Presentation Skills - Part 2

This material can be used as a useful support to presentation skills training or as preparation to a presentation course. It can also be used in isolation to any formal presentation training. Spearhead Training has developed this material through many years of making presentations, analysis of the key elements to a successful presentation and through years of providing presentation skills training courses to a wide range of delegates working in diverse industries and markets. The material therefore incorporates years of experience as well as consideration to some of the latest techniques. The Managing Director of Spearhead Training is a gold medallist with honours in public speaking at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

 

This material is copy right of Spearhead Training Group.



Using visuals effectively

The presenter may have checked everything thoroughly, prepared the performance by rehearsing all the stages of the event. Everything went according to plan. So why didn’t the presentation work?

The first problem is that the visuals were misunderstood by the presenter. They should be used to illustrate the talk.

Some people use them as a prompt or aid. “I’m not sure what comes next... ah yes, here’s a slide which takes me there.”

Others forget the purpose of the visuals; which is:-

Visuals should be used to underline, emphasise and illustrate the message being communicated. When words alone do not convey the information, a picture or illustration may be necessary. Complicated figures may be simplified by using graphs, histograms, pie-charts, and it is helpful if they are used.

As you begin to prepare your talk, ask the following questions.

Does my talk need illustrating?

What visuals will best illuminate the subject matter?

 

Can I justify the cost of visual aids? (There are inexpensive solutions but some visuals can be very costly).

 

If the equipment breaks down, can I share, the information without visuals?
Who am I trying to impress?

 

A whole industry has grown up around the question of visual aids. As with computers, people become absorbed in the technology at the expense of the application.

The Projector

A valuable way of presenting vital illustrations, particularly to a large audience. Slides may be produced without too much cost and can throw real light on your talk.

Where possible, work the remote control yourself. Try it out several times before the presentation. Acquaint yourself with the schedule and watch for distracting gaps.

Distraction is the enemy of clarity. People read at different speeds and you should not present a cluttered slide. Ten words is usually enough to be taken in by all members of the audience. (Remember those so-called “mission statements” which go on and on ad nauseam). Twenty numbers is the maximum for any visual. If calculations are involved, allow sufficient time for them.

Flipcharts

These are simple, portable and straightforward to use. Some people make them difficult to understand because they have not:

a) Script the information in advance, and

Checked to see that images are clear to the people at the back of the room.

If someone is reading from 30 feet away, then avoid using letters less than 2” in height.

Other alternatives

White-boards, blackboards and wallcharts are easy to use but practise your illustrations and check their clarity before the audience arrives.

Working effectively with visual aids

It is tempting to look at your screen, board or chart while you talk. It is also distracting for the audience because you are ignoring them. Use a pointer to direct the audiences attention. There is no merit at staring blankly at the images you wish them to see.

If you are using an illustration which need referring to in stages, then use the “reveal technique”.

Remember that the only reason for using visual aids is to illustrate your presentation.

YOUR VOICE

How do you feel about your voice. Have you ever listened to a recording of it and felt unhappy about the sounds you made? What troubles you? Let us take a look at the possibilities.

Your accent

“I wish I didn’t sound so regional. I had no idea that I was so ‘Northern’”.

Ask yourself “why”?

What is wrong with sounding as if you come from a particular area? What influences us in our likes and dislikes about accents? Are we ashamed of the place where we grew up? Do we wish we were different people with different backgrounds?

If so, give the matter some thought. You could enrol in some elocution classes and learn how to imitate the Royal family, the people who read the shipping forecast on the radio or the Leader in the House of Lords. The result would probably be disastrous, but it can be done.

There is nothing wrong with this but it fails in one important respect. Wherever people come from, there is no reason to pretend something which is entirely artificial. On the contrary, we are the richer for our regional varieties of speech and we should celebrate them.

Do not embark upon a voyage of pretence. You are not required to give a performance using the accessories of an actor. You wish to be yourself. What that means is “accentuating all the positive power you have wherever you come from, and eliminating any negative areas of voice production.”

Your delivery

“I mutter a lot. I clip the end of my words. I often sound unclear.”

Now we come to the important aspect of voice production. Clarity is vital. Accent is a positive benefit if you think of certain regional speakers. Broadcasters, actors, politicians, trade-unionists, priests and sports commentators can hail from different regions, but they are always heard and understood.

