Category Archives: 07d-Delivering a presentation

Developing high-quality “stand, speak, explain and/or sell” skills, clearly communicating to a group using a PowerPoint presentation, adroitly handling Q&A, projecting confidence and competence

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation

7 Little Tricks To Speak In Public With No Fear

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No matter what, it’s hard for me to shake my nerves before a presentation. There are ways to cover them up that definitely help, but even after presenting over and over again at work, I still seem to always get a little nervous before a presentation. Lifehack has some good insight into this – these tips outline a few ways to overcome your nerves. The author admits that he still gets nervous before speaking publicly, but it’s all about finding ways to control your nerves.

His first tip is interesting – I can see how admitting your nerves could in a joking manner could break the ice. My favorite of his tips, though,  is redefining your audience. That’s something that I’ve found to be very valuable at work. Rather than viewing your audience as people critiquing you, view them as your peers or very close friends.

These tips may not work for everyone, but I think there are a few that could help overcome nerves. Good luck to everyone on your final presentations! At least in our situation, we really are all peers 🙂

07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07d-Delivering a presentation, clearing slides, questions, slide-craft, Uncategorized

Most people give bad speeches. But most people can give good speeches

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“Most people give bad speeches. But most people can give good speeches.” These are within the closing statements of Megan Mcardle’s article, “The Fine Art of a Proper Powerpoint”. Throughout our lives, we’ve had to listen to countless presentations and have probably had to give a few ourselves. Among these, there are those that captured our attention while others have lulled us to sleep with no recollection of what the subject of the presentation was. There are plenty of resources online to help guide what a proper presentation should look like, but I don’t intend to bore you with that. Miss Mcardle makes several good points in her article, which I will touch on, but I’ll also describe what experience has taught works best.

The number one mistake that most people can identify as a guaranteed sleeper presentation is when the presenter puts all the material on the slides and then proceeds to read what the audience is looking at. As Ms. Mcardle puts it, “Listening to people read from their notes or their slides is considerably less interesting than listening to a five-year-old read from “My Pet Goat”–at least the five-year old is really trying.” As a presenter, it’s important to remember that you are meant to be the subject matter expert on what you’re presenting, otherwise, why are you the presenter? Being the most knowledgeable on a topic doesn’t come easy, but that’s why you’re given time in advance to prepare (for the most part anyway). In your slide craft, it’s important to know what information the audience needs to visually see versus what they should expect to hear from you. With that in mind, you can begin to prepare your slides.

Avoiding the “reading” method of presentation will help reduce the overall word count that is placed on each slide. It forces you to take on the role of the educator with the material, rather than the messenger. Slide craft focuses on ensuring enough material, mixed with white space, appropriate graphics and visuals, and proper takeaways are present from each slide. Slides with a purpose are the only ones that should fill a presentation. Crafting the look of the slides is often the easiest part, the content chosen needs to be meticulously determined by understanding who the audience is and catering the content specifically for their position. Not all gaps have to be filled within the slide, there’s a Q&A session for a reason. No presentation, however, can ever account for content not prepared for; therefore, the most important part of the presentation is the pre-work of the material you’re presenting on (recall the Delta presentations, without the work we put in before, we would’ve had no material to present).

At this point, the slides are mostly ready and the delivery practice begins. When delivering, remember that you know the content of the presentation and you’re explaining to, expanding on, and educating with the material to the audience. This requires audience engagement. The #1 way to be sure that they’re engaged is to look at them. Eye contact helps not only engage the audience, but it also lets you know when you’re beginning to lose the audience. This awareness helps you change your presentation on the fly. Since you’re familiar with the material, you can determine if you need to expand further on the slide, move on, or ask a pertinent question to determine overall audience engagement. Knowing the material and being passionate about what you’re delivering help this type of presentation style. If you are excited about your subject, the audience will feed off this energy and remain engaged more easily. There are many more nuances to presentation delivery, and the best way to improve is to just give more presentations, which will help you find the style that works best for you. Plenty of resources are available online but if you can keep the presentation clean and focus on the audience, you’re well on your way. Besides, “The slides, after all, have probably already heard this talk before.”

