How To Deliver A Positive Presentation

You know the old saying, that public speaking is a fear worse than death, It needn't feel like you're dying up there, trying to present a business meeting, share ideas, hold a workshop, or any other scary speaking-related task you might be asked to do. Presentations are a part of everyday business life, and it's often those people who are good at them who get noticed. If you shy away from them, it's time to take control and present a better you!

Preparation

There's another saying about presentations - "prepare to fail, if you've failed to prepare". It's very true. How often have you been in the audience of a presentation when the speaker is unprepared, loses track of their presentation, fumbles with notes, apologises and fails to get their message across? They're struggling, and you feel terrible watching it unfold. Perhaps that's why we're all so scared of public speaking: we've seen what it looks like when it goes wrong. No need to fear, though - you have plenty of tools at your disposal to make sure you're ahead of the game.

For example, if you're using PowerPoint, a projector, or any other digital equipment - test it out first before your audience arrives. There's nothing quite as confidence-sapping as muttering apologies while wrestling with cables and memory sticks in front of an audience. Speaking of memory sticks - if that's where your presentation is saved, make sure you have a back up on a CD-Rom or similar, just to be safe. If you've got time - rehearse. It will make you far more confident when the real presentation time comes.

Avoiding a Panic

Okay, so your notes are written, you're not sweating too heavily, your audience have sat down - it's about to begin. Don't panic! None of us are born excellent public speakers, it's a skill learned like any other. The more you do it, the more comfortable it will become. Make yourself some cue cards in Word beforehand, so you can glance at them if you get stuck, or lose track of where you are. It's best not to print out your entire presentation longhand and have that with you - the temptation will then be there to simply stand and read through it. This doesn't engage an audience as much as someone who looks like they are speaking 'off the cuff', when really they are just super-prepared (like you are, right?).

Body language is important - even if you don't want to be there, try and look open and confident. It's an old trick, but confidence begets confidence, and it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pretend you're confident, and you might actually become it! Remember that the audience are not out to get you, they want to hear what you have to say, or you're imparting knowledge important to the business.

Make eye contact with a few people (especially if there are any friendly faces known to you), don't address your talk to the plant at the back of the room, or the floor. Smile! Not all the time, but every now and again. It will make you feel better too, and make you look more open and friendly... and relaxed - even if you're screaming inside. Don't be afraid to pause - many people forget this and it's an amazing presentation tool. It makes the audience listen, and gives you a chance to breathe, compose yourself, and carry on.

If things do go wrong: again, don't give in to panic. Make a joke of it. Both you and the audience will relax a little - hey, you're only human, and we've all been there.

Winding up and moving on

You're reaching the end of your presentation... try and resist the temptation to run through the last part of it because the end is in sight. You want to make an impact, finish with a flourish! Remember to invite questions from your audience - that way, you'll find out where you missed information out, or didn't make a point clear. Don't take this as criticism, it's invaluable feedback that helps you the next time around - and to keep improving.

If this was a business meeting and one of your seniors was present, ask for feedback from them, too - you can learn a lot by seeing yourself through the audiences' eyes. Keep your notes - you'll never know when you might need them again, or if someone so impressed with you wants to borrow them! Conclusively, this is the key - If there's any single rule when it comes to presentations, it's positivity.

Positive preparation, positive presenting, and a positive post-mortem on how you did, because one thing's for sure - you probably didn't die. Did you?

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Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on presentation skills london, please visit http://www.microsofttraining.net

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