Body language is important; indeed all the non verbal communication that takes place in a presentation is important. However, for many presenters the problem is they become aware of their own body language. This makes them behave differently because they try to compensate for what they perceive as body language errors.

The result of being aware of your own body language when making presentations is that you stop behaving normally, your body language changes and all the audience sees is a presenter who is "not quite right". They will not analyse what is going on, instead they just focus on the weirdness of the situation and this reduces their attention to what you are saying.

Here's an example where focusing on body language can go wrong if you try to correct it. Some people blink a great deal when nervous - it appears to be an attempt to shut out the situation they are in. However, people who are lying tend to change their blink rate - frequently it increases. So, people whose blink rate increases when making a presentation often try to reduce their blinking frequency. But they overcompensate, reducing their blink frequency often down to very low levels indeed.

Anyone who doesn't blink a great deal is also not trusted as much as someone who blinks at a normal rate of every second or so. So by trying to reduce blink rate due to nervousness, the body language aware presenter is actually perceived as untrustworthy. In other words, making changes to this aspect of body language can have the reverse of the intended effect.

The answer is simple: don't try to alter your body language - just behave as yourself.

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When writing your presentation it's a good idea to have in mind the people you are talking to. Exactly who is this presentation for? Don't just think "colleagues" or "customers". Instead, try to focus on specifics.

For instance, is your audience old or young, male or female, educated or highly educated? How long have they been interested in your subject? What is their experience in your topic? What do they talk about when they discuss your subject?

What you need to do is get a complete picture of the person you are talking to. The more detailed a picture you draw up, the easier it becomes to write your presentation. Indeed, a considerable proportion of your preparation time should be taken up with audience research.

Once you have a detailed description of your typical audience member it becomes easier to write your presentation because you know who you are talking to. Otherwise your writing has to be too "generic" and that makes for a weakened presentation.

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Speak to Influence is a great book that helps you unleash the power within your own voice. As a presenter, your voice is your main tool - yet many public speakers neglect vocal training.



The book shows how the voice can be used to achieve greater confidence, credibility, professional success, and sales. It covers applying voice-control techniques used by voice-over artists in business communications. From a comprehensive voice evaluation to a step-by-step voice improvement plan, a range of activities provide information on how to improve diction and articulation, speak with greater warmth and enthusiasm, and make a lasting impression. You will also read about the influence of the spoken word that will help presenters acquire and practice the skills necessary to sound more credible, tell great stories, and add a more musical quality to speech by mastering voice pitch and inflection.

http://www.presentationbiz.com/book/speakinfluence

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Data projectors - or computer projectors, or LCD projectors - are commonly used in business presentations. Using these devices can be quite tricky - even though the manufacturers have worked hard to make them easy to use. The problems that you can experience are usually quite simply solved, but when facing an audience anything that goes wrong with the technology can cause panic. So, if you follow these tips you should avoid difficulties.

1 Get to know your data projector in advance. Before you get into the presentation room, make sure you know what all the controls are for. The last thing you want is to look dumb in front of the audience because you don't understand the buttons on the machine.

2 Practice using the data projector so you get used to what it can do. Flick through all the menus and see what can be achieved with changes in the settings. If you have played about too much with the machine, just restore the menus to default values.

3 Get some extension leads that will allow you flexibility when setting up your projector. You can extend the lead between the computer and the projector to around 300m!

4 Allow plenty of time to set up the projector and the computer. Things will always take longer than expected, so get to the room early.

5 Once you have connected the projector to your computer switch the projector on before your computer. Remember PC (Projector then Computer).

6 If your projector does not automatically change its resolution to match that of your PC screen, make sure you set them to be the same. SVGA works best.

7 Position the projector at least 4m from the screen. This will ensure you have a large enough image for people to see.

8 Set up the projector so that you are between it and the audience. Sadly most people set up the projector so that they are between the projector and the screen. That doesn’t work well as it means you cannot move, or if you do you block the image.

9 If you need to pause for more than a minute or two between slides - perhaps for discussion - switch the projector off. This will make the room quieter and allow discussion to take place more easily.

