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Before the Presentation

1. Know the subject well
Nothing is more important than knowing the subject well. The subject that you speak on should be well researched and learnt before you present on it. While learning the subject or preparing for the subject, many doubts creep up on the topic that intend to speak. In such cases, you should try to hunt up more information on it and strengthen your concepts.

2. Know the audience well
Most of the times we know the profiles of the audience who would attend the presentation. You could either be presenting to the top management, your clients, your people or a mix of both.

Knowing your audience gives you a good advantage as you can prepare for your presentation and anticipate questions that they might have. It gives you an opportunity to prepare visuals and material accordingly. You can pace your presentation and customize your presentation accordingly. 

3. Preparing the presentation material
You could either be using Transparency sheets over an Over Head Projector (OHP) or could be using colorful Power Point (PPT) Presentation Slides. I would suggest that if given a choice, you should be present via PPT or a similar tool with Open Office.

With such tools you can present the topic using visuals aids and colors. Like it’s said that “A picture is worth a Thousand Words”. Using visual aids really helps a lot. The audience gets your message which is registered in their brains for a long time. But care should be taken to avoid graphics and color abuse. I have seen many presentations where to many colors and visuals were used. Such a practice misdirects the audience and carries them away from the message.

Always remember that you need to put in your slides in the most logical manner so that the audience can connect from one slide to the other.

4. Rehearse well
All the people who you have seen giving great presentations rehearse well and practice the presentation routine. Rehearsing how to get up, saying the opening line and running the presentation in front of a mirror or with friends/family is important.

Even the most experienced presenter will rehearse many times. Its important that justice be done to the topic and the audience who give you their valuable time by presenting the topic well.

5. Arrive at the venue before your audience does
This gives you a psychological advantage. When you get there early visualize the audience in front of you. In your mind follow the routine well that you have rehearsed. Look at the props available at the venue. Props like the podium, infra red laser pointing device, etc. If there is a prop that you are not comfortable with, try playing with it for a while and train yourself on it. Checking for tech equipments is a very important part. Always make sure that all your devices and equipments are working perfectly well.

On a cautionary note, when you run the presentation on the projector, avoid the instinct to make last minute corrections. No corrections should happen at the venue as you might completely blow it away with all your rehearsals. 

During the Presentation

1. Manage your voice
The voice is probably the most valuable tool of the presenter. It carries most of the content that the audience takes away. One of the oddities of speech is that we can easily tell others what is wrong with their voice, e.g. too fast, too high, too soft, etc., but we have trouble listening to and changing our own voices.

Voice modulation is very important for a great presentation. If the presenter speaks in a monotonous tone, there is a fair chance that the audience would mentally close its doors and windows of listening. This is not because you are boring them to death, it’s because the attention span of a person is very small as every person’s mind wanders. To control this default behavior it is necessary to modulate your voice. By increasing the pitch and emphasis of your voice occasionally on important points, helps the audience to absorb the information disseminated.

There are two good methods for improving your voice:

• Listen to it! Practice listening to your voice while at home, driving, walking, etc. Then when you are at work or with company, monitor your voice to see if you are using it how you want to.
• To really listen to your voice, cup your right hand around your right ear and gently pull the ear forward. Next, cup your left hand around your mouth and direct the sound straight into your ear. This helps you to really hear your voice as others hear it…and it might be completely different from the voice you thought it was! Now practice moderating your voice.

2. Manage your body
Your body communicates different impressions to the audience. People not only listen to you, they also watch you. Slouching tells them you are indifferent or you do not care…even though you might care a great deal! On the other hand, displaying good posture tells your audience that you know what you are doing and you care deeply about it. Also, a good posture helps you to speak more clearly and effective.

