How to improve a prepared speech

This week, I will speak at a Rotary club on behalf of one of the charities that I support. This charity provided me with a standard speech to read for the occasion, detailing what the charity does and how the audience can support this charity.

The problem is that the standard speech was not written by a Toastmaster nor a speaker. It reads like a financial report. I tested the speech at one of my Toastmaster clubs and everyone gave the same feedback. Way too much detail, too many statistics and complex words. This script was written for the eye, and not for the ear.

There are differences between writing for the eye and writing for the ear. You can use long and complex sentences when your reader can go back and read the piece again. Your audience only listens to your speech once so you need to use clear words and illustrate concepts with multiple stories and examples. How often have you listened to a speech and been distracted for a moment while a cell-phone rings? If the speaker only mentioned a point once at the very moment that you were distracted, then you have no opportunity to hear that point again. If you are distracted while reading a book, then you simply go back and read the section again.

If you are ever in this situation, then here are the tips to follow as you take a script that is written for the eye, and convert it to writing for the ear.
1. Read the script out loud, to get familiar with it.
2. Record the script into a recorder and play it back to see what stands out at you.
3. Identify the key points of the script. Take note of the best and worst sections of the script. Also get input from your Toastmasters club.
4. Write a new speech, using the key points that you identified. Leave out the worst sections of the previous script. Play up the most important point - repeat it during your speech and illustrate it with multiple stories and examples.
5. Rehearse your new speech 10 times.
6. Go and present it to your audience in support of your favorite charity.

Your audience will be glad that you took the time and applied your presentation skills to convert an statistically correct script into a pleasant and informative speech.

Innovative time tips when you don't have a designated timer

Do you lose track of time when you are presenting? Every presenter is subject to going overtime and getting off schedule. Going over time is an occupational hazard of public speaking, but you have no excuse for going over time.

I have seen experienced speakers, including Distinguished Toastmasters completely ignore all timing signals and blissfully sail way over the allotted time for a presentation. The best way to keep on time, is to find a reliable audience member to give you signals as listed on your Speech Timeline Tool.

In addition, I have found these techniques helpful to stay on time. Feel free to use any or all of these proven techniques to benefit your audience.

Firstly, you can put a clock on the lectern. Keep it in your pocket as you go forward to speak and then put the clock on the lectern out of sight of your audience.

Analog clocks are easier to read as you can see the hands on the clock with just a glance. I find that digital clocks are harder to analyze and instantly realize how much time I have left for the presentation.

Secondly, look around the room when you enter it. Are there clocks on the walls of the meeting room that you can glance at to keep your presentation on time? Free bonus hint. If you see a clock on the wall, make sure that it is functioning and accurate (Don't ask me how I came to learn this tip).

Finally, have your audience help you stay on track. Tell your audience that you will handout a prize for the person who interrupts you at 5 minutes and 32 minutes of your 40 minute presentation. Then, everyone in the audience will be watching the time and at 5 minutes you hand out a prize when the person interrupts you. You can be sure that this will train the audience to make sure you will know when you reach 32 minutes, and you can start to wrap - up your presentation.

You have no excuse for going over your allotted time in your presentation. Be creative and find ways to stay aware of the time.

You can read more innovative presentation tips in my monthly newsletters, and subscribe to get it delivered each month, for free.

Timeboxes

How much time should you invest when creating a presentation? Winston Churchill is said to have invested one hour preparing for every minute that he delivered a prepared speech. Winston's rule of thumb still holds true. If you are going to prepare, craft and rehearse a seven minute speech, then seven hours is a reasonable amount of time to set aside for preparation.

You can also invest too much time when crafting a presentation. I am currently preparing a presentation on South Africa that includes PowerPoint slides, to co-present with a friend at his Rotary club. My research on Flickr.com revealed hundreds of possible photos of South Africa that are candidates for inclusion in this presentation. I have so much to share with this audience about South Africa, the history, current situation, why my wife and I left with 6 suitcases, $400 and a dream to come to the USA back in 2001,

Every photo brought back memories and I soon realized that I could easily invest 40 or more hours just in creating the PowerPoint slides. This is without even talking about the rehearsal for the presentation.

