- Make the content of the Power Point or similar programs support the main points you want to make in your presentation and not the other way around. Use them just like quotations or other evidence in print material.
- Make sure they are top quality and you have rehearsed your presenttaion with them to eliminate any glitches in the softwear or your use of the program.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Make Affective Use Use of Presentation Aids
Props or other aids can help you to make your presentations memorable and easy to remember, but there are a few things you should never forget such as:
Friday, November 6, 2009
Show Them The Benefit
A brief telephone presentation I was making to a client this evening about starting an on-line security guard training course resulted in the type of question that you will have to answer quickly when making speeches or presentations.
His first question to me was , "How would the school benefit?" And that is probably one of the first things that would flash into the mind of any audience whether it consists of one person or a hundred: "How do I or we benefit from all this?"
When working on your presentation imitate professional Direct Mail or Direct Response Marketers who before they do anything focus on finding out as much as they can about their audience.
Before writing anything they can create a mental picture of the individual or individuals who make up their audience -- and what interests, problems, or anxieties they have and then tailor their presentation to show how their ideas, services, or products can help these people.
Just like direct-response writers and presenters you are selling ideas, ideas, opinions, services, and products when making oral presentations and just like them, and my client on the telephone, you must quickly show how they can benefit from listening to you and following your suggestions.
Beyond the initial intriguing quote, or anecdote, or illustration this is what will retain the interest of your audience more than anything else-- providing that you back up your claims up with the needed proof and supporting ideas.
His first question to me was , "How would the school benefit?" And that is probably one of the first things that would flash into the mind of any audience whether it consists of one person or a hundred: "How do I or we benefit from all this?"
When working on your presentation imitate professional Direct Mail or Direct Response Marketers who before they do anything focus on finding out as much as they can about their audience.
Before writing anything they can create a mental picture of the individual or individuals who make up their audience -- and what interests, problems, or anxieties they have and then tailor their presentation to show how their ideas, services, or products can help these people.
Just like direct-response writers and presenters you are selling ideas, ideas, opinions, services, and products when making oral presentations and just like them, and my client on the telephone, you must quickly show how they can benefit from listening to you and following your suggestions.
Beyond the initial intriguing quote, or anecdote, or illustration this is what will retain the interest of your audience more than anything else-- providing that you back up your claims up with the needed proof and supporting ideas.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Keep Your Audience Iterested
Unless you keep your audience, whether it is one person or a hundred, engaged in what you're saying you might as well shut up.
Some persons are natural story tellers and as long as they have intriguing content have little trouble holding on to the audience's attention. Others might have more difficulty, but David Lavin , president of the Lavin Agency -- a very successful North American speaker's agency, outlines two ways anybody can do this more easily in the November 2009 edition of The Report on Business published monthly by The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In this short feature he urges speakers to get straight to the meat or core of their presentation, eliminating as much of the preamble as possible.
He also warns that asking questions during your presentation can cut into the flow of your presentation, disruption your audience's attention. This is a bit of a controversial point because asking questions can be also be a very good way, depending on your audience of course, to create an excellent dialog between you and them.
You could get around this by asking rhetorical questions to focus attention on the most critical or important parts of your presentation and then having a question and answer session after you have concluded to correct any misconceptions some persons might have as well to test how your ideas have been received by the audience.
If you do this, however, make it clear at the beginning of the question and answer period just how much time will be devoted to this.
This tactic could also create the opportunity for you to make future presentations on this topic.
Some persons are natural story tellers and as long as they have intriguing content have little trouble holding on to the audience's attention. Others might have more difficulty, but David Lavin , president of the Lavin Agency -- a very successful North American speaker's agency, outlines two ways anybody can do this more easily in the November 2009 edition of The Report on Business published monthly by The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In this short feature he urges speakers to get straight to the meat or core of their presentation, eliminating as much of the preamble as possible.
He also warns that asking questions during your presentation can cut into the flow of your presentation, disruption your audience's attention. This is a bit of a controversial point because asking questions can be also be a very good way, depending on your audience of course, to create an excellent dialog between you and them.
You could get around this by asking rhetorical questions to focus attention on the most critical or important parts of your presentation and then having a question and answer session after you have concluded to correct any misconceptions some persons might have as well to test how your ideas have been received by the audience.
If you do this, however, make it clear at the beginning of the question and answer period just how much time will be devoted to this.
This tactic could also create the opportunity for you to make future presentations on this topic.
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