Throughout you presentation, display:

• Eye contact: This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and increases the speaker’s credibility. Speakers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.
• Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and others will react favorably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen to you more.
• Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures attention, makes the material more interesting, and facilitates understanding.
• Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates that you are approachable, receptive, and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and your audience face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates disinterest.
• Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading other’s space. Some of these are: rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion. Typically, in large rooms, space invasion is not a problem. In most instances there is too much distance. To counteract this, move around the room to increase interaction with your audience. Increasing the proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the opportunities for others to speak.
• Voice: One of the major criticisms of speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice. Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring and dull. People report that they learn less and lose interest more quickly when listening to those who have not learned to modulate their voices.

3. Manage your nerves
The main enemy of a presenter is tension, which ruins the voice, posture, and spontaneity. The voice becomes higher as the throat tenses. Shoulders tighten up and limits flexibility while the legs start to shake and causes unsteadiness. The presentation becomes “canned” as the speaker locks in on the notes and starts to read directly from them.

First, do not fight nerves, welcome them! Then you can get on with the presentation instead of focusing in on being nervous. Actors recognize the value of nerves…they add to the value of the performance. This is because adrenaline starts to kick in. It’s a left over from our ancestors’ “fight or flight” syndrome. If you welcome nerves, then the presentation becomes a challenge and you become better. If you let your nerves take over, then you go into the flight mode by withdrawing from the audience. Again, welcome your nerves, recognize them, let them help you gain that needed edge! Do not go into the flight mode! When you feel tension or anxiety, remember that everyone gets them, but the winners use them to their advantage, while the losers get overwhelmed by them.

Tension can be reduced by performing some relaxation exercises. Listed below are a couple to get you started:

• Before the presentation: Lie on the floor. Your back should be flat on the floor. Pull your feet towards you so that your knees are up in the air. Relax. Close your eyes. Fell your back spreading out and supporting your weight. Feel your neck lengthening. Work your way through your body, relaxing one section at a time - your toes, feet, legs, torso, etc. When finished, stand up slowly and try to maintain the relaxed feeling in a standing position.
• If you cannot lie down: Stand with you feet about 6 inches apart, arms hanging by your sides, and fingers unclenched. Gently shake each part of your body, starting with your hands, then arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. Concentrate on shaking out the tension. Then slowly rotate your shoulders forwards and the backwards. Move on to your head. Rotate it slowly clockwise, and then counter-clockwise.
• Mental Visualization: Before the presentation, visualize the room, audience, and you giving the presentation. Mentally go over what you are going to do from the moment you start to the end of the presentation.
• During the presentation: Take a moment to yourself by getting a drink of water, take a deep breath, concentrate on relaxing the most tense part of your body, and then return to the presentation saying to your self, “I can do it!”
• You do NOT need to get rid of anxiety and tension! Channel the energy into concentration and expressiveness.
• Know that anxiety and tension is not as noticeable to the audience as it is to you.
• Know that even the best presenters make mistakes. The key is to continue on after the mistake. If you pick up and continue, so will the audience. Winners continue! Losers stop!

4. Manage your audience
No matter what you do, you will find some members of the audience who would either misbehave or would not pay any attention at all. Ultimately the effect of this is that your goal of presenting the topic to the audience gets defeated.

You need to manage such people. The obvious question is how. Sometimes politely making a general statement like “For the benefit of all the audience I would recommend if some people in the audience could be a little more attentive, it would help”.

Then at times you will encounter people who below to your same peer group and pass unnecessary remarks to sabotage your presentation. What do you do then? You need to assert to them that you could settle that question or remarks after the presentation is over and that it isn’t fair that the pace of the presentation suffers as there are other people in the audience who will benefit from the content of the presentation. 