The way to avoid getting into time pits, is to place a box around the activity. For example, this Rotary club speech is a 20 minute speech. Using Winston's rule of thumb above, I should invest about 20 hours in total for preparation. From experience, I know that co-presenting always takes more time to rehearse than if I presented solo and allowing for an additional five hours, the total preparation should not exceed 25 to 30 hours.

As a rough estimate then I should invest fewer than ten hours in selecting photos for this slideshow. The best way to stick to this limit and place the appropriate value on my time is to timebox the various preparatory activities. No more than 10 hours to select photos, no more than 5 hours to create the PowerPoint slides, no more than 5 hours to create the script, which leaves no more than 10 hours to rehearse with my co-presenter.

Although we all want to give the best presentation that we can, every single time, we need to keep this in perspective. As Alan Weiss says "Your presentation is not going to change world history". (In fact, I consider my presentation to be an outstanding success if the Rotarians can remember what I spoke about after the bar closes.)

I am sorry to say that I see this all too often in new Toastmasters. New Toastmasters want to write the perfect speech, and invest 30 or more hours in a single 5-7 minute speech that is given once to a Toastmasters club. This is a poor investment of your time. Your time is better managed when you put an upper limit on the amount of time you will invest in an activity. Then stick to your time limit, and stop to reassess your progress when the time is up. Don't invest limitless time into speech creation - it is dysfunctional.

So, keep your presentation in perspective as well. Put a box around your time investment for your next speech or presentation, then get up and deliver.

What is the example of a good speech?

When last did you see a very good speech? How about a mediocre presentation at your office? During your college lectures? What about your Toastmasters club where a member completed Project #8 - Visual Aids?

I bet that you can't remember when last you saw a presentation that had you sitting on the edge of your seat, anticipating every word. (Although you have a better chance of enjoying such a presentation in Toastmasters than anywhere else)

We have come to accept poor presentations, especially when PowerPoint is used, because we don't know what a good presentation looks like. Most of our corporate presentations are terrible, and we accept this as the norm, because all we see are Pointless Presentations.

Today, I challenge you. Pay attention when you have the pleasure of watching a good presentation or speech. Then judge all presentations by this standard, including your own.

If we don't all start raising our own standards, eschewing text on PowerPoint slides and continue to read our slides to our audiences, then we will get the presentations that we deserve. And I am not satisfied with the presentations that I currently observe all over the USA.

Rehearsal - The simple word that speaks volumes for presenters

Rehearsal - The simple word that speaks volumes

It is said that Winston Churchill invested one hour of preparation for every minute that he presented a speech in public. This week I was subjected to yet another instance of PowerPointledness. I was in the audience where a University professor presented the results of his research on best practices. Our presenter obviously did not rehearse the presentation.

His comments such as "This slide is purposely too busy for your to see all the details because it is so complex you won't understand it", and "We have to many slides here for the time tonight, so we will just flip through some of them", builds resentment in the audience.

Our presenter invested all of his time in collecting slides from previous presentations and mixing up a brew of disparate thoughts with no clear message. He seemingly invested less than 30 minutes in preparing for a 60 minute presentation - which he also exceeded due to his incessant rambling.

In this presentation, I wondered - and your audience will also think to themselves - "Why am I listening to this presenter? He is insulting me and wasting my time". Let's share the solutions to presentations like this that take place all over the world, every day, so that you can excel in your presentations.

Let's do our part to make the world of PowerPoint Presentations better again by committing to set the example. How do you overcome these issues? Through rehearsal - The simple word that speaks volumes.

Learn how to improve your presentations through rehearsal in the October 2008 Pow'Rful Presentations Newsletter.

Specificity builds credibility

Patricia Fripp taught me that "specificity builds credibility" when telling a story. If I say "On the way to a store, I saw a dog", then my audience does not know what sort of store I went to, nor the type of dog.

If I relate the story as "On the way to Home Depot, a white poodle barked frantically..." then you have a very clear picture of the store and the dog, just by using words that are specific.

Here is a video clip of Patricia demonstrating the learning point:




Here is my comment on this learning point:


The lesson is clear. Always be specific in your stories. Describe the store, the time of day, the number of people in involved, because Specificity builds credibility.

Show, don't tell

Today I took part in the volunteer activities of "Day of Caring" at American Red Cross in Farmington, CT. I forgot my camera and berated myself for not being able to take video podcasts of the event. Oh Well!! These things happen. I hope to get photos of the event from some colleagues who were smart enough to bring cameras.

