Do you know that the public speaking is one of the top things we are afraid of? It might be connected to two reasons people are scare of, that are: Being Embarrassing In Front of a Huge Amount of People” and Failing.

A few years ago we had invited Peter Taylor, one of the best speaker, to give a presentation on presentations. The recording of his presentation can be found here and the tips have been summarized in the previous post.

This time I have asked Transition Manager Academy students to share some ideas on a presentation that makes a difference. The results of the brainstorming session below.

Plan and prepare

• Be prepared! You should know what the presentation is about and what you want to achieve
• Don’t try to plan everything – will not work. Be spontaneous.
• Check who your audience is and adjust style of presentation (pictures, tables with numbers)
• Rehearse to check the time usage

The presentation itself

• Short and Interactive
• Make introductions
• Share stories, jokes and anecdotes
• Avoid long text – clear slides – not too much text
• Use visuals – pictures instead of words
• Include some interesting news or information that will be new to the audience
• Less data, more conclusion (interpret data)
• Clear structure
• Make a 3 step structure or break the rule as Peter suggests.
• Summary and to do’s
• Clarity – make sure everybody understands the topic (in Polish we call it “piaskownica” = sandpit)
• Double check if all clear
• Not read the text from the presentation
• Use different communication channels
• Time keeping

The audience

• Involve and engage the audience
• Make audience feel comfortable at start – the feeling – they will stay

The presenter

• Be self-confident
• Smile, use body language, eye contact with the audience
• Fun!!! People tend to be more engaged and remember if they smile
• Be authentic!