Leadership Lessons Blog

Presentation Techniques--A Leadership Lesson!

  

  

 delicious  

  

No matter what business you're in, from time to time you WILL be asked to speak.  Speaking in front of a group is the number one fear, next to DEATH, that we all share.  The good news is that we all SHARE it.  The better news...you need to learn how to overcome your fears so that presenting becomes an integral tool in your professional tool kit. 

We do so much today with technology that creating a nice set of slides to augment your talking points has become easier.  There are those that still think that putting massive amounts of information on a PowerPoint presentation is the way to go.  Not so, say the presentation guru's of the world!  You want to make sure that when you deliver a presentation that YOU are center of attention.  If the slides become a distraction, then you are defeating the purpose!  You need to be seen as the expert in the room or the person leading the discussion.  You are upstaged by a set of slides then soon the presentation will be about the slides and not the topic. 

Basic fundamentals of public speaking often involve common sense.  Here are a few things to think about when you are preparing your next presentation!

1. Make sure your slide set is in BULLET format.  Use key words that are going to assist you in remembering what you want to say. 
2. Work the room BEFORE you start.  You want to make sure that you know your audience.  By spending time with attendees before your speaking engagement you can make reference to discussion and the person you spoke too.  This technique makes people feel good and demonstrates that you also LISTEN.
3. Use the art of storytelling.  Nothing is more effective in speaking engagements then telling a story pertinent to your topic.  It helps your audience relate to the material and puts them at ease. 
4. PRACTICE.  You can't claim you are an expert then spend the entire time reading from a script.  You have to KNOW your material and you have to know the KEY points.  If material can be read elsewhere then use handouts.  Your job is to provide information that the audience can't get without your facilitation. 
5. Be Creative.  Remember you own the floor.  Whatever time has been provided means that you can be as creative as you want to be in the delivery of your material.  A combination of visual, hands on and verbal techniques work best.  Remember each member of your audience learns differently.  Your speaking engagement should include a number of different activities to drive your point home.