general guide, the length of the presentation should be about 15 percent for the introduction, 75 percent for the body, and 10 percent for the conclusion (restate main points and suggest action).
4. Have an attention-getting introduction. An effective introduction is important to grab the audience’s attention and to pave the way for your presentation. Some of the common methods of grabbing the audience’s attention are by asking a question related to their interests, using an appropriate quotation, stating a startling fact or important statistics related to the subject, and explaining the importance of the subject.
5. Prepare appropriate visual aids. Visual aids help the audience understand and remember your message better. According to research, using visual aids in an oral presentation makes your message 43 percent more persuasive.
Keep visuals simple and well-organised. Each visual should represent only one major idea or concept. Use colours, symbols and cartoons to make your visuals more attractive. Ensure that letters and numbers are legible from the back of the presentation room. Never read word for word from your visuals.
6. Practise your presentation. Practising your presentation is important as it helps to identify potential problem areas, provides working familiarity with the presentation material and increases self-confidence. Go over your presentation three to six times. Practise to remember ideas, not words. Practise using your visual aids. Rehearse in the presence of reliable critics or videotape your presentation. Practise your opening and closing remarks very carefully.
7. Engage your audience. Ask a provocative question related to the audience’s interests at the beginning. Encourage the audience to ask questions. Get participants to share their relevant experiences through simple group activities such as the Think-Pair-Share technique.
Get the audience emotionally involved by telling stirring stories to drive home pertinent points. Use humour that is relevant to the occasion or content of your presentation. Humour helps to create a connection between the presenter and the audience. Avoid humour that is based on religion, gender or race.
8. Ensure effective delivery. In most cases, it is best to speak from an outline of your main points arranged in a logical order (introduction, body and conclusion). This method is not only livelier but also allows eye contact with the audience. Write keywords, not whole sentences.
Talk in your own natural and conversational style. Speak audibly and clearly. Don’t talk too fast. Speak more loudly when emphasising important points. Pronounce words correctly. Avoid verbal clutter such as “um” and “ah”.
Use appropriate gestures and maintain eye contact. Smile and vary your gestures. Don’t point at people. Use arms to express enthusiasm. Don’t fiddle with rings, watch, buttons or cards. Maintain eye contact with the audience. Avoid keeping your hands in your pockets. Maintain an appropriate posture. Stand tall and straight on both feet and with your shoulders back.
9. Anticipate and handle questions tactfully and honestly. Ask yourself, “What questions can a typical person from the audience ask about my topic?” Plan short, to-the-point answers. Pause momentarily before answering challenging questions.
Be tactful in your answers and try to avoid debating with the questioner. Stay cool and avoid unfriendly gestures. Admit ignorance when you don’t know the answer to a question. You could say: “I don’t know the answer to that, but I can find out and get back to you.”
Avoid giving half-truths or misleading the audience into unsound reasoning. Do not suppress evidence that is contrary to your argument. Give credit where credit is due. Never claim that the ideas or words of others are your own.
10. End your presentation with an effective conclusion. An effective conclusion is important for reinforcing understanding or commitment of the audience to the central idea of the presentation. Some tips for making an effective conclusion are reviewing the main points, making a call to action, pointing to the future, and using a dramatic statement or an appropriate quotation.
RANJIT SINGH MALHI is a widely-quoted authority on self-leadership, peak performance and soft skills. He has written six books on personal excellence, soft skills and management, three of which have been translated into Arabic.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
