Some lessons on making presentations
Recently, I received an interesting invitation from a lecturer in the Business Administration Department at the American University of Central Asia. He teaches one of the classes in Business Communications and the invitation was to listen to a series of Presentations given by members of the class.
As he explained in his email, one of the major aspects of this course is helping to develop skills and expertise in public speaking and making presentations to an audience. Not everyone feels comfortable speaking in public and few are “natural presenters”. Not only may they have to make business presentations once they graduate and get a job, many of the courses in the University require that students make a presentation, and so it is important for students to be prepared as much as possible, in order to be able to communicate their knowledge, be persuasive and make the best of the occasion. It could make all the difference in a grade, or make a sale. The idea of the exercise was to give the students practice in giving presentations in front of a live audience in order to help them overcome their fears (sometimes terror!).
Anyway, he circulated the invitation amongst his friends and acquaintances – I like to think I got on the list as the former. It seems, however, that everyone else was busy, because I was the only “outsider” to turn up. Anyway, here are some of my thoughts based on the experience.
As I understand it, there had already some presentations given in a precious class. This time there were to be four presentations on this occasion. The students had chosen their own topics, prepared a Powerpoint slide show and script to last between 10 and 15 minutes and were now going to present it to an audience. Their performances, if that’s the right word, were videoed so that they could be watched later and analysed.
We started late because of a technical problem, something to do with the electricity supply, so the computers weren’t working. So that was lesson number 1 – come early and check the equipment … and be prepared to deliver the presentation without it if necessary. ( On one occasion, for example, I turned up to give a talk and discovered that I had left the all important flashka on my desk … although, fortunately, I did have my notes with me so I was able to continue without the assistance of the computer and projector.) In this case, however, it was sorted out fairly quickly but still, it meant that the lesson had to be curtailed. Remember Murphy’s Law – If something can go wrong – it will! In other circumstances, a power cut could have mean having to give a talk without the assistance of technology!
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The four talks were on a fairly wide variety and eclectic collection of topics: “How to increase sales”, “The assassinations of US Presidents”, “Manas – A National Ideology for Kyrgyzstan” and “Austria”.
That leads me to lesson number 2: Decide on the purpose of the Presentation. Is it an informative exercise, trying pass on information and convince the audience that you know what you are talking about? Maybe it’s a training exercise – for example, the one on how to increase your sales as it was delivered could easily have been one. On the other hand, is it something that is attempting to elicit a response? – such as a “sales pitch”? Maybe I am wrong , but I think the purpose might well change the way that I would deliver a presentation.
Lesson number 3 would be: Know your material. If you have done your preparation properly, then this should be no problem. If you know that you have 10-15 minutes available then do your research and write a script … practice it … rehearse. Personally, I wouldn’t try to learn it and then deliver it “word for word” or read it … you lose spontaneity and flexibility doing that … but I would prepare more than I needed. In his opening remarks, for example, one piece of advice that my friend gave the class was to make sure that you had extra material in case, (for some reason), you found yourself with extra time. (This was obviously something he had said to them before in an earlier class.) For example, you might discover that you have spoken very quickly and had time on your hands. Alternatively, if there are other speakers before you in the programme, then you might find that they have already covered some of your material.
I got the distinct impression that at least one of the talks was simply a list of quotations … which, in my opinion, is bad news, Especially if you end up reading the slides. Why repeat what is written on the slides … I can read. The slides should be a prompt containing highlights. One mistake I have seen so many times in presentations is that people put too much information on the slides and then simply read it. So why have a presentation? Give me the document to read in my own time. The point about the presentation, it seems to me, is to give information, sometimes with a personal viewpoint and that’s why you are are speaking to it.
It’s better if it is your own work – then you “own” it, you not only know the content but you have a personal connection or investment in the presentation.
That brings me to lesson number 4: Have a clear and logically thought out presentation. Two of the talks didn’t seem to follow the slides. In one case the speaker got ahead of himself, and in a couple of cases we had to go back and forth, to find the right slide that illustrated the point that the speaker was making.
One speaker clearly knew his material, but rambled a little. This meant that he over ran his allotted time … not by much, but bearing in mind that we started late, it meant that he had to be cut short and there was no time for questions. A little forethought and rehearsal would have solved this problem and made for a much more effective presentation.