Dyland Thomas’ clarity as a reader of poetry celebrates his Welshness because every word is comprehensible; John Arlott makes Hampshire sound like the voice of cricket; David Steel makes Scotland sound like a democratic citadel; Henry Cooper’s voice is rich with the music of London; examples of clarity are endless and come from every corner of the country. What they all have in common is a method of delivery which leaves us in no doubt about their message.

Making yourself clear

So we’ve stopped being ashamed of our regional accent and still we sound as if we have a mouthful of cotton wool. Or we gabble away the words so that no one understands us. Or we sound bored, tired or indifferent. We know that anyone listening will catch the mood of the voice and that they will become distracted.

As you know, distraction is the enemy of clarity, so what do we do?

Breathing

We breath constantly but our voices don’t give the impression of being alive. Even the well-trained athlete can sound unimpressive when they speak, in spite of being fit and healthy.

It is nothing to do with fitness. It is to do with how we breathe and what we wish to achieve. The athlete breathes quickly, taking air into the upper chest. Many people can produce a small amount of air which enables them to produce the effort required for physical exertion. The kind of breathing which helps you play a good game of squash is of no help when it comes to producing your voice. Your upper chest is where the air goes in and out, often leaving you tense in the neck and shoulders.

You need to breathe from your diaphragm, a muscle found in your lower rib-cage. It is possible to use your diaphragm in such a way that you will make your vocal chords vibrate. We need to keep our necks and shoulders free from tension in order to let the sounds we make resonate as we produce them.

Your voice is a musical instrument. For everyday purposes it doesn’t require much in the way of exercise and practice. For the purpose of reaching a large audience, you need to be able to product a range of sounds, pitches and moods which are readily available.

 

Pitch, pace, tone and volume

The relaxed person with good breathing is still some way from making the voice interesting. It never will be, if the breathing is wrong. However, there is still some work to do.

Take a few lines from a newspaper article or magazine and record yourself reading them.

Try reading that article, or one of your own choice, into a tape-recorder. Read it naturally and listen to the replay.

Questions

¨ Where do the breaths come?

¨ Are the words clear?

Now try reading it in a different way. Try sounding enthusiastic about it. Then, the same words but in a cynical mood, then amused, then indifferent, then excited and then serious. Listen to the replays again. Do you hear the moods in the tone of voice? Have you noticed a different placing of the breathing?

The most useful example is a piece of poetry. Choose a few verses you know and spend a little time varying the pace and the pitch as you read. You are not trying to become an actor. You are trying your voice in moods and ways it is quite used to in ordinary conversation. It just gets too little practice and you may not have listened to it before.

If you read loudly at first, then softly, then quickly and slowly, you will be practising your scales and will be more aware of your voice’s capability. Do these exercises often until you are clear about how you wish to sound.

Enunciation

You have learned how to breathe properly. You are learning to create moods with your voice, but the words you say need to be crystal-clear.

Listen to the recordings again. Examine your delivery of consonants. Here are the most commonly ignored. The letter “t”….. can you always hear it? Do you say “Pass the butter” or “Pass the bu^er.” Are we going to talk about that?” or “Are we going to talk about tha^?”

For some reason, the letter “t” is regularly ignored in spoken English. At worst, it is omitted altogether. Often it is replaced with “d”. Example: “Whaddya mean?” “Whaddo we need to do?” “There’s a ladda things we miss when first we listen to our voices.”

Some people confuse their “p” and “b” sounds. They “bick ub a biece of baber” and read quickly at the same time. The letters “g” and “k” are also close to one another in terms of production.

You can make a study of the mouth’s anatomy if you wish. You may decide to enrol in a course which details the production of consonants and vowels. However, this is not usually necessary.

You are your own sternest critic and you can teach yourself to produce your presentation clearly. Try repeating these sentences.

· That is how we test our tomatoes.

· They taste as good as potatoes.

 

· To some people, they taste better.

· Talk about it when you want to.

· Good diction is only a matter of habit.

· Bad timing is part of the reason for details going to the wall.

· Keep going until you get the kind of sound you want to hear.

· Good diction has nothing to do with your accent, only your clarity.

There are people who enunciate naturally. It may be that they are encouraged to listen themselves when very young. The chances are that they heard the words spoken clearly and, like all children, they imitated the sound they heard.