 

07b-Using good information design, 07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, clearing slides, PowerPoint resources, slide-craft

What Not To Do

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What Not To Do (When Giving a Presentation):

While most of us know what we “should” be doing when it comes to giving presentations, we oftentimes forget what we should NOT be doing. I have realized over time that what we should vs. should not do are not inherently mutually exclusive. You can be doing everything that you are “supposed to” (i.e. following best practices), but simultaneously be making common errors that can limit the effectiveness of your delivery.

I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to checking the boxes for everything that a strong presentation should have, but I’ve started to realize that by diagnosing errors that I am more inclined to make, many of the recommended strategies subsequently fall in line naturally.

To frame this as a metaphor, I’m talking about targeting the disease, not making the anecdote stronger. I’ve found that this starts with getting back to the basics and building from there. So, what are some of the more common pitfalls in presentation delivery? After vetting several resources I’ve consolidated a list of quick anecdotes that I have found to be helpful to keep in mind:

  • Avoid reliance on slides. Slides are there to compliment your presentation and provide a framework, not the other way around.
  • Overload: Less is more. Too much talking and/or too much text will easily disinterest any audience, no matter how rich the content.
  • Avoid Apologies: If something goes wrong, there is a typo, you say something incorrectly, etc… JUST GO WITH IT. Odds are that no one else noticed and by drawing attention to it you are just calling out yourself (and your credibility).
  • Avoid filler words: This is public speaking 101, it sounds easy and we’ve heard it thousands of times, but it is absolutely critical. Unfilled airtime between sentences and ideas is okay. Specifically avoid “um”, “so”, “right”, and “you know” are very common and very distracting!
  • Going over your allotted time: Once you start to go long you begin to lose your audience. And once you even begin to lose your audience, it’s too late. This can cause the audience to miss your “big finish” and really tear down everything you’ve worked so hard to build.

While there are many more, these are just some of the most common problems that can hold you back from delivering the most effective presentation possible. We never get to a point where we are too advanced to worry about the basics. While one of these points are anything that you haven’t heard before, hopefully you will find some of these to be helpful reminders.

 

Helpful Resources:
http://www.inc.com/eric-v-holtzclaw/big-presentation-5-rookie-mistakes-to-avoid.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNG0etmnwuk
http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/12/avoid-these-five-mistakes-in-y/

 

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation

Making Stories Soar

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One area that I want to improve is my ability to tell good stories. I tend to rely heavily on my ability to connect with the audience by using numbers/figures but do not spend enough time preparing simple stories that effectively relate my points. Here are a couple pointers to improve your story-telling. Here are 2 simple rules that I found from the executive coaching sit: Essential Communications. Please see below for the link to the website. Stories soar when you follow two rules:

  1. Tell us details of what people did, said and felt. Don’t hover over the forest telling us about the landscape; bring us down onto the forest floor so we can enter the landscape. Give us the leaves and roots and dirt. Details of what people did, said and felt pull us into the story.
  2. Connect the details to other details. The details of what people did, said and felt must connect to and influence other details of what people did, said, and felt. The details you tell us need to feel important. In order words, the details you include must affect the outcome of the story.

Other Tips:

  • If the details don’t connect to other details, cut’em out.
  • Does everything in the story have to be true? The answer is no. But everything in the story has to feel true. The details what people did, said and felt have to create a truth that feels authentic.

http://www.essentialcomm.com/tips/execcoachtips/making-stories-soar-030311.html

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation

Storytelling Tips for Success

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  • Don’t be afraid to show your vulnerable side.