Our day started out with a presentation of the American Red Cross, mission and activities. I observed a common mistake that many presenters make. Novices and experienced speakers alike sometimes tell the audience how great something will be, and don't allow the audience to find out for themselves.

As I have explained before in this blog, when the introduction is a page long, and tells us all about how dynamic the speaker is, then my first thought is "He must be very boring if he has to tell the audience repeatedly that he is a dynamic speaker. I guess we would not have seen the dynamism if he did not tell us about it first. Or else he is insulting my intelligence by assuming that he has to tell me, since I am unable to identify a dynamic speaker when I see one." (Personally, I think that a speaker who needs to introduce himself as "dynamic" needs a therapist, not an audience.) I have yet to see a person introduce himself as "dynamic" and then live up to the promise.

Today's presenter introduced a video clip as "Very emotional". We watched the clip and I wasn't moved at all. Now what does that mean? I have no emotions? I looked around the audience who were also politely paying attention, but I did not witness any emotions.

I recommend that you do not set up your stories and video clips with introductions such as "This is a funny story" or "This is an emotional video". Just get right into it, and let your audience decide for themselves.

Have a look at your introductions. Are you telling your audiences how great you are? If so, then stop. Make your introduction "you focused" and show your audience that you are a dynamic, humorous and exciting speaker. This does not insult your audience and also saves you from looking like a fool when you don't deliver on what your introduction billed you to be.

All in all, this was a very productive day and a great volunteer event. I also purchased an emergency FM/AM radio with a hand-powered generator to use in case the power goes out. This is a fascinating invention and brings out the engineer in me.

Recording equipment for presenters

I am now in the market for new audio recording equipment for my next series of CD products. This week I researched microphones, digital recorders and audio editing software packages.

The variety of microphones, software packages and recording equipment available is eye-opening to a neophyte sound engineer. Hundreds of microphones, dynamic type, condensor type, cardiod patterns, with shock mounts, and stabilizer bars. Oh wait - that's for my trailer. Never mind :)

In my research I realized that my trusty Sony digital recorder is outdated as well. I purchased the ICD-P320 in August 2006 and have recorded over 150 speeches with it. The downside for me has always been that it is monoaural and I would have liked stereo recordings.

While browsing in Best Buy on Friday I realized with a shock that new portable digital recorders have stereo capability and was instantly dissatisfied with my ICD-P320. A new stereo digital recorder is on the cards for me now.

I advise you to also take a fresh look at your equipment. Technology advances so quickly, that if your laptop, projector and recorder are more than 2 years old, you should be thinking of upgrading again. For those of us who have been through the upgrade cycle a few times, it is still hard to realize your equipment is obsolete. But you have to agree with me that your time is too valuable to be struggling with far outdated equipment. Make the investment and purchase good recording equipment and a new portable audio recorder. You never know when you will be speaking to the right audience and get a "magical" moment that you can use in future presentations.

Applying Project Management Principles to Presentations

The essence of Project Management is "Plan the work, and then work the plan". The end result of a project does not happen by accident. Neither a successful nor failed project happen by accident. Actions taken during the project deliver a result.

How does this essence help presenters? Well, successful presentations don't just happen by accident either. Your memorable presentation is a result of actions that you have taken at appropriate times. In order to deliver a powerful presentation, you must have decided on the content for your presentation, created PowerPoint slides that fit your message and rehearsed your presentation. You probably confirmed the date and time of the presentation and tested your equipment before the audience walked into the room.

How do you keep track of everything? How do you remember to send your introduction a week before the presentation? Do you even know who to send it to? The easiest way to deliver powerful presentations every time, is by creating a simple project plan of the work to be done, and then working your plan.

In this podcast, you can learn "How to use Project Management Principles to plan your next presentation".

In short, here are the steps to take:
1. Put the date of your presentation at the bottom of a new Excel spreadsheet.
2. Working up the page, and back from your presentation, create interim target dates. For example, make a note of the date that you must send your introduction, and the date that you must deliver your PowerPoint slides to the meeting planner.
3. Add to your plan, as you uncover more work that needs to be done.
4. Keep your plan for your next presentation , and improve on it as you move forward.

Preparing to speak

I am often asked - "Can you give me a few tips for a presentation that I have to make?"

