Having prepared your presentation, how can you deliver in a way that will make the maximum impact?

No doubt you can recall presentations from others that had you constantly checking your watch, wondering when this was all going to end, and concentrating more on what you had to do afterwards than in listening to what was being said.

And no doubt you can recall presentations from others that had you riveted to every word, enthused and inspired by the message and determined to take action as a result of what was being said.

What were the main differences?

Naturally, you needed to have an interest in the subject. Also, you needed to see the value in what was being presented. But the main difference, I’ll bet, was the quality of delivery, the passion that the speaker used in delivering the message and the way they kept your interest all the way through.

And that’s what you need to do to make a massive impact, to create an impression and blow them away with your presentation!

So what can you do? Firstly, plan an impactful opening! Make it visual, interesting, attracting attention and building desire to hear more. Use metaphors when you can to make the information come alive. Don’t just reel off a list of statistics or facts…you’ll lose them before you start.

Remember how impactful your body language is when you present. Your audience will notice your nerves if they are showing and this will detract from the message. Think about your posture and style of delivery, so they are listening to your words rather than worrying about your shaking!

Be passionate about the subject. This means creating meaning in everything you say, creating an interest with attention-grabbing stories, influential ideas and absorbing information. Make the subject really come alive in the listeners’ minds by painting pictures with words. That way, you are developing reasons why this message is important.

By all means use humour, but ensure it is appropriate. Jokes can easily fall flat or be badly timed, and people will remember a poor delivery more than they remember the attempted humour. Try to find everyday situations that are funny, rather than attempting to be a comedian when it doesn’t suit you.

Understand that you always will speak differently during a presentation than when you have a conversation. This is natural, but make it as free-flowing as possible, without rushing, mumbling or missing off the ends of words.

Eye contact is a must when presenting. If you are constantly looking down at your notes, you lose the contact and rapport with your audience that will convince them this is really worth listening to. Use cue-cards if possible and keep the eye contact as open as you can with everyone there.

Above all, make your presentation end on a high. There are two laws to remember here…the recency effect and the closing effect. Of the two effects, the closing effect carries more weight for your message because the last thing the audience hears and experiences, is the first thing they’ll remember! It should be… Outstanding!

What should your closing include? A quick resume of what you’ve covered, and the actions that need to be taken as a result of what you’ve presented. Make it memorable and outstanding, and your audience will remember it for the right reasons.

All this won’t guarantee your presentation will be the best ever…but it will give you the best chance to be your best ever! And that will surely blow them away!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Seldom will you go a long time as a manager without having to present some kind of message, Whether it’s to gain more funding, to convince a customer to use your services or simply to address your team members, you will need to present a message where decisions have to be made and your credibility will be on the line.

How can you make sure you blow them away with your words? How can you prepare effectively to give yourself the best chance of success?

Here are some ideas:

Ask yourself: What objectives do I have? This will drive your whole presentation. Your goals have to be clear, so you can prepare according to exactly what you want to achieve.

Then, what do you need to know about the audience? If it’s your team members, you hopefully will know their characteristics, and will be able to plan accordingly for the responses you most likely will get. But what about if you’re presenting to someone you have never spoken to before? You can still do some research on them or their company to ascertain what kind of person they might be. This will give you confidence in preparing the message specifically for them.

Decide how long the presentation will be. If it’s, say, 15 minutes, divide it up into manageable chunks or units. Write down all the points you want to make, and put them in order. This will create the framework for what you want to say. Prepare the material at the level of the audience; you don’t want to go too deep, but you don’t want to bore them with simplicities.

Don’t use too many facts and figures that will cause confusion and boredom. Prepare any visuals you might be using in a way that complements what you are saying. If your presentation is simply the reading of slides or papers that the audience could have read themselves, you will soon bore them.

Prepare something that will grab their attention. Make the opening come alive with a hard-hitting question, or a statement that makes them think. Then give them a hook, something that will tease them into wondering what the next piece of information is. Create interest by observations or interesting stories rather than a list of facts or figures.