Lesson number 5 would be to avoid controversy where ever possible. One slide contained the word “crap”; another had a picture of a large bosom; one had a joke which although was appropriate could have been taken as being in questionable taste. You don’t always know who is in the audience and how they are going to take the joke, the suggestive picture or the swear word.
On the other hand, one of the presentations was on a topic that could have been controversial in itself. In this case it needs to be handled sensitively and, one again, a little more preparation would have helped.
Questions are important and you should be prepared for them … and that would be lesson number 6. In a previous class they had been told to think about what sort of questions your talk may elicit. That’s good advice – and if you know your topic well then the additional material that you have prepared could be answers to possible questions. It’s not good to get a question and then have to think about and offer an unprepared answer. Of course, you can’t predict them all, but the more you have considered then the less likely it is that you get a nasty surprise. One of my favourite sayings is: “I don’t like surprises”, it means I haven’t thought of something and am not prepared for it. I have to react quickly and there is a greater risk that my response will be inappropriate – or worse, just plain wrong.
I asked one speaker a question – it was a long question with a complicated lead in – and that can be difficult to handle … by the time the questioner has finished, you may not really understand what he is getting at. If necessary, ask him to repeat it … or say something that expresses what you understand him to be asking … just to confirm that you have clearly understood the question.
The answer given to one question was, “I don’t know.” That’s not a good answer, even if it is honest. There are different techniques to handle this sort of situation and one way out of this might be to say something like, “That’s a good question, I’d like to think about it and get back to you on that.”
Turning to more practical issues, lesson number 7 might well be: learn as much as possible and prepare for the venue and the audience … We were in a large cavernous room, (it’s called a conference room, but was more like a theatre and once housed sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the Khirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic). If the presentation was being given in a small room, then your approach to things like voice projection, stance, etc., will be somewhat different. It’s not so easy to project a commanding, authoritative, presence in a large hall before any audience, (large or small), as it is in a small “meeting room”.
Will the audience be large or small? For example, when I was a teacher, I had a colleague who was very happy addressing a class of thirty pupils in a class, but she refused point blank to ever address a larger gathering, (say a year group of 180 pupils or, worse still, the whole school of 1080 pupils). A large group in a small room can make you feel claustrophobic, where as a small group in a large hall, (as we were), can be just as off-putting … you all seem to get lost in a vast empty space.
Will you be sitting, or standing?, Who will operate the computer that controls the presentation?, and so on.
If the presentation is to take place in a small room, for example, then you may be able to operate the computer that controls the projection of the presentation yourself, but in a large hall there will almost certainly be someone else who will be pushing the buttons, and so you need to work on appropriate signals to indicate when you want them to move on. A presentation punctuated with “Next slide” can be disconcerting – but there may be no other way to do it. Is it possible to have a partner with whom you can rehearse so that they too know the presentation and can decide when to move on. Is it appropriate to give them a copy of your draft speech, or notes, so that they can follow? Will it be possible to use a visual signal?
Will there be a lectern so that you have something to hold and place your notes that you can refer to if necessary?. Will it be best to read your set speech that you have prepared? If so, then make sure it is in a font that easy to see and follow – use a larger font and use a system of headings, bold text, italics, underlining, and combinations, (and possibly colours) to highlight important points, so that if you do diverge from the script for any reason then you can easily find your place again – Murphy’s Law again), or will you be spontaneous and speak freely, in which case your notes to be just headings, (I use the slides to contain the headings that I want to cover so that I don’t need paper – but always have a paper copy as well … just in case!).
In a large hall, will there be a microphone? Personally, I hate microphones, especially if you have to hold it. There are several reasons, but one is that the sound of hearing your own voice through an amplification system can be off putting. Sometimes, however, they are necessary, (for example, if it’s a large hall or the proceedings are being recorded), so if have to use one, practice and get used to the experience.
I have already mentioned about avoiding potentially controversial material in the content. It would helpful to have some idea about who is likely to be in the audience. Not only can knowing who might be listening to you, help you avoid making gaffes, it may be possible to tailor the comments in the presentation and make it more personal and challenging, direct and relevant. This is especially true if the point of the presentation is to elicit a response, (like in a sales presentation), or a training presentation where you want audience involvement and participation.