During the Presentation

1. Keep cool if a questioner disagrees with you. You are a professional! No matter how hard you try, not everyone in the world will agree with you!
2. Although some people get a perverse pleasure from putting others on the spot, and some try to look good in front of the boss, most people ask questions from a genuine interest. Questions do not mean you did not explain the topic good enough, but that their interest is deeper than the average audience.
3. Always allow time at the end of the presentation for questions. After inviting questions, do not rush ahead if no one asks a question. Pause for about 6 seconds to allow the audience to gather their thoughts. When a question is asked, repeat the question to ensure that everyone heard it (and that you heard it correctly). When answering, direct your remarks to the entire audience. That way, you keep everyone focused, not just the questioner. To reinforce your presentation, try to relate the question back to the main points.
4. Make sure you listen to the question being asked. If you do not understand it, ask them to clarify. Pause to think about the question as the answer you give may be correct, but ignore the main issue. If you do not know the answer, be honest, do not waffle. Tell them you will get back to them…and make sure you do!
5. Answers that last 10 to 40 seconds work best. If they are too short, they seem abrupt; while longer answers appear too elaborate. Also, be sure to keep on track. Do not let off-the-wall questions sidetrack you into areas that are not relevant to the presentation.
6. If someone takes issue with something you said, try to find a way to agree with part of their argument. For example, “Yes, I understand your position…” or “I’m glad you raised that point, but…” The idea is to praise their point and agree with them. Audiences sometimes tend to think of “us verses you.” You do not want to risk alienating them.

Tips and Techniques For Great Presentations

Eleanor Roosevelt was a shy young girl who was terrified at the thought of speaking in public. But with each passing year, she grew in confidence and self-esteem. She once said, “No one can make you feel inferior, unless you agree with it.”

• If you have handouts, do not read straight from them. The audience does not know if they should read along with you or listen to you read.
• Do not put both hands in your pockets for long periods of time. This tends to make you look unprofessional. It is OK to put one hand in a pocket but ensure there is no loose change or keys to jingle around. This will distract the listeners.
• Do not wave a pointer around in the air like a wild knight branding a sword to slay a dragon. Use the pointer for what it is intended and then put it down, otherwise the audience will become fixated upon your “sword”, instead upon you.
• Do not lean on the podium for long periods. The audience will begin to wonder when you are going to fall over.
• Speak to the audience…NOT to the visual aids, such as flip charts or overheads. Also, do not stand between the visual aid and the audience.
• Speak clearly and loudly enough for all to hear. Do not speak in a monotone voice. Use inflection to emphasize your main points.
• The disadvantages of presentations is that people cannot see the punctuation and this can lead to misunderstandings. An effective way of overcoming this problem is to pause at the time when there would normally be punctuation marks.
• Use colored backgrounds on overhead transparencies and slides (such as yellow) as the bright white light can be harsh on the eyes. This will quickly cause your audience to tire. If all of your transparencies or slides have clear backgrounds, then tape one blank yellow one on the overhead face. For slides, use a rubber band to hold a piece of colored cellophane over the projector lens.
• Learn the name of each participant as quickly as possible. Based upon the atmosphere you want to create, call them by their first names or by using Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.
• Tell them what name and title you prefer to be called.
• Listen intently to comments and opinions. By using a lateral thinking technique (adding to ideas rather than dismissing them), the audience will feel that their ideas, comments, and opinions are worthwhile.
• Circulate around the room as you speak. This movement creates a physical closeness to the audience.
• List and discuss your objectives at the beginning of the presentation. Let the audience know how your presentation fits in with their goals. Discuss some of the fears and apprehensions that both you and the audience might have. Tell them what they should expect of you and how you will contribute to their goals.
• Vary your techniques (lecture, discussion, debate, films, slides, reading, etc.)
• Get to the presentation before your audience arrives; be the last one to leave.
• Be prepared to use an alternate approach if the one you’ve chosen seems to bog down. You should be confident enough with your own material so that the audience’s interests and concerns, not the presentation outline, determines the format. Use your background, experience, and knowledge to interrelate your subject matter.
• When writing on flip charts use no more than 7 lines of text per page and no more than 7 word per line (the 7 7 rule). Also, use bright and bold colors, and pictures as well as text.
• Consider the time of day and how long you have got for your talk. Time of day can affect the audience. After lunch is known as the graveyard section in training circles as audiences will feel more like a nap than listening to a talk.

Most people find that if they practice in their head, the actual talk will take about 25 per cent longer. Using a flip chart or other visual aids also adds to the time. Remember - it is better to finish slightly early than to overrun.

Source: Careercurry.com