But is this really true?  Certainly, structures and diagrams can aid understanding of complex subjects but bullet points of the words that you are about to say aren’t always tremendously helpful.  Speaking, as I often do, to a group of schoolchildren, using the ubiquitous PowerPoint can subliminally suggest a lesson or lecture, which is not my intention.  On a practical level: the more technology you involve, the more likely that something will go wrong and if you have built your speech around your slides, you will be completely lost without them.

Think about the audience: will their experience be improved by your slides?  Or are they really for your benefit: to keep you on message or aid your memory.  Dimming the lights to enable the audience to see the screen more clearly means that they will not see you and crucially, you will not see them.  You are not able to determine whether or not they are following your message or argument, or even if they are still awake.   In a good presentation, the focus should be on you, not your visual aids.  If you are over reliant on slides then you are raising a question about your competence and confidence.

If, however, you feel still feel the need to use a PowerPoint, then consider a few basic points:

- introduce the slide and its context before you put it up

- your audience can’t read the screen and listen at the same time so give them time to read it before you begin speaking

- if you can, use graphics rather than words, they may help the audience to grasp your point or reinforce your argument

- take the slide away when you have finished talking to it, either switch of the projector, put up a blank or a holding slide (a logo, for example)

Should you hand out a copy of your presentation?  If so, when?

These and other questions answered next…………………………

Notes or full script?

Both have their fans but, on balance, I would recommend notes, for a number of reasons:

- you will talk more naturally

- you will stick to your key points

- you have more flexibility if the amount of time you have is cut short

- you avoid getting lost if (as you should) you look up at the audience then look down and can’t find your place

- you make eye contact with the audience and speak out at them, rather than down at the page and so can see how they are responding to what you are saying

If you feel that you must have the illusion of security that a script gives, then think carefully about the format.  You are writing something to be spoken, not read: people cannot go back and reread if what you say is complex or unclear, so avoid long sentences with several ideas.  Build in some questions: “so what does this mean in practice?” or “how does this actually work?” to develop some sort of involvement and engagement with your audience.  On a practical level, double space your text and use large type.  Put extra spacing between paragraphs and have only a few sentences in each paragraph.  Number your pages (always helpful if you drop your papers) and don’t split a paragraph between pages.

“He’s a natural”

Brilliant or even quite good presenters are made not born – the best will tell you that it took some work and practice to get to where they are.   Although some people are and always will be better than others, I don’t believe that it ever comes naturally.  Everyone feels, and should feel, nervous before they speak.  Not sick with “oh my goodness, what am I doing here?” kind of nerves but a bit of “stage fright” helps the adrenaline flow and, again, the most experienced performers will tell you that they still feel nervous before they go on.

It is also worth remembering that, unless you’re the Chancellor of the Exchequer announcing tax rises and benefit cuts, the audience is generally on your side.  They are there, by and large, because they want to hear what you are going to say, so focussing on them and making it easy for them to listen is a good tactic.

Style over substance?

Develop your own style.  Many inexperienced presenters make the mistake, quite understandably, of imitating the style of someone they admire or that they think presents in an interesting way but you are NOT that person and you don’t know their methods of preparing.  Trying to be someone else will always sound unnatural and your goal should be to come across as relaxed and confident of what you are saying and the way you are saying it.  If you sound genuine and (more importantly) enthusiastic, then your audience will trust you and you will come across much better.

“I’m in charge”

A friend of mine, when she was a junior lawyer, had to present on behalf of her senior partner to a large group of important clients.  Her first instinct was to be very apologetic, along the lines of “I know you were expecting James, sorry but you’ve got me and I’ll try do the best that I can.”

Luckily, she thought it through a bit more and realised that she did know just as much about the transaction as her boss and she could talk knowledgeably about it.  Never try to play the sympathy card to try to win your audience over.  If you appear hesitant, why should the audience have any confidence that you know what you are talking about?  Of course, it is perfectly fine (and actually good manners) to say “unfortunately X can’t be here today, so I’ll be taking you through…..

Confidence and authority are important in every speaking situation.  You are the specialist in your presentation area and if you have prepared well, then you have no need to appear timid when you speak.

“Can we talk?”

So, there you are standing in front of your audience.  How can you get their attention?  How can you keep it?  How will you make them feel involved?

Tune in next time for the answers to these and other important questions such as “should I use visual aids?”

Can we talk?

Welcome to tutorial part two, where I look at what you do with all your preparation and structure it into a coherent talk.  It pays to follow the golden rules:

GOLDEN RULE NUMBER ONE: TELL THEM WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO TELL THEM, TELL THEM IT, THEN TELL THEM WHAT YOU’VE TOLD THEM

Follow golden rule number one:  have a beginning, a middle and an end.  In other words, tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them it, then tell them what you’ve told them!   That way, if you have to shave off a couple of minutes, you can cut some of the detail in your middle section without losing the fundamental thrust of the presentation.

Beginnings:

Obviously, your introduction is your opportunity to make an impression on your audience.  How do you stimulate their interest?  You may need to introduce yourself, if that has not already been done for you.  You need to make it clear why you are speaking about your subject and you need to be credible and make the audience want to listen to you.

You might want to begin with a quote, a story, a question or a personal anecdote.  Something surprising or unexpected can be effective but, of course, it has to be relevant.  It must tie in with your main message and be clear and punchy.  If it is a long and rambling anecdote, you will quickly lose the audience’s attention.  Humour in the sense of telling a joke can be tricky, since not everyone finds the same things funny and pausing for a laugh that does not come will not help you to create the right mood.

