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Preparing great presentations
Giving a presentation can strike fear into the heart of even the most experienced business people. It takes some courage to stand up in front of an audience and deliver a well-structured and interesting talk, and most of us at one time or another have experienced the panic, sweaty palms, blank minds, and wobbling voices that sometimes accompany this.
Being able to cope with presentations is a very valuable skill, though, whatever your job. Presentations are useful in many situations, such as pitching for business, putting a case for funding, addressing staff meetings, or even as part of the application procedure for a new job. Few people like speaking formally to an audience, but there are many real benefits and as you gain experience in giving presentations, youâll probably find that it becomes less of a worry, and even enjoyable.
This chapter offers you help on the first step of your journey towards a great presentation: preparation. It will give you some suggestions for preparing the content of what youâre going to say, looking at your objectives, gearing it to your audience, and getting your points across well.
Step one: Work out your objectives
Clear objectives are the starting point for all great presentations. Start by working out your objectivesâask yourself why youâre giving the talk and what you want your audience to get out of it. Think about whether using speech alone is the best way of communicating your message, or if your message might benefit from using visual aids and slides to further illustrate its main points.
When youâre planning and giving the presentation, keep these objectives in mind at all timesâtheyâll focus your thoughts. Having an objective for giving the presentation will ensure that youâre not wasting anyoneâs time, either your audienceâs or your own.
For example, letâs say that youâre presenting a new product to your companyâs sales reps at your annual sales conference. Your objectives in this case may be to:
introduce your product to them positively and enthusiastically
talk them through the benefits of your product
point out the many advantages it has over any competition
explain why the target audience would want to buy it
TOP TIP
Itâs very important that you believe in what
youâre going to be talking about. This is
particularly the case if you have to deliver a
difficult message, such as one related to
change or what others are likely to perceive
as bad news. These situations are bound
to be uncomfortable, and if you donât
wholeheartedly believe in your message,
others will be able to pick this up. It wonât
necessarily be as a result of anything you say,
though; your body language may give it away
without you even noticing. See the next
chapter for more information on this.
Step two: Find out what you need to know about your audience
Before you plan your presentation, try as best you can to find out who is going to be in your audience, and their expectations. For example, the tone and content of a presentation to the managing director of another firm will be very different to one addressed to potential users of a product, or to one directed at people you know well. Itâs important that you know the extent of the audienceâs knowledge about the topic youâll be discussing, as their familiarity with the subject will determine the level at which you pitch the talk and the language you use (see below).
Whatever the interests of your audience, try to appeal to what will motivate and interest these people. For example, if youâre talking to senior people in your company about a new product, you might want to include information about how it can be produced cost-effectively; if you...