Here are Wayne Botha's six top speaking tips.
1. Drink half a gallon of water each day in the three days leading up to your presentation. (Yes - drink water, not soda, tea nor Triple Caramel Vente decaf with extra milk). You can take water on stage with you, but it is the water in the days leading up to the presentation that lubricates your vocal cords.

2. Start your preparation early. Don't wait until the week before the presentation. Preparation takes longer than you think. Start to prepare as soon as you know you are going to speak. Preparing the night before you speak will show up the minute you realize your PowerPoint slides are on your other computer at home.

3. Rehearse your presentation, out loud, at least once before you go live. Use a stopwatch or clock to verify how much time your presentation will take. It may be way over time, way under time, or just on time. This knowledge is essential for you to know if you can expand on points while you are presenting.

4. Get exercise before your presentation. Either take a walk on the night before your presentation, or take a walk before you go on stage. Get oxygen into your system and take the time to clear your mind from irrelevant distractions.

5. Speak hungry. Do not start your presentation with a full bladder or full stomach. Either skip your meal, or eat light before you present. You cannot perform well on a full stomach. You can pig out after you wow the audience.

6. Get there early. If you have PowerPoint slides (Do I need to remind you that Murphy's law will be lurking?) test your equipment before you present because something will not work. The power cord is too short, the remote presenter batteries just died, the Mac's cable doesn't fit the projector cable. Who knows what else will go wrong. Get there early.

There you have it. Wayne Botha's six top tips to prepare for your next speech or presentation. Use these tips to have your audience beg for more.

Do you really speak like that?

In the audience at church today, we again were on the receiving end of a speech that is being read, instead of being spoken.

Our preacher read large portions of her sermon, and once again highlighted why presenters are more effective when speaking from the heart, and notes, but not reading a speech.

Firstly, the written word is more pure than the spoken word. We do not speak as clearly as we write. I am constantly shocked when I have a speech transcribed through iDictate.com, and I realize that some words are inaudible, I use so many filler words including the all-time USA favorite of "so". For example, "So here we were... " and "So therefore we deduce....".

We all know that we speak less formally than we write and your audience knows it too. Don't write a formal speech and then read it. Make your notes, and then present your points from your notes, in your normal manner of speaking.

You do not really speak in sentences such as "Despite the thoroughness of the preparation, the drought brought significant hardship for generations such that ... "

Secondly, the written word allows for more complex structures, has longer sentences and allows the reader to go back and reread pieces. Not so in a speech. The audience hears what the presenter says. If the presenter lists ten points in as many minutes, then the audience does not have the opportunity to go back and review point #2. For this reason, present with your normal sentence structure and speak from your notes, in your normal manner of speaking. Also recap your main points at the end of the speech.

Thirdly, and this one should be obvious. You lose eye-contact when you read your speech. Your audience knows that you are reading a prepared speech and they have no presenter to make eye-contact with, so (see, even I am now using this USA speaking style - hehehe), your audiences eyes and minds wander around the room looking for something to connect with.

There you have just three reasons to not read a speech to your audience. Rather keep your speeches simple so that you can work from short notes and tell stories from your heart.

Your audience does not want to be impressed by your writing. They want to see you present your true thoughts and opinions, in your words.

Humorously speaking

Most presentations benefit when you include humor. But not telling the "joke of the day" off the Internet,. which just leave the audience feeling uncomfortable on your behalf. Instead, you need to study humor and use your own humor in your presentations.

If you did not know, you can make a study of humor. Until two years ago, I did not know that anyone could study humor as a subject. You can study stand-up comedy when you purchase one of Judy Carter's books. You can study humor with products and bootcamps from Darren La Croix.

My humor in presentations has improved since I began to study humor. In fact, I won my District 53 Toastmasters club contest today with my humorous speech.

I recommend that all presenters make a point to study humor as you get a chance. Humor makes the difference between your current presentation and the memorable presentation that your audience wants to enjoy.

Go ahead and develop your humorous stories. Your audience will thank you while you will distinguish yourself from peers who believe that anything less than 35 bullets on a PowerPoint slide is wasted space.

Estimating the prep time

Too frequently I see presenters make the mistake of not setting enough time aside to create and rehearse presentations. It seems to be human nature to think that we can prepare a presentation the night before we go before an audience.