Tell about your struggles or (mild) embarrassments. The audience will identify with a speaker who isn’t afraid to be self-deprecating. The audience will think you are more credible if they can relate to your failures. Ronald Reagan (see below) has told stories of walking down the street in a foreign country to explain to the audience what the people there are like. No one is perfect and the audience knows you aren’t either. As I stated in my previous post, the audience is rooting for you to succeed. If you portray yourself as an underdog, it will be even easier for them to like you because everyone likes rooting for an underdog.

Reagan’s Storytelling at its Finest

  • Make the audience feel like they were there.

Most importantly, it is better if you are telling a story that is actually true or that is nearly true. The purpose of the story is to set the stage for what the experience was like. Before television and movies, humans told other humans what happened in their lives by describing it to each other as if the other person was there. Use a lot of descriptive words. Set the mood. What was going through your mind as the events unfolded? As social media and other forms of instant, abbreviated content fills our minds and worlds (think texting, BuzzFeed articles, Instagram, snapchats, etc.), it will become increasingly important to be able to tell another person or group of people about an experience in a genuine human way.

  • Start with the end in mind.

The point of the story is not to entertain the audience. The purpose is for the audience to remember what you are trying to tell them. The medium of a story is easier for people to remember. It is ingrained in us from our prehistoric ancestors. They convinced people to do things based on stories and emotion, not with powerpoint slideshows or colorful charts and graphs. Make sure you the story brings you to the point and helps you drive it home. The story will make the audience much more likely to remember the presentation, and a good overall goal would have an audience member be able to convey it to someone who wasn’t even there by telling your story and relating it to the overall message. Of course practice is important. Professionals at the Advanced Publix Speaking Institute recommend practicing 30 times. TED presenter Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor says she rehearsed her presentation 200 times before delivering it. What should I do if I don’t have time to practice it that many times? You should do the best you can and practice it as many times as you think you need to be successful. However, at some point you can sound over-rehearsed and you should just “do it live” for more authenticity.

Do it Live

Inspiration: http://www.gingerpublicspeaking.com/storytelling-public-speaking http://www.public-speaking.org/public-speaking-storydo-article.htm

07b-Using good information design, 07d-Delivering a presentation, charts & graphs

Crap Circles

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“It’s Time to Retire ‘Crap Circles’” by Gardiner Morse, may be my favorite HBR article that I have read this semester. Morse makes the point that people often add graphics to PowerPoint presentations without considering if the graphic actually supports their model or idea. Obviously, graphics can be an effective tool for connecting to an audience, more so than a slide deck packed full of text, however, before including a “crap circle” make sure the idea that you are attempting to portray is circular in nature and not linear.

Here are a two bad examples from Morse’s article:

An accounting firm graphic for company services (in a circular graphic): 1) Conception/Start-up Phase, 2) Survival Phase, 3) Growth Phase, 4) Take-off Phase, and 5) Maturity Phase. There is an arrow between each phase pointing to the next. So the question is, how does the fifth phase of Maturity Phase progress into the first phase of Conception/Start-up? It doesn’t.

A solar energy advocacy group use a circular graphic in an attempt to display the relationship between supply and demand for solar power. “Supply Goes Up” as economies of scale are improved, feeds into “Demand Goes Up” as more people and cities begin producing their own power. As “Demand Goes Up” this feeds back into “Supply Goes Up”. Their graphic creates an endless loop of awesomeness for their product and company.

Bottom line, don’t just add random graphics to presentations because they are better than text, be sure to ask yourself if the graphic accurately and effectively portrays the model or idea.

07d-Delivering a presentation

Increasing Influence through Self Monitoring

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The definition of charisma is “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.”  The ability to formulate a speech or deliver a pitch is very valuable, but the ability to attain followers in the process requires introspection and skill.  There is a yin and yang in the achievement of influence.  Speakers want to feel confidence in front of an audience or a group and listeners want to feel a connection with the speaker and his/her content.  A previous blog post on Power Poses discusses the impact of striking a power pose for the benefit of the speaker.  The confidence that the speaker emulates will most likely also have an effect on the audience, but there is another approach called self monitoring which influences the listener as well.