The majority of us learned habits of pronunciation and diction in less helpful circumstances. It is not too late to acquire better speech habits and to help your listeners understand you.

NERVES

NERVES

Nerves effect almost everyone making presentations. Presentation skills training help build confidence and overcome nerves.  

Why you get nervous

There are two causes of nervousness:

(1) Psychological

(2) Physiological

Overcoming psychological fears

The psychological background has to do with your state of readiness. Only if you have put your audience first, checked your equipment, practised using your voice and subjected yourself to a rehearsal, will you overcome the “jitters”.

Let us examine your behaviour

Remember when you were suddenly put on the spot when in school? Someone asked you to step up and go through a reading, a recitation or a performance of some kind and you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach?

That memory has stayed with you for all this time and it is about to return all the more now that you have to give another presentation.

The difference is that you won’t be required to do the job until you have prepared thoroughly. You have used your imagination productively, sorted out your material, timed your agenda and checked your visual aids.

Rehearse with an audience

Now is the time to have a run-through. If possible, rehearse your talk in the company of someone whose opinion you trust. Ask for constructive criticism which will help you to stay on track and then go over it again…. several times if necessary.

Get it taped

If you have the use of a video camera, ask someone to film your presentation. Watch the replay and iron out those unsatisfactory moments when you next rehearse. You will notice a few distracting movements and you will avoid them in future.

If some of your material is questionable, ask the help of someone in authority. You need to be certain of your facts, only then will you feel that you are in control. It is possible that your lack of control causes you further anxiety. What if Mr. Brown or Mrs. Williams asks an awkward question and you are not sure of the answer?

Preparing for questions

If you have been thorough in your detective work and you know all that is reasonable available to you, then no one can cause you to flounder. Try out some of your answers to some of the questions you are likely to receive. Practise them with a colleague.

Then comes the question you did not expect! The senior member of the audience who asks you something to which you don’t know the answer.

Try this example

Q: I’m concerned about this morning’s new report. Won’t that change everything?

A: Thank you for mentioning that. I have not seen that report so may we discuss it after the presentation?

Or

Q: I have seen all this stuff many times before. Is there nothing new to tell us?

A: I hope there may be. Your point of view would be most helpful, so can we leave your question for when I finish?

Remember that 99% of the people are on your side. They want you to do well. If John Brown is one of those hypercritical people who butts in occasionally, the others will be glad when you handle him politely. The psychological fears are best controlled by thoroughness and courtesy.

Overcoming physiological fears

The physiological cause is easily treated by using the following techniques:-

q Do some deep-breathing exercises.
q Spend a little time alone in a quite corner.
q Do not stimulate your nerves with caffeine, alcohol or nicotine.
q Drink cool, clean water.
Experience will show you which are the things you need to concentrate on. If you have followed the recommendations which have been made so far, you need not fear failure. A little nervous twinge may still emerge in the first few moments but that need not deter you.

BODY LANGUAGE

The only reason for knowing something about body language is that you wish to keep the audience focused on your presentation. Some movements are likely to distract attention and, as you know, distraction is the enemy of clarity.

The main elements of body language are:

q GESTURE

q STANCE

q POSTURE

q CARRIAGE

q EYE CONTACT

q FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

If you are in a position to watch a run-through of your presentation on film you will notice certain signals which have been transmitted without your knowing.

Gesture

Some Europeans are expressive. They “talk with their hands” and no one takes exception to this. In Northern Europe, we favour economy of gesture. The British speaker who indulges in arm-waving arouses suspicion in the audience. The questions which come to mind are:

“What is he trying to hide?”

“Who does she think she is kidding?”

“Why doesn’t she keep still?”

“Can we trust him?”

That does not mean that we expect people to avoid gestures altogether. The occasional open-handed gesture may lend emphasis and suggest welcome thoughts. Pointing suggests threat and is best avoided.

Stance

The speaker who is uncertain of the material being offered will stand awkwardly. Sometimes, one shoulder is lifted in a lop-sided manner, the words are delivered over the raised shoulder and the audience feels uneasy. Feet will move about, knees will buckle, hands will tighten their grasp over wrists and we know that the speaker is nervous.

The confident presenter will stand straight, feet a few inches apart, hands gently clasped at waist level or held at the sides of the body. Avoid the “police” stance where the hands are folded behind the back.

