Basics
- Effective presentation stems from clear thinking.
- Plan ahead – consider the audience, prepare your content and be comfortable delivering the material
- Identify the potential needs, objectives, and goals of your audience
- Answer – why are they there and listening to your presentation (what’s in it for them?)
- Understand your audience’s emotional temperature. What thoughts and feeling as they bring with them? What time of day it is? What would they be feeling?
- Define the goal for the presentation e.g. at the end of this meeting I want my audience to offer a partnership to me
During presentation
- Determine what are you trying to convey to your audience
- What do you want your audience to think, feel and do after you have spoken to them?
- Make content informational and interesting
- Use icebreakers, jokes, display passion and shape messages into relatable stories
- Avoid reciting laundry list of facts, keep it brief
General tips
- Get up, walk and practice it out loud a few times
- Don’t sound scripted. Converse as you are talking to a good friend over a cup of coffee.
- UCLA study – 55% message is received by audience is conveyed by physical appearance, 38% pitch, tonality, speed, volume, and 7% for content
- Focus on dynamic and engaging delivery
- Actively listen to your audience, verbally and non verbally
- Be someone who people want to listen to