Presentations these days seem to be synonymous to success. Any position within any industry not only seems to require but at times demand the fearful skill of public speaking.
Awareness precedes change, in other words we cannot change anything in our lives without being aware of our present situation. Then the question is, why do we fear presentations to such extent? One of the main fears of the human mind is the ‘unknown’. That is why we are at some level fearful of entering even our own homes that we have lived in for years without turning on the lights.
Presentations have a fear of the unknown; we are uncertain of how the audience will respond to us and our topic at hand. Keeping that element in mind, do not let the uncertainty sway your mind and energy off your presentation.
I was just asked for some pointers on doing a 10 minute presentation. Being such a critical topic in our life I wanted to share the main points with everyone.
The principles of presentations apply to any length, topic and industry.
1. VISUALIZATION:
One of the most critical points to keep in mind is the visualization prior to the presentation. Most will start worrying about how people will react to them and their topic. In turn, most of your mental power on the stage will be wasted. Visualize exactly how you want the presentation to unfold. Try to see every detail of the presentation unfold within your mind. Reality is a reflection of the thoughts that we unfold in our minds on a daily basis.
2. CAN’T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY:
If a presenter believes he/she will make everyone happy all the time they will not make anyone happy.
3. POWER POINT SLIDES:
If you are using a power point presentation. keep the content to a minimum as it is not meant to have your entire presentation on it. The point of the slide is to remind you of the message you want to get across and a visualization for the audience to feel. In that case either use bullet points or pictures.
2. NOTES TO A MINIMUM:
You know your topic so keep notes to a minimum. For your notes, do not use sentences or you mind will want to read it. Use key words that will remind you of what you want to say, then just talk about your message.
3. KNOW YOUR MESSAGE:
Know the key messages that you want to get across. Have a few key messages that will keep you on track and focused.
4. EMOTIONS THROUGH STORIES:
If you can, do not just say the messages out. Before every message see if you can find a relevant story to make the point. The story does not have to be industry related. The point of the story is to elicit an emotion, any emotion. This will get them to not only give you their attention during the critical message but more importantly get them to feel it and in turn visualize your message. People will forget what you told them in a few days but will remember how you made them feel for a lifetime.
4. START WITH A STORY:
Start the presentation with a story. Again, you are shooting for an emotion. What emotion they feel is not as relevant as them feeling something.
5. AGE OF INFORMATION:
We are in the age of information, since we are bombarded by information the minds of our audience have shut down. The only way to open the mind is to get them to feel first.
6. SUMMARIZE:
Just like a well written essay, do not forget to summarize your main message points.
7. HAVE FUN:
Most critical element of them all, is to make sure you have fun while you are up on stage. Best way to do that is be yourself. The right people want to deal with those that are true to them self as this makes you predictable and consistent and in turn elements the element of the ‘unknown’.
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