Professor Mark Snyder of the University of Minnesota published a paper titled “Self Monitoring of Expressive Behavior” in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1974 describing his research on self monitoring and its impact.  In the paper, he describes self monitoring as “self-observation and self control guided by situational cues to social appropriateness.”  Snyder notes that politicians and actors are more easily able to achieve a high degree of self monitoring, while individuals who are not as attuned to his/her environment exhibit more low self monitoring characteristics.

Much research regarding self monitoring has since been conducted since Dr. Mark Snyder’s initial research.  An interesting Stanford ECorner lecture given by Ori Brafman titled “How to Build Instant Connections” describes research defining high and low self monitors and their attributes.   This lecture was inspired by Brafman’s book titled Click: The Magic of Instant Connections.

The question that Brafman answers is: how do certain people form natural, instant connections?  Brafman found that high self monitors naturally meet the people around them where they are through a mirroring technique. When people mirror us, we naturally like them better.  Brafman reported that a Stanford team researched a group of college graduates and found that high self monitors changed jobs more frequently and were promoted more rapidly than their peers.  This accelerated promotion track was largely attributed to the fact that high self monitors were often found in the center of networks due to their ability to self monitor.  Another interesting observation that Brafman notes is that the average person takes 18 years to be in the center of a network while it only takes an average of 13 months for a high self monitor to elevate to the center of a network.

In the published articles, lectures, and book reviews the theme traits of high self monitors include the ability to read people and make them feel comfortable, the characteristic of “mirroring,” and the ability to be fluid in group situations.  It may take practice to become a natural high self monitor, but the increased influence that it affords makes the rewards worth the effort.  To take Dr. Mark Snyder’s self monitoring assessment test, click here.

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation

Give a Killer Presentation, TED Style

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How to Give a Killer Presentation

If a 12-year-old boy can successfully present an idea/invention to hundreds of adults, can you effectively present quarterly financials to your manager?  The answer is “probably,” and the TED Talks curator, Chris Anderson, has a couple of tips that will help you present like a 12-year-old kid!

We have an obvious affinity for the TED Talks videos and why not?!  The subjects are mesmerizing and the presenters are passionate.  Many of them are professional speakers and others are at TED presenting for the first time in their lives.  TED developed a process to help inexperienced presenters prepare, and it typically begins six to nine months before the event.  (How long have you been working on your MP presentation?)  Here are a couple of tips from Chris, and be sure to watch the first video about Richard Turere (twelve years old!) and how he’s saving Africa from lions.

Frame Your Story:  Conceptualizing and framing what you want to say is the most vital part of preparation

  • As a presenter, you are about to take your audience on an adventure.  Your biggest decision is selecting where to start and where to end.
  • Don’t assume your audience is prepared for the journey. Quickly introduce the topic and explain why the journey is going to be AWESOME, why you care about it, and why they should too.
  • Use specific examples to flesh out your ideas and avoid abstract language.
  • Some journeys are too long (like baseball season).  Limit the scope of your presentation and don’t try to over explain.  For example, if you only watch Major League Baseball during the months of April and October, you’ll still get the gist of the season.

Plan Your Delivery:  Memorizing a presentation is the best way to go

  • Do not read, EVER.
  • Keep it natural and connect with the audience.
  • Pay attention to your tone and sound conversational.  Talk to the audience, don’t talk at them.
  • During the journey, don’t annoy your companions by projecting ego.  No one likes a Conceited Cathy or Pompous Phil.

Develop Stage Presence:  Stage presence is coachable and takes practice

  • While presence is important, getting the words, story, and substance right are more important.
  • Making eye contact is the most important physical act on-stage.
  • Swaying side-to-side or shifting your weight around can be distracting to the audience.
  • Nervousness affects everyone. Here are a couple tricks to deal with it:

o   Stay out in the audience until the moment you go on; this keeps your mind engaged.

o   Spend time before you present striding around, standing tall, and extending your body; this will make you feel more powerful.

o   Breathe deeply before you go on-stage.

