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Presentation |
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Prepare: outline (note that each of these issues can affect the others - work on them till they fit together) |
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Objectives. What should the audience know and do as a result of the presentation? |
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Audience. Who are they? How many? What do they know already? What do they want? |
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Location and timescale. Where will it be held? How long have you got? |
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Structure. Break the presentation down into its main sections. |
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Prepare: detail |
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The beginning and the end. Plan your first couple of sentences so you start with a bang. Plan your conclusion so that you end on a high note. |
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The middle. Flesh out the main sections. Plan how to link them together. |
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Support and questions. Put together short, simple notes. Design visuals to support the presentation. Decide what questions you might be asked and how to answer them. |
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Begin as you mean |
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Positive impression. Take your time; wait till you’ve got everyone’s attention; use positive, open body language and tone of voice. |
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Tell them what you’re going to tell them. And not just what, but also why and how and how long. In particular, outline the structure - the sections the presentation breaks down into - so that you can refer to these as you go along. |
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Keep the audience’s |
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Explain technical terms, acronyms and anything else which you understand and they don’t. Avoid jargon. |
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Watch body language. Theirs, so that you can respond to their unspoken reactions. Yours, so that you maintain a positive impression. |
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Use summaries and signposts. Use the structure you explained at the beginning to remind them what you’ve just covered and what is coming next. |
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If disaster strikes.... |
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Stop (don’t attempt to soldier on) and apologise (but not too much). |
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Watch your body language. Keep an open body posture. It is essential to look confident, not matter how you feel. |
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Backtrack. If you lose track of what you are saying, go back to what you covered previously, briefly summarise and start again. |
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End on a high note |
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Briefly summarise. |
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Check there are no further questions or discussion. |
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Restate the objectives. Particularly what you would like them to do as a result of the presentation. |