It’s presentation time and you need to show your stuff, where do you start? Here are a few tips to help you get started putting things together.
- Get Organized. Starting a presentation can be overwhelming. There are so many things you want or need to say, but you’re not quite sure how to put it all together. Begin by sitting down and getting those thoughts on paper. This will give you a better picture of where you want to go with the presentation and how you achieve those goals.
- Work the slides. After you organize the presentation, its time to start visualizing. Putting your general ideas in slide form will help you to continue to organize your thoughts and provides an easy way to change things as your presentation develops. It will also enable you to start envisioning the experience of your audience.
- A script is not just for the movies. Now that you have the slides drafted its time for the text. Writing out what you want to say exactly how you want to phrase it will help as you practice. Repeating the same phrases over and over again will not only allow you to memorize what you want to say, but will also develop muscle memory. This will come in handy when its show time and you’re nervous. That muscle memory will carry you through if your brain freezes at any point and give you time to catch up without missing a beat.
These simple steps can turn a daunting process into an manageable one and hopefully as you progress and develop your skills, an enjoyable one!
2 Comments
Very sensible ideas. May I add one more?
Too often I see slides used the wrong way – as multi- bulleted speaking points that contain all the information the speaker will deliver. That is not only boring, but it’s “Too much information!”
I use slides 3 ways: to give my audience a peek at the way I have organized ideas and data, ro speed up comprehension through a visual representation of the information I deliver verbally, and to reinforce what has been learned by repetition or seeing the concept applied in real life.
The most confusing slides are the one with the most info such as graphs with multiple data : I’ve seen some with 4 data sets (represented by different colored lines) and a legend no one could read even from the front row. These tend to take more time than the average crowd of “lay people” are likely to give to figuring it out.
Anyway, thanks for letting me have me say on your spiffy new website.
Absolutely! Discussion is always encouraged.
Rick, you make a great point. Too often presenters use slides as a crutch. They read off the slides and make them the show! Rather, the presenter should be the main focus and the slides the back up act. Your audience should not have to look at a slide more than a few seconds to digest the information. What you are saying should be the focus.
When presenting, you (the presenter) are always the main event. An audience didn’t come to see your slides they came to see you and what your business has to offer. The slides augment a polished image, but it takes you having all together to bring it home!