10 Prepare for the fact that the projector or the PC or both may fail. You need to be able to give your presentation without any equipment - just in case of unforeseen events.

Labels: performance

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Being familiar with your surroundings helps your confidence considerably. You are almost certainly more confident in your own home than anywhere else. When you move to somewhere new, you take a while to "find your feet" and get used to your new surroundings. Yet once established you can't really remember having those little doubts.

It's the same when making presentations. If you are asked to give a presentation or a speech and you have never been to that venue before, you will inevitably have less confidence than if you had spoken at that particular place several times. Familiar surroundings make you more confident.

So what do you do to boost your confidence when asked to make a presentation at a new venue? If possible, go to the venue in advance. Have a look around, familiarise yourself with the layout, the acoustics and so on. If you can't go in advance, get there early on the day. Take a chance at a break time to familiarise yourself with the room so that you can at least feel reasonably comfortable with the environment.

It's amazing how few presenters take the trouble to get familiar with their surroundings. But it's no surprise that it is these presenters who often say they lack confidence. If only they had taken the time to get used to the room, the would feel better.

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Great presenters face the front; rude presenters turn their back on their audience. Just think for a moment if you meet someone for the first time. They are chatting away with you and suddenly they turn their back on you. What do you think? Do you imagine they are really nice? Or do you think they are rather rude?

Well it's the same for presentations. Unless you know every member of your audience, they are meeting you for the first time and don't expect you to turn your back on them. Great presenters always face their audience, never standing sideways or, worse, facing the screen instead of the audience. If they have slides they know what's on them - they never have to look. If they have to walk across the stage, they do it "crab like" so they are still facing the front.

If you face away from the audience at any stage you are signalling to them it's also OK for them to face away from you. That means they are given the perfect excuse to stop connecting with you, which means you might as well not be there.

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A great way of writing your presentation is to use those familiar yellow sticky notes. Here's what you do. As ideas come to you for your presentation just write them down on a sticky note and slap it on the wall. You can do this in one sitting, or you can just jot things down as you think of them over the days and weeks before your presentation.

Once you need to assemble your presentation, look at all the sticky notes on your wall and find any duplicates - you may well have come up with repeated ideas if you have done this exercise over several days. Once you have ensured that all your notes are different you can now start to move them about.

Find notes that are on similar themes and assemble them in the same area of the wall. Move them around so that you have each theme of sticky notes all collected in the same section of wall. By doing this you will have "outlined" your presentation.

What you can do next is either jot down the notes into your word processor so you can start writing your talk. Or you can take a digital photo of each section of your wall to upload to your PC to use as your notes. Either way, you have produced the basis for your presentation quickly and easily.

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This is an excellent book that takes you through every stage of producing a great presentation. It is based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) yet manages to convey its ideas with simplicity for people not familiar with the concepts.

There are several exercises in the book, as well as some example presentations to show you what you need to do to write and perform a great talk. Whether you are a newcomer or a seasoned presentation professional, "Presenting Magically" provides you with tips and techniques to transform your presentation skills.

Backed by examples from top presenters and looking at the beliefs and attitudes of master presenters, this book will teach you to connect with your audience; structure your language; handle hecklers; use metaphor; own the stage; structure presentations to fit everyone’s learning style; grab the audience's attention - and keep it.

http://www.presentationbiz.com/book/magically

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Have you ever been to the cinema to see a movie that is taken from a book you have read? The movie is always worse than the book isn't it? Why is that?

What you are watching when you see the movie of the book is what was inside the director's head when they read the book. But that's not what you saw in your mind's eye, so you are inevitably disappointed upon seeing the movie.

This just shows us how detailed and well formed our imaginary world's inside our heads can be. We create those images ourselves and they are well focused, colourful and vibrant. Make those images real and they lose their power.

When you are giving a presentation and you show pictures to people, they are less powerful therefore than pictures which the audience create in their own heads. So instead of showing images, create images in the mind's eye of your audience by describing things in detail. That way your audience will construct their own internal images, making them much more powerful than the real thing.