Having got their attention, give a brief overview of what you will cover – you are providing your audience with a route map which will help them follow you as you go along.  For example, you might chose to say something like “this morning I am going to talk to you about three things.  First of all, I’ll tell you how the Hospice got started and what it does, then I’ll talk briefly about where your fundraising money goes and then tell you a little bit about the rebuild campaign…. “  The structure makes it easier for the audience to listen which in turn makes it easier for you to get your messages across.

Middles:

Having given them the map to follow, you then must make the points in the order outlined and never introduce new material near the end – this will simply confuse your listeners and muddy your basic message.   Use the map that you have drawn, moving clearly from one point to the next with, for example: “so, let me begin by telling you a little bit about when the Hospice began its work and the range of services that it provides…moving on now to where your money goes…..and finally our new campaign….”

Ends:

When you have made all your points, sum it all up with a brief conclusion.  Your final words should be concise and make a strong impact.  Paraphrase your earlier points and avoid two common errors: don’t say “let me conclude….” then continue to speak for a long time!  And don’t say “oh and I should just mention…” if you have forgotten something.  It is confusing.  Leave it out or introduce it during questions, if there are any.

GOLDEN RULE NUMBER TWO: KISS THE AUDIENCE

If in doubt, follow the golden rule of advertising: “KISS your audience”: Keep It Simple, Stupid.  No matter how complex the topic, you should be able to explain it clearly and straightforwardly, without the use of jargon or lots of confusing statistics.

Timing

How do you make sure you have got your timing right? Do you rehearse in advance? Out loud, in front of someone else?  You should always make time to rehearse at least once and you should do it out loud, to an audience, even if it is of only one person.  If you don’t, it is impossible to know how long your talk lasts: reading it silently to yourself simply does not give you an accurate picture.  Also, on the day, you will probably take more time than when rehearsing.  So, if you have a 15 minute slot, aim for 10 minutes of material.  You don’t want to have to rush through your material or be cut off by the chairperson in mid flow.

So that’s a quick canter through preparing your talk.

Coming soon: Delivery, Non-verbal Communication, Visual Aids and Handling Questions

If you have a question about your next presentation, get in touch!

Here is the first of my “tutorials” to help you.  It covers assessing your skills and preparing your speech.  Hope you enjoy it!

Speaking to a group of schoolchildren about St Columba's Hospice

Presenting is about communicating and as a presenter you need to focus on the audience who will receive the communication.  At the same time, you need to make a realistic assessment of yourself as a communicator – evaluating your natural style and its strengths and weaknesses.

The objective is not to mould everyone into a  rigid and inflexible “house” style but rather to help you be the best “you” that you can when presenting, through the use of some tried and tested tips and techniques.

Here are a few things to think about when preparing to speak:

WHY?

Why are you doing this?  Are you persuading, educating or informing?  Are you aiming to demonstrate your knowledge, get feedback or stimulate discussion?

Probably a mixture of all or some of these but always keep them at the forefront of your mind.  EVERYTHING YOU SAY AND DO SHOULD MOVE YOU TOWARDS ACHIEVING THESE OBJECTIVES.

WHO?

Who are you speaking to?  What do you need to know about your audience?  How many of them are there? Are they strangers or do you know some of them?  What do they already know about your subject?  How much personal involvement have they had?  How comfortable will they be listening to the language in which you are presenting? Are gender and/or age range relevant?

Why is information about the audience important? Because you need to be able to tailor your presentation appropriately.

HOW?

Content, timing and structure:  having thought about why and who, your content should be much clearer.  However there are still a number of considerations: how much should you include and at what level of detail?  Naturally, your first consideration is practical – how much time will you have?  Whether it is two minutes, ten minutes or half an hour (unlikely!) the crucial point is to keep within your allotted time.  This means preparing the right amount of material and definitely no more than you need to fill the slot.  In fact, this is a situation when less is definitely more.  You will probably take longer on the day than in rehearsal in any case.

Poor timing displays a lack of professionalism and of respect for the audience and other presenters and will also lead to a rushed presentation which will not do your material justice.

Inexperienced presenters often try to cram too much information into their talk in an attempt to show their knowledge of the subject, so consider what is absolutely essential to your talk.  Is it giving a sense of what the organisation is and does; is it thanking the audience for their fundraising efforts so showing where their money will go or maybe the importance of new research?

Detail which reads well in a leaflet does not always come across so well in a talk. Paint with a broad brush, not a fine pen and try to leave your audience with a strong impression of the single most important thing: for example, when I speak about St Columba’s Hospice, my key memorable fact is that every minute of care costs £11 and their fundraising has bought xx minutes.

Expect the unexpected: you may have prepared meticulously and timed your talk to the second but on the day, someone else may have overrun or something has happened which makes it impossible for you to have your full ten minutes, so be prepared to shorten your presentation without losing the sense of it.

Coming next: Golden Rules 1 and 2 – why you have to KISS your audience.

Are you presenting soon?  Have a question?  Ask me what you want to know and I’ll do my best to help.

Been working with St Columba’s Hospice for about six months, helping with the preparation of a pack for schools to introduce the hospice and help the children with the concept of loss. Asked today to head up the whole Schools Project – primary and secondary schools throughout Edinburgh. It will involve a lot of work – events, presentations, meetings but I am so excited. It feels right. My skills and interests combining to give back to the hospice where my husband was cared for so well in his last days and which supported my daughter and I after he died.

When I said that I would do it, I could feel him at my side saying “Well done, darling”.