It takes a lot of time to create powerful slides and the last constraint that you want to impose on yourself is too little time. How much time does it take to prepare a presentation?

This week I discussed the time investment for speeches with three past winners of Toastmasters speech contests. All three agreed that you must be willing to put in a lot of time to craft, rehearse, adjust and get feedback on your speech. A conservative estimate is 7 hours per minute that you are on stage.

That's 50 hours of rehearsal (sometimes alone, and sometimes driving to an audience for feedback on live performances) in order to have a shot at winning the Toastmasters District Speech contest.

For a business presentation, I have found that 3 complete rehearsals is the bare minimum. If you are making a 20 minute presentation, then plan to rehearse 3 separate times and revise your speech in between your rehearsals.

This means that you should have your presentation ready to rehearse about one week in advance of your presentation date. This will give you enough time to rehearse, revise, rehearse, revise and get a good night's sleep before your presentation.

Withholding information from your audience

Think of a presentation or speech that you attended where you understood the main message and walked out with the message. Perhaps a sermon from your preacher. Perhaps a movie that touched you - ET Phone home, or Lassie.

Presentations that convey the main message to the audience are not crowded with information. Effective and meaningful presentations have one simple theme and manifold supporting images that convey the message for the audience to understand it.

No effective presentation starts off with with PowerPoint slide that says "Let me read to you the 25 top awards that my company has achieved". (Just typing this title puts me to sleep, I couldn't bear to have to sit through such a presentation).

Instead, prepare your presentation using this guideline. Only tell the audience what they need to know, and tell it to them using a variety of communication techniques so that they walk out with the main idea of your presentation.

For example, if your message for your presentation is "Set the example because your leadership actions determines your project's performance", then use a metaphor, a personal story, a data point and metric to communicate this message to your audience.

Don't try to tell your audience everything you know about leadership and project management. Don't provide bucket loads of research results to your audience. (Of course, at this point, you know that you shouldn't be putting this information on your slides).

Focus on what the audience needs to know in order to understand your message, and do everything you can, including using audience activities, to communicate your message. '

Deliberately withhold distracting information from your audience, including additional information that will encourage information overload.

Remember this. "Rather withhold than overload".

What obvious answers are you overlooking?

This past Sunday we sailed the good ship Asterix. Sailors were blessed with fabulous weather on Sunday. 15 to 24 knot winds. Ground speed of 4 to 8 knots with the sun at 80 Degrees. If one could order sailing weather on Long Island Sound, then yesterday would have been my first choice on the menu.

We went through the routine as the 27 Horsepower diesel chugged out of the harbor. The captain turned into the wind. The sail covers came off and were stowed, the instruments were powered up. We removed the fenders and stowed them below decks. Everything was going according to plan when the captain shouted "There is something wrong. The helm is all jammed up." The crew gathered around the helm while our captain stated "We must have caught a line. We need to pull ashore and dive underneath to clear the line".

My first thought was "How are we going to steer into the dock with a stuck rudder?". This is not a car where you pull over to the side of the road for repairs. On the sea, you are on the surface and there is no easy way to get on land. With an immovable rudder, I didn't see how we would get ashore safely.

Lobster Pots are flourishing in Long Island Sound at the moment. The markers float on the water like unwanted weeds in a fertilized flower garden. Captains steer boats steer around the markers like a stunt driver dodging road marking cones while driving on a test track. It was very possible that we had not seen a lobster pot while preparing for voyage and a snagged a line in the rudder.

All aboard were in shock - no-one volunteered to dive under and disentangle a rudder in the murky, cold Long Island Sound water.

We watched while the captain struggled with the helm. Sure enough - it was jammed solid. Not moving to port nor starboard. It was stuck tight. It looked like someone was going to be braving the Atlantic ocean.

Then we heard a question - "Is the auto helm engaged?" The captain indignantly said "Of course not. Do you think I am stupid? We are hardly out of the harbor." Then the captain checked and sheepishly disengaged the auto helm which released the rudder. Sighs of relief turned into the joke of the day as we kidded the captain for the rest of our voyage.

Apparently the captain and us crew members are all so well trained that we follow the routine without thinking, including setting the auto helm to keep us facing into the wind while we raise the sails.