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Audiences are very good at spotting presenters who are anxious, nervous or in some kind of negative mood. You give it away with facial expressions and other aspects of body language, plus in the words you use. For instance, anxious people will use negative words - such as hope, perhaps, maybe - in their presentation. These less than definite positions tell the audience immediately that the presenter is not happy.

However, audiences prefer positive and happy presenters. They want you to be sure of yourself and therefore sure of your subject. Audiences need presenters who are not anxious or in a bad mood.

But what if you have had bad news? Should you admit it to the audience? If you don't they will know you are upset anyway, as they will "read" your non verbal communication well. So what's the best strategy?

If something has happened and it is obvious you are "not quite right" then it is best to admit what has been going on. Tell your audience your predicament and let them know why you are down. The audience will sympathise, you won't have to try and hide your negative feelings and you will find you are more relaxed and confident having "got it out of the way".

Otherwise you need to get rid of any negative feelings and thoughts. Focus on the positive outcome of your presentation, so that the audience does not become aware of your negative position.

Labels: confidence

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People build rapport with one another by mirroring their body language. For instance, if you were to meet someone in the bar and you got in with them, you may find you lean on the bar with your left elbow and they, facing you do the same. Your body shape and position is much the same as each other's. We "read" this mirrored behaviour as being from someone we like and who likes us.

As a presenter this is difficult to achieve. After all you are standing and everyone else is sitting. However, there are some things you can do. Have a seat on the platform and sit down from time to time. Get down at their level - eye to eye.

Also, you can ask questions where you want a show of hands. But ask a question where everyone can raise their hand. Then when you ask the question, you raise your hand as well. This results in the audience mirroring your body language making you more connected.

You could also ask everyone to stand and face a particular direction. If you do the same, you are all mirroring each other, thus boosting your rapport with the audience.

There are several techniques you could use, but the more get the audience to mirror your body language, the more they will like you and feel connected to you, thus helping you get your point across.

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Examples and stories can bring your presentations alive. When presenters give examples, it helps explain what they are saying in a way that the audience can understand. Examples make the material you deliver less "dry". If you can give your examples in the form of stories, you will be using a format that everyone can understand. We were all brought up on stories and some of the greatest influencers in history gave their messages as stories - remember Aesop and his fables!

1 For each of your main points try to think of at least one example that backs up what you are saying. You may not use each example, but you should have them in mind so you can introduce them if necessary.

2 Make your examples include human beings, preferably real people. Examples that include people are much more powerful than abstract examples.

3 Try to paint vivid pictures in the mind of your audience with your examples. If your audience can mentally see what you are describing they are much more likely to remember it.

4 Make your examples relevant to the audience. Find out in advance the kind of examples that are likely to interest them; do some audience research to help boost your examples.

5 Choose examples that are current.
Do not use examples from the distant past as they have less impact than examples set in the present.

6 Always announce your examples with words like "here's a story that shows what I mean". Announcements like this will alert your audience to pay close attention.

7 Useful examples are anecdotes based on your own experience. Your audience will value your personal stories.

8 Wherever possible make your examples light or humorous. Avoid being serious or stuffy with your examples.

9 Tell your stories in the same way as you would in a social situation, such as a dinner party or in a bar. The more natural they sound, the greater their impact.

10 Always be on the lookout for new examples and stories that can back up your points. The more examples you have "in stock" the more you will be able to choose one relevant to a particular audience.

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This books is an excellent guide to making great presentations. Indeed, professional speakers use it as one of their "bibles" on giving great talks. Indeed "talks" is what the book is about. It's thesis is that you need to hold conversations with your audiences rather than "present at" them. The book argues that the world's leading communicators, such as Nelson Mandela, adopt a real conversational style. The book then goes on to show how you can emulate the top presenters and speakers to really connect with your audience. A highly recommended book.

http://www.presentationbiz.com/book/highimpact

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PowerPoint has become the mainstay of most business presentations these days. So much so that people are bored with it. Even though PowerPoint has immense power - most people do not use it for very much other than bullet points. Indeed, most PowerPoint presentations do not need the program, they could have been produced in a simple word processor.