When it comes to lesson number 8 – consider how to actually deliver your presentation. The class had been given the advice to address a particular spot or person to the back of the hall. They had been told to face the audience, but one speaker kept looking at the screen which should have been behind him, so all we saw for large periods was his back. What’s more, because he was facing the screen, he had to work harder to project his voice. Fortunately, I could hear what he was saying, but in a large hall it can be difficult to project your voice so that it is heard everywhere. So, Practice – preferably in a large hall. Try taking a small passage from a book, maybe just a couple of pages, and try reading it aloud in a large hall or open space. It is quite different from speaking in a small classroom. Try taking breathing exercises, and taking deep breaths before you start, especially if you are likely to be nervous.
It’s not just about the voice, however, body language can also be important especially if you are standing and possibly walking about on a stage. Actions often speak louder than words.
That brings me nicely to lesson number 9, work the audience – try to keep their attention. Earlier I used the word “performance”. In some ways it is a performance … but a “performance” can get in the way of the “message” that the speaker is trying to convey just as easily as it can help to put it across to the audience. Although it might be a useful technique, the job of the presenter is not to “entertain” the audience. If it were, then it wouldn’t be a presentation
The final lesson, lesson number 10, is to keep an eye on the time. (I admit that this is something I am particularly bad at). If a question and answer session is necessary, then make sure that there is time left for this. If you are speaking towards the end of a session, (say, just before a coffee break), then people may be getting tires and anxious to get up and go for a stroll, cup of coffee, or whatever. If you have prepared lots of material and there doesn’t seem to be enough time to deliver it all, then don’t worry – concentrate on the main points and work to get those across. Accept the fact that you can’t do, or cover, everything – so don’t try to. Suggest that there is more and you’ll be happy to talk further, give more details or whatever, later, (on another occasion or perhaps over coffee?)
As one of the students said in their presentation, everybody likes a freebie, so here is a bonus lesson: don’t forget to review the experience – analyse it and learn from your mistakes so that you can try and avoid them in the future. As it happens, because the four talks were being videoed, this class will be doing that.
Better still, analyse other people’s performances and learn from their mistakes. For example, go to youtube and do a search on “How not to make a presentation” and watch some of the videos … for example, these two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORxFwBR4smE
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORxFwBR4smE
To sum up, let me return to lesson number 1 with the thought that technology can be wonderful when it works – a real enabler and liberator – but can be a real pain when something goes wrong … so, remember the old Boy Scout motto, (or Pioneer motto), and “Be prepared”. In fact, that’s the general theme. It all boils down to preparation which can make or break almost any enterprise or activity, not just that of making an effective presentation.
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Having said all that, I was quite impressed.
These talks were all interesting and I wasn’t either bored, falling asleep, straining to hear, struggling to follow the gist of what was being said, or suffering any of the other faults that are so common in many of the presentations that I have seen … often given by people who are supposed to be “experts”, (oh, how I love that word – notice the touch of sarcasm there!). Those people might well be “experts” in their field, but they are often not experts in giving presentations. There are real skills involved in giving presentations and I “take my hat off” to the University in focusing on this as a real skill to be nurtured and developed.
Perhaps the most impressive thing, however, about this particular group was that they were all delivering talks in English which is not their native language. They all seemed to be confident and fluent. In cases where the student is not all that confident and fluent in the language, that’s just going to add to the stress involved – especially for someone who is already nervous or anxious about speaking in public.
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I started these thoughts, observations or comments with “lesson number 1″, (about being prepared for Murphy’s Law taking effect – in other words, prepare for potential disaster), but logically, that shouldn’t come first. It isn’t most the most important thing to consider when preparing to make a presentation. I only started with that because of the way the event started. In fact, that’s probably not the first thing to bear in mind when preparing to make a presentation … start with the purpose – what do you hope the presentation to achieve, then make the preparations, (do your research, writing, rehearse and refine). Considering possible “disasters” and how to deal with them is something that should be kept in mind, all the way through your preparation. Most of all, however, make sure you know the purpose of the Presentation!. All else should follow from this.
I admit that I am no great expert in “making presentations” and I, too, fall into the pitfalls of inadequate preparation and delivery – especially losing track of time and overrunning my allotted time. What’s more, these thoughts are not meant to be primer for a course, but were prompted by the experience of attending a particular session where four widely different talks were given, I am sure that if other people had been able to attend that they might well have other thoughts and observations to offer. This is my contribution.
I hope the class helps these students in approaching something that too many people think is just “money for old rope” – that anyone can do it. Yes, “anyone CAN do it” … but they can’t all do it well! … and, as the old proverb has it, “a job worth doing is worth doing well!”
Bishkek