When you’ve prepared the material, read it through and act as if you are the audience. Would this information keep me interested? Does it answer all my questions in my mind? Has it impressed me so that I want to know more?

When you’ve prepared effectively, you might want to bounce the ideas off a colleague so you can get their feedback. Ask for constructive ways you can make the material come alive, and how it would affect them if they were listening to it. That way, you have rehearsed it and got to know how you sound when you deliver it. Remember…keep to the objectives and goals, and you’ll have prepared a presentation that blows them away!

Our next message will be about how you can make a presentation that blows them away!

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Working as a manager and forming relationships with the members of your team is one thing. It’s easy to communicate with them because you do so on a regular basis. But what happens if you’re called to do a presentation in front of upper management, for a group of investors or – worse yet – for the entire organization?

Don’t panic.

There are several things you can do before your prentation that will allow you to prepare so that you can give your speach or talk without feeling overwhelmed. Your nerves may never go away but you can learn to control them.

Practice Out Loud

Practicing your presentation by giving it out loud is one of the best things you can do to ensure it runs smoothly. I have no idea why people think they can give huge presentations without practicing and unless you’re a seasoned speaker (speaking for a living) there is really no excuse for thinking such. The more you practice the less you’ll think about your presentation as you’re giving it, decreasing your odds of a mistake.

Find a Similar Venue

Do you know where you’ll be giving your presentation? Can you get into that venue in advance, after hours or early in the morning, to practice? If so, give it a shot. If you’re able to do so you’ll find you are more comfortable with your surroundings when the day of the actual presentation arrives.

Practice without Stopping with an Audience

This part is two-fold. If you practice with an audience of family or friends you’ll be more comfortable with a crowd watching you. The next important phase is to practice without stopping, even if you make a mistake. Stopping to correct yourself, and then starting over again, is really a very bad habit to get into. It’s better to acknowledge your mistakes and move on, making a note to correct them the next time your practice. If you stop and start over too many times you’ll a) get used to stopping and b) get really good at only one part of your presentation.

Follow these tips – essentially practicing as much as possible (oh, and use your props when you do practice) – and you’ll find your presentation goes much smoother than you anticipated. You don’t need to be a natural speaker to give a great talk – you just need to be dedicated!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Development

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Everyone learns differently. It’s a fact of life and it’s unescapable. As you prepare for your next training session you’ll want to consider the different types of learners that may walk into your classroom.

I’m not talking about the visual and auditory learners. Today I’m talking about the different levels of knowledge each will already have before hew alks through the door.

Let’s start with unconscious incompetence. This is the learner that needs to hear every single thing about a concept from the ground up. He doesn’t know anything about what you’re going to cover and doesn’t know that he doesn’t know it.

The next type of learner displays conscious incompetence. He is willing to learn because he recognizes that he is missing pieces to the puzzle.

Individuals displaying conscious competence are confident in what they know. They are strong in the things they know and are very likely also familiar with the skills they need to enhance.

The most interesting type of learner is the one who is unconsciously competent. This type of learner already has a vast amount of knowledge but doesn’t believe in himself. You’ll spend more time proving to him that he already knows things than you will teaching him new concepts.

Understanding the different levels of learning will enable you to tailor your presentations or, at the very least, address questions as they arise based on the needs of the person who asks them.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Preparing training presentations can be an arduous task. A task only made more difficult by the fact that you will have several different types of learners in the room – those who want to see the answer, those who want to feel the answer, and those who want to hear the answer.

Regardless of the type of learner you have in your presence, each person is going to ask the same three questions upon leaving your presentation. These questions are summed up with the three “A’s.”

• Acquisition – What knowledge did I just acquire?
• Application – How do I apply that knowledge to my job?
• Attribution – Do I recognize this information and/or where it originated?

There’s nothing worse for an employee than being forced to attend a training seminar but walking away with no clue as to how that training is to be used in the workplace. If you are able to answer these three questions, directly or indirectly, within your presentation you’ll be half way home.

Take a look at the agenda for your next seminar. Do you usually cover these points within your presentation? If so, are they clear? If not, can you work them in more effectively?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”