However, the focus that people have on PowerPoint means they have often forgotten about old technologies. Yet if you use these technologies, audiences suddenly sit up and take notice. Also, older technologies often allow you to make the presentation much more interactive.

For instance flip charts are a useful way of presenting information in an accessible and seemingly spontaneous way. Equally overhead projectors can be used to show information where a flip chart would be too small. Furthermore, the use of handouts and workbooks seems to have been ignored in favour of printouts of slides from PowerPoint.

All of these "old" methods of giving presentations have their place. Don't ignore them. It doesn't mean you should not use PowerPoint - it just means don't focus on this program. Instead, consider all the different technologies you could use.

Labels: performance

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Presenters often realise they lack confidence when they hear themselves speaking in front of an audience. The voice that comes out of their mouth is often not the voice they are used to. They can detect the shakiness or the wobbling and squeaking - even if the audience hasn't been aware of such vocal variation.

We are all well aware of our own voices - after all we hear them often enough. So when we speak in public and it's not our usual voice, we notice the difference. And the difference worries us, making us more nervous.

The way out of this situation is to have a strong voice from the outset of your presentation. A great way of achieving this is singing. You don't have to be a brilliant vocalist, but you do need to sing out loud.

Prior to your presentation have a sing song - it doesn't matter what you sing, just exercise those vocal chords. You could do this as you drive to the presentation, or you could take a walk around the block first, singing away. Whatever way you do this, the singing will loosen your vocal chords, muscles of your mouth and tongue and will get you breathing properly. The combined result will be a strong voice at the start of your presentation and a more confident performance as a result.

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The clothes that you wear when making a presentation convey an impression, whether you like it or not. They form part of your non verbal communication to your audience, so it is important to get it right. But what are the right clothes to wear?

For a start, they must be comfortable. If they are tight or new, you will fidget and look uncomfortable. The audience will not know why - but they will sense you are "not quite right". So never buy new clothes - or shoes - to use for a presentation. Use clothes that have been "worn in" so that you are comfy.

However, don't look scruffy....! Your audience expects you to have gone to some trouble on their behalf - even if it is an informal occasion. You need to be "smart" no matter what the dress code.

Ideally you should always be in the same dress code as your audience. If they are in "shirtsleeves" then so should you be. Equally, if they are all dressed up in formal attire, you should wear the same. The UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, famously and steadfastly refused to wear a dinner jacket and bow tie at important City of London functions - even though everyone in his audience was wearing formal dress. Even now, he still has to "live down" the criticism of his apparent disrespect of his audience.

However, you don't want to over do things. If your audience is all in t-shirt and jeans and you turn up in a suit, they will think you are trying too hard to impress or that you perceive yourself as "above them". So, always check the dress code in advance and then make sure you wear comfortable clothes that are "smart" for the occasion.

Labels: body language

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Presenters often adopt the approach of "telling" something rather than "showing" something. For instance, presenters who have to launch a new product or sell one of their company's offerings will often say what it does, but rarely will they show what it can achieve for the audience.

The "show don't tell" approach is much better since it connects with the audience much more clearly. For instance, let's say I have to sell you a new car which will be more environmentally friendly than your current vehicle. I could tell you all about the gas emissions, I could explain the fuel consumption and I could give you a whole host of data to support my claims.

But what if I told you about one of my customers, Steve, who bought one of these cars only last month. Then I told you that he went to a web site that helped calculate his "carbon footprint" and he had worked out that merely getting this car had reduced his impact on the environment by half. Added to that, his children loved him getting the car because their school project on the environment had shown them how their Dad's old car was an embarrassment to them.

Using an example like this really connects with the audience. They can visualise Steve and his children; they can see him logging on to the web site. In turn, they can see themselves in similar situations. That creates a mental connection with what you are trying to get across in a way that merely "telling" cannot do.

So whenever you have to write a presentation, always look for possible examples you can use to highlight the points you wish to make.