The lesson we should all learn from this situation is that our first reaction should be to step back when we encounter something unexpected. Don't assume the worst. As presenters, we get so used to the routine that we overlook the obvious and jump straight into complex solutions for simple problems. When you encounter an unexpected response from your audience, step back and look at an obvious issue, before trying to implement a complex solution.

For example, when you realize that you are regularly reading your slides to your audience, don't jump to a complex solution such as trying to memorize the text on your slides. The obvious solution to reading text on slides is to eliminate the text from your slides. Use your slides only for photos or visuals. Internalize your message so that you don't have to describe your message in text on slides.

When you debrief after your presentation (and I sincerely expect you to debrief after every presentation to see where you can improve), answer this question. "Did I read any text to my audience". If you read slides to your audience, then you lost eye contact and possibly even turned your back to your audience.

Then consider logical solutions to help you improve in this situation. How can you convey your message to your audience without text on slides? Think about using handouts for them to take home while you convey the principles of your message with stories and metaphors.

You may be caught up in the moment and unable to think of logical options to your situation. Just as our captain was convinced that a line was caught up in the rudder, and was not open to consider other options you may not be able to accept alternative options for your presentation.

This is when you need an outsider's opinion. Our captain needed a crew member to question the auto helm engagement. Video tape your presentation and ask an experience presenter for feedback. Otherwise, you may be diving under the stage to inspect your cables when the real issue is that you have too much text on your PowerPoint slides.

Snake bites

Have you ever heard the saying "If it was a snake, it would have bitten you"? When you are looking for something like a can of beans in the grocery store, and cannot find it then you will probably become frustrated. You may even get hot under the collar while wondering why the store does not keep cans of beans where you are looking. Eventually you will ask a shelf stacker for assistance. When the shelf stacker points out that you are standing in front of the desired can of beans but did not recognize it, your wife may remind you that "if it was a snake, it would have bitten you".

Do you have a gesture or habit while making presentations that you don't see? Do you habitually look at the ceiling while presenting? (I won't even discuss the still-overused habit of reading text-laden slides while you back is turned to the audience).

How do you identify distracting habits and gestures? You are too close to observe these behaviors. You are so close to your habits that if they were snakes, your skin would look like a sieve from the snake bites.

You have options to identify the gestures.

1. Get feedback from trusted audience members. A word of warning -filter feedback that you accept. Some people in your audience want to give you feedback on everything including your choice of your lunch sandwich and their way you raise your children. Ignore these people. Only accept feedback from intelligent beings - preferably other speakers who have more than 3 minutes of experience on the stage.


2. Video tape your speech. There is no better way to review your actual performance than watching an unedited video recording of your speech. Here is where you will see the gestures you used, the length of your pauses and how much you referred to your notes. (I find that a video recording of my presentation is always a sobering experience. For example, it feels as if I glance at my notes while making the presentation, but the video tape shows me spending significant time looking at notes and not paying attention to the audience.)


3. Get an expert evaluation of your video tape. I hire Darren LaCroix (the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking) for eCritiques of my speeches. While I may have thought a performance was exceptional, Darren's feedback always helps me to a higher level. Join Edgenet here so that you can also hire Darren as your personal presentations coach.

There you have it. Don't think that because your audience applauded when you left the stage that you gave the best performance that you can give. Your audience may have applauded in appreciation for you leaving the stage.

How do you avoid snake bites on stage? Use one, two or all three of the above options to identify areas of improvements in your presentations. Good luck because as Monk's theme tune says "It's a jungle out there" (on the stage).

Trancription Services

I had some of my speeches and podcasts transcribed with iDictate.com. The results are here. Look over the transcriptions and tell me what you think. I am impressed with their blazing fast turnaround time and the accuracy of the resulting transcriptions. In one of my speeches, iDictate.com transcribed a better speech than I delivered :).

This reminds me of business-savvy portrait painters. You first discuss the client's desires and determine if he thinks he is overweight, or has a big nose or other blemish. Then you paint what the buyer wants to see. If necessary, the painter takes off a few pounds, or paints a smaller nose or fuller head of hair. Whatever the buyer wants to see is what the painter puts onto canvas. In my case, iDictate.com transcription experts put onto paper the speech that I wish I had given.

p.s. And of course, the only way you can have a speech transcribed, is to record it in the first place. Hint, hint. Get a portable audio recorder and record every speech. You may just be amazed at what you say.

