I will just run through it When we cover as much information, in - PDF document

O R A L P R E S E N T A T I O N S Eight Time-Proven Presentation Tips Violate at Your Ow n Risk D A N I E L K N A P P know this is an eye chart so I change, we become effective presenters. Audience Manipulation “ I will just run through it When we cover as much information, in Does this approach to presentations quickly.” Eddie realized he re- as detailed a manner as possible given sound like audience manipulation? The peated those words for at least the time constraints, we have a com- answer depends on your viewpoint. I the second time. The audience munications problem. prefer the term preparation. When you stirred restlessly. Some appeared to doo- have a major presentation, don’t you take dle or look ahead in the stack of inch- Effectively presenting information to care to look your best? Would you give deep slides; one nodded into slumber. an audience will positively influence your big presentation wearing jeans and Eddie squinted at the overhead projec- our professional reputation more than tennis shoes? No? Then why allow the tion with its small print. He couldn’t read any other skill we possess. presentation to wear casual clothes? it from five feet away. Eddie fought to Shine your presentation and your shoes. save his project funding but lost his au- Now, read that line again. Both matter. dience to a mental holiday. Eddie also Tip 1. lost his funding. Audience Expectations Few people have any idea specifically what Know the audience and objective. Losing Your Message you do on a daily basis or how well you No matter how simple or complex the Did you attend this presentation? We all do it. When you stand to present infor- issue, you are presenting a managerial did. It’s a long-running series of pre- mation, your entire professional reputa- overview. What is the purpose of this sentations given daily to audiences who tion stands with you. A poor presentation presentation? Are you asking for a deci- influence our programs. This type of not only reflects on our information but sion? Are you promoting a new idea? Are presentation is common in the world of even more, on us. you updating management on program military technical presentations. Unfor- status? Are you protecting or searching tunately , the presenter loses an impor- Audiences today expect high-quality pre- for financial support? What specific ac- tant message in poorly presented and sentations. They expect us to know our tion do you want from the audience as irrelevant detail. message, deliver it with some proficiency , a result of your presentation? and clearly state our needs. At the same This article suggests eight tips for or- time, “just let the facts speak for them- Do you know your issue well enough to ganizing and delivering a technically selves” doesn’t work. Audiences bore express it in one sentence of 15-20 oriented presentation to a non-tech- quickly , retain little, and confuse easily. words? Five to ten words would be better. nical audience. Apply these tips and That last sentence may exaggerate real- (Example: Extending the EMD [Engi- you will retain the audience; maybe ity , but if you treat it as reality you will neering and Manufacturing Develop- you’ll even convince them to your way not go far from wrong. Audiences expect ment Phase] two years will add an of thinking. Violate even one of these us to complete the data connections and additional 8 percent to the R&D [Re- tips and, at best, you look no better draw conclusions for them. search and Development] funding re- than your competition. quirement.) Presenters who deliver ideas with Remember, our presentations reflect our showmanship have a better chance for Never present information until you can attitudes as well as the delivered infor- conveying their messages, and mak- phrase your issue succinctly. Address the mation. If we assume full responsibility ing themselves memorable. Audiences specific purpose of the presentation and for completion of an information ex- are people. They prefer working with nothing else. If we expand the presen- people they like. If you employ some tation beyond the specific objective, we showmanship and make your presen- may cause confusion or solicit irrelevant tation viewer-friendly , the audience will questions where our purpose suffers. Knapp is a Project Director for M1A1 Conduct of better accept you and your ideas. We Fire T rainer Rehost at U.S. Army Sim ulation, T rain- ing, and Instrum entation Com m and, Orlando, Fla., invest our precious time preparing pre- Once we understand the specific result and holds an M.B.A. from Roosevelt University. He sentations; we expect them to work for we want from the presentation, we tailor is an Advanced T oastm aster (Gold) and a m em ber us. Let’s give them every chance. our information to support the objective. of the National Speakers Association. 56 P M : JA N UA RY-F EBRUARY 1999

We cannot “trot out” the standard ors have enough distinction so that the canned presentation and expect it audience realizes you have different to fit any audience. colors? Black, dark blue, dark red, and dark green look about the Tip 2. same from 20 feet. What’s the point? We make a specific Use good clip-art. point in every pre- Some presenters hesi- sentation. If we have tate to use clip-art as more than three they feel it may not look pro- main points, a verbal fessional. Quite the contrary presentation is the — do not project your fears wrong way to present into the audience. The “im- them. The audience cannot portant” audience consists of long stay with us in a ver- real live people. They have bal presentation. Any ver- the same characteristics as bal presentation of an hour any other people. Good clip- or less is really a manage- art adds interest to the visual. ment presentation. Treat The audience will pay more your presentation as a attention looking to see how managerial presentation. you will apply clips on later This means focus on com- visuals. The rule is use munication of an idea or some clips, but not a lot. concept rather than teach- Any edge helps. (To find ing a technical subject. additional slide preparation and styling tips, visit http:// From your audience’s point www.presentersuni- of view, they will only want versity.com on the In- to know what’s in it for ternet.) them. The technical ap- Tip 5. proach to how you implement your idea is nowhere near as significant to your au- Use a handout. dience as what the idea will do for them I am not referring to the hard copy of your once implemented. slides. I am referring to that technical in- formation Eddie used to clutter his slide. Ap p p p l ly y t t h h e s se e t t i ip p s a a n n d d Tip 3. Most technical data looks cluttered on Keep the presentation short, and yo y o u u w wi il ll l r r e e t t a a i in n slides. If you must show detailed tech- focus only on the specific objective. I can’t think of any presenter who dis- nical data, take the time to prepare a sep- appointed the audience by giving a arate handout where tables, diagrams, t t h h e e a a u u d d i ie e n n c ce e ; ; m m a a y yb b e e shorter-than-anticipated presentation. and lengthy text can work to your ad- u ’ ll We want to use all the time allotted and vantage. You don’t have time to ade- y yo o u l e e v ve e n n c co o n n v vi in n c ce e more if we can get it; but this is not ef- quately explain intricate technical details fective on the audience. If we can follow — why present them at all? the old adage to “stand up, speak up, t t h h e e m m t t o o y yo o u u r r w wa a y y o o f f Tip 6. shut up, sit down,” the audience will ap- preciate the message and us. Use a computer (carefully) to t t h h i in n k k i in n g g . . V Vi io o l la a t t e e e e v ve e n n present slides. Tip 4. Computer presentations make the slide colors more vivid versus using overhead Make the slides “viewer-friendly.” o o n n e e o o f f t t h h e e s se e t t i ip p s s a a n n d d , , a a t t Make the old rule of thumb — no more projectors. You look better prepared. You than seven lines/no more than seven look professional. b b e e s st t , , y yo o u u l lo o o o k k n n o o b b e e t t t t e r r words — your style. The day of a black and white, text-laden overhead is over When using the computer to present — if it ever existed at all. Use color slides, resist the temptation to employ t t h h a a n n y yo o u u r r c co o m m p p e e t t i it t i io o n n . . slides. Check how the colors work to- every presentation trick the computer gether at varying distance. Do your col- supports. Some animation and video PM : JANUARY -FE B RUARY 19 9 9 57