Presentation Skill

Unit of Competency (UOC)

Presentation

Learning Objective:

1. How to prepare presentation
2. How to prepare slides
3. Presentation Dress Code
4. Presentation Skills

How Do You Prepare for Presentations?
Preparing for presentations isn’t easy. Even team meetings with your colleagues can be stressful and challenging. Few of us are true extroverts, and even fewer of us are comfortable with public speaking. A while ago, I joked a bit about things you shouldn’t say in a presentation but really, it’s no laughing matter.

One of the most anticipated parts of launching Standout Jobs at DEMO is the 6-minute presentation you have to give on-stage. The DEMO people are great at preparing you and letting you know what to expect, but ultimately it’s up to you. And for most presenters it will be the most important, most stressful, and biggest presentation they’ve ever given in their lives.

Some people have asked me, “What about all the VC and angel investor pitches you’ve done? Those must be pretty tough?” Yes, they are. But once you’ve done a few of them, you learn what to expect fairly quickly, and often they’re more conversations than presentations. You’re hoping to engage the potential investors in a healthy discussion. The format is typically less formal than going on-stage in front of hundreds (if not thousands) of people and doing your thing.

So how do you prepare for a big presentation?
There’s no straightforward answer. And there’s lots of great advice on public speaking and presenting out there. Some people recommend memorizing a script and practicing it intensely for as long as you possibly can. Other people suggest having key talking points and riffing on those. I’m not sure anyone would suggest going totally unprepared, because that would be tantamount to presentation-suicide … but from heavy-duty preparation to minimal preparation, you’ll get it all, and everything in-between.

Here’s my suggestion: Do what you need to in order to feel confident and comfortable giving the presentation.

If you’re not sure what to do in order to feel confident and comfortable, then I’d lean towards being more prepared than not.

Here are some tips for things you can do:

01. Start with your key talking points:

There’s no point writing a full script or presentation until you know what points you want to hammer home. Then, you can stick with a standard format: (a) tell them what you’re going to show them; (b) show them; and, (c) tell them what you just showed them.

02. Write a script:
I think this is a good idea. It lets you write everything out and start massaging the words the way you want. It also gives you a benchmark against which you can practice and refine things.

03. Don’t get hung up on specific words:
It’s unlikely that missing or changing any one word will totally ruin your presentation, so don’t worry about perfection. The only person that knows you “screwed up” is you…

04. Find your speaking style:
Over time with enough practice you can learn to speak and present in any style, but if you’re in crunch mode and don’t have enough time, just try and find your own speaking style. Find your groove. Some people are ultra-enthusiastic. Some are much calmer. For DEMO, I’m aiming for calm confidence. I’m not a flashy guy. I want people to see the practice I’m putting in, my enthusiasm and my confidence – but I’m not going “Tony Robbins” on them.

05. Practice in front of people:
I haven’t done this yet, but I’ll be doing it soon. If you haven’t given a lot of presentations this will feel awkward but it’s better to get over those feelings now rather than when you’re on stage. So practice in front of others. But be careful about taking their advice, especially if the presentation is fast approaching. The risk is that you try to incorporate changes you’re not really comfortable with, whether it’s in the actual script or in your presentation style, and you end up causing more damage than good. Given the opportunity you should seek expert help with your presentation, but be careful about how you take any advice, especially late in the game.

06. Practice with distractions:
It’s great to sit in a bubble with no distractions whatsoever and practice. You need the quiet time to memorize things and get a feel for what you’re doing. But I’m also practicing while distracted – be it by other sounds or visually (people walking by my office door, for example) because it makes me feel more confident that I can pull it off. On the DEMO stage there will be distractions. One person told me there’s a huge clock facing you counting the seconds menacingly. There are big lights, TV screens and oh ya … the people. I have to be prepared for anything, and practicing with distractions is helpful.

07. Practice piece by piece:
I’ve found it quite helpful to practice each section of my presentation in pieces. I’ll focus on one part, memorize the core elements, run through it till I’m comfortable and then move to the next piece. Then it’s just a matter of stringing the pieces together, which is easier.

08. Think ahead:
While practicing my DEMO presentation I’ve found my comfort zone when I can think of the next 1 or 2 sentences while speaking. So I’m on sentence #5 but my mind is already bringing up sentence #6 and #7. I don’t have to think too far ahead but just enough that the transition from sentence-to-sentence is ultra-smooth and simple. Each sentence triggers a reminder for the next one.