Use common senses in your presentations

Most people in your audience have five common senses. The senses of sight, touch, smell, sound and taste. It is even more important to read this blog posting if you have someone in your audience who is blind or deaf.

Always describe your stories using as many senses as you possibly can. Comprehensive description brings your audience into your stories. Here are two descriptions of the same story. Which one is more real to you?

1. On a winter morning, we set out to play golf. My first swing was a disaster.

2. If you had been with me on January 13, 2008, you would have been shivering from the bitterly cold wind. As I stepped onto the tee with my smiling father at 8 am to celebrate his seventieth birthday, the dew crackled beneath my feet. Visibility was limited to 300 yards and the sun was slowly burning the fog to nothingness. I caught a whiff of the maple syrup that I messed on my shirt at breakfast and was still infuriated at my clumsiness. I swung the 7 iron in my best impression of Tiger Woods and the ball rocketed straight up like a space shuttle on a mission before it landed 2 feet behind me. My father loudly announced "Wayne - this is going to be one of those days". "Wait until I beat you on this round of golf".

Add gestures to the word pictures painted in description #2, and you have a better chance of holding audience attention.

Do you notice how the second description used multiple senses? We have these senses in common with our audiences and you should take the time to describe the environment of your story and your actions to use all five senses.

Pre-Presentation Speaking

Remember to speak before your presentation. In some cases, even before you arrive at the venue.

Speak to the person who will introduce you. Call him or her up and say "Hello. My name is Joe Soap. I understand that you will introduce my speech at the XYZ Event. Would you mind if I send over my prepared introduction to make it easier for you?" Then email your introduction and call again to ask if there are any words which are troublesome in the introduction. 1 in 100 speakers do this, and you will be the 1 to gain the introducer's respect when you do this. (Also bring your printed introduction in at least 18 point font with you, in case the previous copy went into a parallel universe with your other sock).

Speak to the presenters who will share the stage with you. Will you follow a speaker, or precede the after-dinner speaker? If so, then call and introduce yourself to presenters who will precede or follow you. Just reaching out to other speakers before the event puts you in a class of your own. The atmosphere between speakers who have spoken ahead of time is one of camaraderie instead of professional courtesy on the platform and the audience benefits from all the speakers involved.

Speak to yourself on the way to the event. Take a few minutes to calm your mind and clear your thoughts so that you can focus on your presentation. Focus on your opening and closing in your mind. Visualize your strong opening and successful delivery. Come on stage ready to perform, not ready to vent your road rage.

Speak to your audience at the event, before you take the platform and after you have setup your technological gizmo's for your presentation. This implies that you will be at the event 15 to 30 minutes early so that you can get setup and ground yourself. Mingle with the audience to warm up your voice and to connect with people in your audience so that you are not breaking ice when you utter your first words. Keep your ears open for snippets of conversation that you can include in your speech.

Finally, after all of this pre-presentation speaking, get on stage and deliver your best presentation. You have earned the right to feel proud that your preparation is never left to chance and you are streets ahead of most presenters. As a grandmother would say "Well begun is Half Done". And you have begun well.

Are you a Talking Head?

Are you a presenter who stands still and delivers speeches from the safety of the lectern? Your audience sees the equivalent of a lifeless talking head and hears your voice. This is not very engaging for your audience and I find it hard to pay attention to a talking head.

At my Toastmasters meetings and Project Management Institute meetings this week, I observed how prevalent the lack of expression is in body gestures. Many presenters tend to limit their own expressiveness on stage and become "formal". For example, one speaker spoke about falling off his bicycle and fracturing his elbow which required 72 hours of hospitalization. He narrated these facts with zero expression. I am glad it was him and not me, because I assume it was a painful and overall unpleasant experience.

So how can you be more expressive in your presentations? Use your "muscle memory". Knowing that you are less expressive on stage than when relating your story to your friends at a barbecue, you should exaggerate gestures in your speech rehearsals. Make your gestures large and meaningful. Then you are going to have more expressive gestures on stage, although they will be smaller than the gestures you rehearsed because your "muscle memory" comes to your aid.

Train your "muscle memory" to take your presentation from being a talking head to being an expressive, confident and riveting speaker through expressive gestures.