Whether you’re making a sales presentation or one to your executive team, here are some tips I have learned speaking to hundreds of groups that can help your presentations.
- Be yourself – Don’t try to copycat another person’s style. If you’re humorous by nature then bring that into your presentation. If you’re historic by nature then be your serious self.
- Think about liking your audience…before you speak to them – What type of energy do you bring into a presentation? Remember you communicate with people not just on a logical level but an emotional one as well. Your goal is to create a connection. Your work to that goal begins before you ever speak to somebody. Go into the presentation focusing on liking your audience and they will like you in return..
- Ditch the power paragraph – It’s called PowerPoint for a reason. Keep your messages simple and visual. If you’re going to use a PowerPoint presentation use few words to communicate and idea and using pictures in place of words is even better. Look at the book Zen Presentation and you will get a deeper understanding on what I mean.
- Watch providing too much information– As a high content speaker I face this challenge. Instead of trying to tell people everything you know, try to focus on the three things that will be the greatest benefit to them. To an extent, you can serve people before or during the presentation to help focus your content even better.
- Engage in feedback – Ask people to raise their hands if they agree with you. Ask them to share any ah-ha’s gained from the presentation. Ask them what follow up information they would like from you.
Be Prepared –Last, one thing I will always be is highly prepared for any presentation I give. That is part of the training of a trail lawyer. What you don’t want to do is fumble around during your presentation. Make sure to practice your presentation over and over again until you get it right. Then find somebody to present it to whether it’s your dog, cat, kids or a herd of cows. They will be a non-judgmental audience. Once you get comfortable to your presentation without judgment then solicit it to friends and colleagues.
Don Phin, Esq. is VP of Strategic Business Solutions at ThinkHR, which helps companies resolve urgent workforce issues, mitigate risk and ensure HR compliance. Phin has more than three decades of experience as an HR expert, published author and speaker, and spent 17 years in employment practices litigation. For more information, visit www.ThinkHR.com.