09. Practice hand gestures:
If you’re giving a “naked” presentation (with nothing in front of you like a table, etc.) then you need to be aware of what you’re doing with your hands. And your feet. So think about your hand gestures and how they relate to what you’re saying. If you plan to move around, pace in sync with your words. I’ve been practicing this for a few days with great success. The hand gestures and where I’m walking are triggers cuing what I should be saying.

10. Find your comfort zone:
All the advice in the world won’t help if you can’t get comfortable with your preparation, practice techniques and ultimately, the presentation itself. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. The more comfortable you feel, the more confident you feel, and the better things will go.

Preparing a Presentation
Preparation is the single most important part of making a successful presentation. This is the crucial foundation and you should dedicate as much time to it as possible avoiding short-cuts.

Not only will good preparation ensure that you have thought carefully about the messages that you want (or need) to communicate in you presentation but it will also help boost your confidence. Our pages: Boosting Confidence and Time Management may be useful additional resources as you prepare your talk.
Have to covers the following elements of presentation preparation:

•  The objective
•  The subject
•  The audience
•  The place
•  Time of day
•  Length of talk

The Objective
You have been asked to speak to a group of people. First, ask yourself 'why?' What is the purpose of the presentation, what is the objective, what outcome(s) do you and the audience expect?

It is useful to write down the reason you have been asked to present so you can use this as a constant reminder while you prepare the presentation. There are many reasons for giving a presentation or talk, but never lose sight of your objective as determined when you were asked and accepted the invitation.

The Subject
The subject of what you are going to talk about comes from the objective but they are not necessarily one and the same thing.

For example:

• The subject may be given to you by an inviting organization.
• You may be knowledgeable in particular field.
• The subject may be entirely your choice within certain limitations.

The Audience
Before preparing material for a presentation, it is worth considering your prospective audience.

Tailoring your talk to the audience is important and the following points should be considered:

•  The size of the group or audience expected.
•  The age range - a talk aimed at retired people will be quite different from one aimed at teenagers.
•  Gender - will the audience be predominantly male or female?
•  Is it a captive audience or will they be there out interest?
•  Will you be speaking in their work or leisure time?
•  Do they know something about your subject already or will it be totally new to them? Is the subject part of their work?
•  Are you there to inform, teach, stimulate, or provoke?
•  Can you use humor and if so what would be considered appropriate?

The Place
It is important to have as much advance information as possible about the place where you are going to speak.

Ideally, try to arrange to see the venue before the speaking event, as it can be of great benefit to be familiar with the surroundings. It does much to quell fear if you can visualize the place while you are preparing your talk. Additionally, it would also give you the opportunity to try out your voice. If at all possible, you need to know:

•  The size of the room.
•  The seating arrangements and if they can be altered.
•  The availability of equipment, e.g., microphone, overhead projector, flip chart, computer equipment.
•  The availability of power points and if an extension lead is required for any equipment you intend to use.
•  If the room has curtains or blinds. This is relevant if you intend to use visual aids, and so that you can ensure the correct ambiance for your presentation.
•  The position of the light switches. Check if you need someone to help if you are using audio/visual equipment and need to turn off the lights.
•  The likelihood of outside distractions, e.g., noise from another room.
•  The availability of parking facilities so you do not have a long walk carrying any equipment you might need to take.

Time of day
If you do have a choice of when to give your presentation - consider the following points:

Morning:
The morning is the best time to speak because people are generally at their most alert. However, late morning may start to present problems as people begin to feel hungry and think about lunch.

Afternoon:
Early afternoon is not an ideal time to make a presentations since after lunch people often feel sleepy and lethargic. Midafternoon is a good time, whereas at the end of the afternoon people may start to worry about getting home, the traffic or collecting children from school.

Evening or Weekend:
Outside regular office hours, people are more likely to be present because they want to be rather than have to be there. There is a higher likelihood of audience attention in the evening,
providing of course that the presentation does not go on for too long when people may have to leave before the presentation has finished.

Length of Talk
Always find out how long you have to talk and check if this includes or excludes time for questions.
Find out if there are other speakers and, if so, where you are placed in the running order. Never elect to go last. Beware of over-running, as this could be disastrous if there are other speakers following you.

It is important to remember that people find it difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time, and this is a good reason for making a presentation succinct, well-structured and interesting. Aim for 45 minutes as a maximum single-session presentation.

Organize the Presentation Material
Regardless of whether your presentation is going to be delivered formally, such as at work or informally, for a club or perhaps a Best Man's speech. You should always aim to give a clear, well-structured delivery. That is, you should know exactly what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it.

Having thought about and planned a good structure will also help to alleviate any nervousness you may be feeling in the build up to your talk.