By Lindy Earl
We have all had to sit through bad presentations. Last night irony met sarcasm as I attended a seminar on how to use power point well, and it was a bad presentation. Please know that some simple rules exist in the world of professional speakers, and I happily share them with you:
- Don’t condescend. There are millions of people in this world equally as smart as any presenter. Just because you are the chosen one doesn’t mean you’re the only one in the room with any knowledge. Consider your audience and speak to them, at their level. Assume intelligence unless shown otherwise.
- Know your very few key points, and state them plainly. You shouldn’t need bells and whistles and visual aids if you have good material. Visual aids can help make a point. If you want to throw ping pong balls at your audience, it will be remembered, and make your point if they are used appropriately. Just because you Can make a power point presentation doesn’t mean you Should make a power point presentation. Without this crutch you will probably be able to hone your message to a few key points and have a stronger presentation.
- Never turn your back on your audience. Without a screen behind you with your notes on it, you shouldn’t have any reason to do this.
- Never read to your audience. Seriously, WHAT is the point of posting a slide, then reading it aloud? In such a case, the speaker isn’t needed. And if you begin with, “I know this is too small for you to read . . . “ then know that it’s a bad slide with too much information on it.
- We can learn, from power point, that we need a title and subtitles for our seminars. Each slide suggests a place for a title! So within your presentation, have clear sections and transitions. In the olden days we called it an outline. Work from your outline.
- Less is more, just like the clothes in our closets. If you can’t find anything to wear, when your closet is overflowing, you have too many clothes in your closet. If you can’t find your message and main points, because of all the clutter, you have too much fluff in your seminar.
- Keep it short! We have all seen people stuff 10 minutes’ worth of information into an hour or more. Again, less is more. Release your audience after giving them the information they need, even if it only takes you half an hour. The time will be better spent in your Q&A session.
- Make sure you have new and useful information to share. If this is a rehash of information the majority of the people know, then pass on the invitation to speak. If only a few people in the room need your information, then take them to lunch and share.
- Make each presentation about that specific audience. When speaking with attorneys, make every example about the law; when speaking with Mortgage Brokers, examples should be about Real Estate. It’s not a tough concept.
- Practice! When you do give a presentation, Practice! This doesn’t mean going over it in your head. It means using your single note card, with just a few words on it, and practicing, aloud, in an empty room, or in front of a friend, or maybe your dog. You can present in front of a mirror so you can see if you look approachable and friendly or if passion or anger is showing on your face. How do you get to the Met?
The most important thing I can say about presentations is to please not give one, at all, if it can be avoided. We have all been to meetings, seminars, conferences, even sermons, that were just painful. There are a plethora of articles, webinars, and blogs that should never have been written. Make sure you need to give a presentation in the first place. Maybe it’s better to just talk to your people and put away the dramatics. Type up a sheet of notes and pass them out after your short gathering. When you give a formal presentation, make it entertaining, so if nothing else people walk away with a smile.
Lindy has been speaking with an effort to not bore her audiences since the 80’s. Currently working as a Coach, Consultant, & Trainer, you can contact Lindy at LMEarl@EarlMarketing.com.