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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