Posture

If some of your talk is to be given from a seated position, practise being comfortable. Avoid folding your arms for long periods, hunching your shoulders, leaning to one side, crossing and uncrossing your legs.

You wish to convey a feeling of relaxation without becoming casual.

Carriage

How we talk from one place to another tells people more than we may know. Have someone check that you do not:

¨ Clench fists as you stride.

¨ “Lean” into your stroll like a fashion model.

¨ Hunch your shoulders.

¨ Lead the way with your stomach.

The way to practise a natural walk is to keep your back straight, your chin up and your hands at your sides. When the moment comes to begin your presentation, walk confidently into position and give the audience a few moments to look at you before you speak.

Eye contact

The most common fault in this area is that one friendly pair of eyes receives nearly all the attention. The rest of the audience soon become aware that they are being ignored. The other extreme is when the speaker scans the auditorium self-consciously and the audience feels that they are at a performance.

From previous notes, you will be aware that the audience is made up of individuals. Do not avoid looking at Mr. Brown, even if you don’t like the look of him. He is part of your reason for being there. So is every other member of the audience.

Facial expression

We all look better when we smile. Even those of us with wrinkly faces, double chins and less than perfect features can show pleasure at being invited to speak.

Smiling with your eyes is all that is suggested. Those who bare their teeth in a grin are unlikely to have a good reception. Keep your chin up, relax your facial muscles and let the face show what the mind thinks.

MEMORY

Memory Aids

The first thing to recognise is that you do not have to own an infallible memory. Even when you have followed all the guidelines you have been offered, rehearsed several times, overcome nerves and feel ready to begin, it is possible to lose your sense of direction.

Your presentation has been written, typed and memorised. You have learned to translate the written script into the spoken word and you still need to remind yourself what comes next.

The most straightforward method is to use postcards. You mark your cards with key words which job your memory.

Example:

January - Disappointing

February - Recovery began

March - Record achievements

This reminds you to tell the audience that the early part of the year represented a swift boost in results. Glancing again at your cards, you are able to remind yourself of a difficult Spring period.

April - Serious problems

May - Only breaking-even

June - Change of plan

Now you may describe your cards as mere memory joggers. A few words should be enough to remind you of the next section of your talk. Some people read the “prompt words” aloud and deliver a halting message. You want to use them for greater spontaneity.

Using your post cards effectively

You may decide to place the card on the table and to turn them over when you have used them. Others will keep them in their hands and cue themselves by glancing down. Remember to number them. Sometimes you may drop them or turn over two at a time.

If a lectern is provided, you can keep your notes on it. As long as you do not hide behind it but simply return it from your usual position in order to prompt yourself, it will work quite well.

Remember that you are communicating openly with your audience. No one will be paying attention if your head is bowed while you read your notes into your chest. Look up, maintain eye contact with your listeners and keep the smile in your voice.

Auto-cues

Some organisations provide auto-cues where you read the words of your presentation through a sheet of glass. Like the television newsreader, you are affecting normal fluency while reading your script. This is a skill which requires much practice. Sometimes a large screen is mounted at the back of the hall and the words appear on a continuous roll of paper. The result is artificial and the speaker is so dependent on the auto-cue that any break in transmission can make for insecurity.

Do not be afraid of reading out occasional sections of your talk from a folder. This may be necessary if you have some technical information which needs a detailed exposition. If so, this forms a rigorous part of your rehearsal schedule. Reading aloud is an art which can only be required after some time with lots of practice.

CONCLUSION

Your invitation to give a talk to the audience is a compliment to you. Someone feels that you have the ability to convey important information and you have been chosen because of your particular strengths.

By now you are ready to share your expertise with each member of the audience. You have thought carefully about the process of delivering your ideas. You have been creative and thorough in your preparations. Your script has been written, re-written, edited and translated into spoken English. Your memory will be refreshed by the use of cue cards or an auto-cue system.

Your visual aids are clear, simple and they illustrate your talk. You have experimented with your voice: it sounds natural and you know how to use it to the best effect. You are aware of the signals transmitted by body language and you know how to control them. You also understand how to bring your nerves under control.

You should be looking forward to the moment when you are finally able to share what you know.


If you would like to recieve training on this subject, please view our presentation skills training course details.