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Your palms are sweaty, your fingers tremble. Everybody is watching you, waiting to be blown away. The moment is yours. What are you going to do with it? For the millions of people who must stand up in front of colleagues, employees and total strangers every year, Mark Wiskup offers nine quick and easy steps to make each and every presentation experience one your audience will never forget. Such tips include: one meeting, one agenda, one goal (why less information is often more); you can't overcome a lame start (why you need to hook them from the very first word); become a storyteller (how vivid scenarios can make your presentation); what three words can ruin any presentation.

Find out more about this book at:

http://www.presentationbiz.com/book/sos

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Presenters are often "trapped" at the front of the room by technology, tables and a host of items that only give them a small space from which to make their presentation. However, this has a psychological effect on the presenter because it "closes them down" making them feel somehow inhibited. In turn that prevents them from giving their best presentation.

The way out of this is to ensure you have the maximum available space. You need to feel free in order to give a good presentation. That means plenty of space in which you can walk about. It means no tables or chairs in your way. It means no barriers that can prevent you from feeling free. For instance, often presenters will not walk because they can see cables on the floor. They fear tripping over them so don't feel freedom to move.

Whenever you give a presentation you need to have a clutter-free space so that you can wander round, if you want. You need space to move and you need to reduce anything that presents itself as a barrier. Even if you do not move around, it will have a significant psychological effect on your performance as it will make you feel free. That in turn will help you present your material in a more open and relaxed manner.

Room layout is an often overlooked part of presenting, but a simple change to the room to give the presenter a good amount of free space can have a dramatic impact on the presenter - and the audience.

Labels: performance

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Presenters need to be confident - not for themselves, but for their audience. Research amongst audiences shows us that people listening to presenters really want them to be confident. A relaxed presenter means a relaxed audiences.

Audience members want anyone presenting to be confident. People in the audience find it uncomfortable to listen to nervous presenters. They feel for the presenter, get embarrassed and cannot concentrate on what is being said. If you are confident as a presenter you make it easier for the audience to listen to you.

Also, remember that audience members are often nervous themselves. They may have been sent by their bosses who expect a report back. They may have to make a decision based on what you say. They may have to write a summary of your presentation for their colleagues. As a result, audience members can often be nervous themselves. If they don't have a confident presenter in front of them, they feel more nervous. However, if they are faced with a confident presenter, their own confidence grows.

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Many presenters appear to make a little dance in front of their audience. It goes one step forward two steps back, one step sideways, then back again. Presenters wear away a little circle of carpet each time they present because they tend to shift around a central area.

Usually this dance happens because the presenter feels they want to move but they are trapped by projectors, lecterns or tables. Hence they move and get "pushed back" by the furniture. Yet their movement suggests they want to move - indeed if you are making eye contact with the audience you will want to move.

Sometimes the presenter's dance happens because the presenter is nervous. They shuffle from side to side nervously because they don't know whether to stand still or move. This shuffling then becomes annoying to the audience who focus on the little dance happening in front of them, thus not focusing on the presentation itself.

There is one way out of this - make definite movements. Use all the space you have available, Stride across your area rather than shuffle. You may need to re-arrange furniture to give you the freedom to move. But once you have space available you will move freely and the annoying presenter's dance will have disappeared.

Labels: body language

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If you have several things to say in your presentation, what order should you put them in? Should you make it logical in some way or should you just choose a random approach? When writing your presentation it is important that you make the right decision as to the order of the material, otherwise your audience will not be able to follow what you are saying.

When starting on your presentation make a note of all the points you wish to make. Then make a note of all the things the audience wants to hear. Now see if there are any matches. If there are, these are things you should start and finish with. Always make sure that the beginning and the end of the presentation are the things which will have most resonance with the audience. People will remember either the first thing or the last thing you said, so put the points which are least important to your audience somewhere in the middle of your presentation.

Once you know the start and end and what goes in the middle, all you need to do is connect these items in some way. You can do this by telling some kind of story around the points you wish to make. Or you can simply ignore any connections, instead jumping from one topic to the next. That may not be as daft as it sounds; research with audiences suggests they actually like material that isn't completely logical in its flow. The novelty of items that pop up keeps them interested and on their toes.

Labels: writing

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