  • Nervousness can be a powerful way to connect with the audience by showing vulnerability and authenticity.

Plan the Multimedia:  The best TED speakers don’t use slides at all

  • There are tons of technology aids, so experiment!

Putting It Together:  Practice, Practice, Practice

  • Practice on your own and in front of an audience.
  • If you rehearse to an audience, choose people who are experienced presenters and will offer constructive feedback.

In sum, Anderson presented to a TED audience for the first time after curating for nine years.  Here are his parting comments on his experience:

“Presentations rise or fall on the quality of the idea, the narrative, and passion of the speaker.  It’s about substance, not speaking style or multimedia pyrotechnics.”

 

http://hbr.org/2013/06/how-to-give-a-killer-presentation/ar/5

 

05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, creativity methods

making the ordinary extraordinary

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http://www.fastcocreate.com/3016916/creation-stories/ricky-gervais-tells-a-story-about-how-he-learned-to-write

“It is so much easier to make the ordinary extraordinary than to try and start off with the extraordinary”  – Ricky Gervais

One of my favorite comedians and writers, Ricky Gervais, has a very curious observation about his own creative process (link above). In the interview he emphasizes how and why he writes the way he does. No matter what the topic is- always start with a story line that is relatable and focus on honesty above all else.

I was thinking about this as you all may struggle with what to present on; start with what you know or is important to you and then use your development plan to help foster a great presentation. Effective communication means convincing the audience or client that you believe in the subject too.

 

 

 

07c-Telling stories, 07d-Delivering a presentation, questions

Presentation Tips from Stand-Up Comedians

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Stand-up comedians are some of the best public speakers around. They ooze confidence and make it look easy, and if you follow these tips for success, you can succeed in the business world, too.

  1. Know your audience. Would you give an X-rated stand-up routine to a church group? In business, would you give an overly technical presentation to a group of executives who don’t understand (or care) about all the details? I didn’t think so. It is very important to understand the context of your presentation.
    • The culture: What communication style do they prefer? From what starting point or base of knowledge do the people in the room have? In the business world – is it an internal presentation to superiors, to your direct reports, or is it external to members from a certain industry? Knowing the culture will help you relate better to the audience.
    • Their level of knowledge: Is English the native language of your audience? If not, keep the phrasing simple and speak clearly, but don’t insult them either by talking very loud and very slow. Are you giving a training to a room full of beginners? Avoid overly technical phrasing and start from the beginning so the whole audience can understand where you are coming from.
  1. Practice, practice, practice. So much of stand-up comedy is in the timing and the delivery. If you are telling a story in the wrong order or blurt out the ending out of sequence, the joke will fall flat.
  2. Don’t force it – be yourself. Dave Chappelle doesn’t pretend to be anyone other than himself, so why should you try to act like someone you’re not? The audience can gauge authenticity quite well, so it’s best not to pretend to be someone different than you really are.
  3. Be likeable. The audience is rooting for you to succeed. Who wants to go to a comedy show where all of the comics crash and burn? In the same way, you should understand the audience, come across as genuine and confident, and don’t be afraid to stumble. If you slip up, chances are that the audience hasn’t even noticed.
  4. Watch out for hecklers. Know your facts and figures well enough to be heckled. Whoever will be asking you questions at the end or in the middle of your presentation may be analogous to a heckler at a comedy club. Be confident and knowledgeable enough to respond succinctly but firmly to keep the presentation on track. Not all questions in a business presentation are from would-be-hecklers, so it is important to distinguish the two.  Stay on your toes. You never know who might be about to throw a (metaphorical) shoe at you like this guy did to George W. Bush.

Inspiration:

http://www.trainingmag.com/content/supercompetent-speaking-tailoring-your-presentation-your-audience

http://www.mrmediatraining.com/2012/04/25/want-to-learn-public-speaking-try-stand-up-comedy/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1g35RNrsoU

http://thecomedybook.wordpress.com/tag/presentation-skills-2/