Presentation Skills
This is a biggy! So many people present poorly. It's not that they can't be good presenters. It's just that they have never been taught how to present, or even worse, no-one can be bothered to tell them that they need to improve.
So you know, it doesn't really matter whether there are 4 of you in a meeting or you are presenting to five hundred people (I've done both). The same rules apply. These are:
• Have fun. If you go up there to have fun this will rub off on the audience and, to be frank, they will thank you for it. Even if you are nervous put on a big friendly smile and feel good about yourself. Everyone has to listen to you for a change and you have their full and undivided attention.
• Rehearse. Even the best speakers rehearse multiple times. I'm talking in front of a mirror or in front of your friends, family (unless confidential!) or a work colleague. Not quietly in your mind but aloud. Be vocal.
• Slides. If you use slides or other visuals please ensure that:
o They are not crowded. People gasp when the slides are crowded with words, figures, diagrams etc. Keep content down to a minimum.
o They match to what you are saying. Don't have a slide that shows a diagram of how to put a wheel on a car while talking about the exhaust pipe. This is something I often witness. So please don't talk about something that isn't on the slide to avoid confusing the audience.
o They are fun (if possible and appropriate). Avoid immature jokey slides but do include visuals that will grab the audience's attention and will wake them up.
• Make them laugh. If you have the confidence, make the audience laugh. We're not talking about being a stand-up comedian but some amusing anecdote (short) or some dry wit can come across well. If in doubt, then leave this out. You'll get the feeling after a few presentations whether you can pull this off. But if you can make it fun the audience is far more likely to remember your conversation. Do you want a real life example? Yes? Well, I once worked for a company that was expanding very rapidly in the following markets:
Tobacco, Drugs (not that sort), Beverages and Health. I wanted to portray to the audience that we were doing well in these so called 'recession-proof' sectors (that is companies that do well even when we don't have much money to spend during a recession). So I stated that 'the results indicate that our customers are down-hearted and hence drinking themselves to death, smoking themselves to death and taking drugs (yes I used artistic license here) <