How To Stand When Giving A Presentation

Business Presentations How to Sell to an Audience

Business Presentations How to Sell to an Audience

Top 20 Reasons Presentations Suck and How To Fix Them

Most business presentations suck. They're boring. They're confusing. They're out of touch. This gallery explains exactly why most presentations are so dreadful, and what to do make your own presentations better.

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By Geoffrey James from www.cbsnews.com]

Use Your Hands, Improve Your Presentation

Use Your Hands, Improve Your Presentation
By Tony J James
Just how important is it to use hand gestures to improve your public talk, presentation or sermon? This is one aspect of public speaking that speech trainers frequently ignore. As a result, many people sitting in the audience can find themselves distracted, amused, or even irritated by bad or inappropriate use of gestures.
Let me tell you a brief story. Just a few days ago, I was attempting to buy some eggs. A simple enough task. However, I did have a problem. My neighbour, who keeps chickens, does not speak English. I speak hardly any Bulgarian. The resulting conversation consisted almost entirely of using hand gestures! Picture, if you will the scene. A somewhat bemused Bulgarian villager watching a rather embarrassed 'crazy' Englishman acting out a virtual charade depicting a chicken laying an egg! I almost finished up buying the actual chicken, but with more gestures and hand signs eventually managed to convey that I merely needed ten eggs. Incidentally, the whole process was further complicated by the fact that the culture here is that nodding ones head indicates a negative, whilst shaking it from side to side is an affirmative gesture. Therefore, each time I thought I had made my point and 'got the nod', it really meant that he had not understood at all!
On reflection it made me think about the importance of being able to use gestures effectively in everyday speech and of course when making a presentation. Generally speaking, there are two types of gestures, a 'descriptive' gesture, (you try to emulate a chicken laying an egg, - OK, maybe that is more of a charade than a gesture, but you know what I mean!) There is also the 'emphatic' gesture, made to 'emphasize' or drive home a point.
I suppose one of the most famous examples of the latter was that used to great effect by (Sir) Winston Churchill in the Second World War when he used the 'V' for Victory sign to emphasize the importance of a positive attitude in very troubled times. It is also a classic example to use, as it demonstrates that it is important to use gestures in a correct manner. Back in the seventies, it became a global symbol for 'peace and love'. In modern times, of course the same gesture used with the hand turned the other way means something entirely different and could get you into a lot of trouble!
The way gestures are used in normal speech often varies depending on the background or culture, some groups have a reputation for making great use of hands and arms to emphasize a point, and others are more reserved and make do with an occasional shrug or nod of the head.
When speaking before an audience your use or misuse of gestures can make or mar your presentation. I once sat through a talk in which every point was accompanied by a finger wagged vigorously as if the speaker was scolding a child. As a listener, I was initially amused, then bored, then thoroughly irritated by this behaviour. Not surprisingly, this is the only feature that I recall about that particular occasion - I cannot even remember the subject of the address! I rest my case.
Hand gestures do not come naturally to everyone and like other aspects of good public speaking often need a conscious effort and practice to make them appear natural. One 'tool' that works wonders during practice sessions is... a mirror!
Your aim should be to use hand gestures only when required to describe something or emphasize a point. Overuse minimises the effect and repeated and pointless gestures can rapidly develop into an irritating mannerism.
Key Point: Each gesture you make should be clear in its meaning, a careless flap of the hand means nothing, but a precise movement can convey a great deal. Think of it like pronouncing a word correctly as opposed to making an incoherent mumble.
Next time you attend a class, lecture, sermon or other speaking engagement, make a point of watching what the speaker does, as well as listening to what he/she says, - if their body language enhances their presentation, they are making good use of gestures. If you can only remember what they did with their hands, face etc. and not what they spoke about, then this is certainly where they need to get some coaching. How about you?
Tony James, Public Speaking Coach, Author of the Be a Better Speaker system invites you to visit his ongoing informative Blog at => http://betterspeakercoach.com/publicspeaking for more free hints and tips
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Presenting Across Borders

Keep communication clear with other cultures.

If your business has expanded beyond national borders and you must speak to business contacts in other lands, watch out for miscommunication and misunderstanding. You are responsible for offering an effective presentation no matter where you are on the map. Don’t expect customers in Japan to react to your presentations the same way your customers do in Great Britain. Here are some guidelines for intercultural success:

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[from toastmasters.org]

Killer Presentation Skills

4 Most Common Presentation Mistakes

4 Most Common Presentation Mistakes
By Bob Malloney
Over the last 20 years, I have trained thousands of people in presentation skills. I always require delegates to deliver a short presentation before I start training them, so that I can evaluate their starting position. I can now share with you the most common mistakes presenters make prior to training and more importantly, how you can avoid making the same mistakes!
Mistake # 1 - No clear objective
This is the most common and by far the most serious mistake. Presentations without a clear objective are doomed to failure before they have even started. The audience have come to listen to your talk for a reason. They are giving up their valuable time to attend your presentation. If you don't provide a return on investment for them, they will leave your talk dissatisfied. If no-one in the audience does anything differently as a result of listening to you, what was the point of your talk? Remember that each person in the audience is probably not interested in what you do. All they are interested in, is what you can do for them. So don't give presentations to make the audience aware of what you do, or an area of your expertise. Instead, ask yourself WHY the audience need to know about your subject and what they should do to enjoy the benefits of your proposal. This will completely change what you say and quite often, how you say it. It is no good just having a subject to talk about - you need to give yourself a mission!
Mistake # 2 - Too much detail
Giving a presentation is a scary business for the vast majority of us. One of the big fears is 'drying-up' and not having enough to say. Subconsciously, we experience an overwhelming temptation to cram our talk with lots of material. This is why so many presentations over-run their time slot. Also, you will only ever be asked to give a presentation on an area of your expertise (your job). Don't underestimate the volume of expertise you have built up over the years. Because we talk about what we do (and hopefully what fascinates us), there can be a strong urge to tell the audience all about it. Unfortunately, the audience will not be as interested in your job as you are. If they were, they would be doing your job! People cannot handle very much detail when listening to a talk. It all becomes too much for them and they switch off. Even if they didn't, what would they remember at the end of your talk? Think of the last film you watched. How much of the detail (dialogue) can you recall? The chances are you can only remember the broad outline and whether you enjoyed it or not. So, omit as much of the detailed information from your talk as possible. If the audience really need it, provide it in a handout at the end of your talk. They can handle detail when it's in writing.
Mistake # 3 - Complex language and monotone delivery
These two mistakes usually come together as a package! Many presenters deliver their messages using abstract and complex language. To deliver it fluently takes up a vast amount of processing power in the brain. There is nothing left for the emotion to come through in the voice, so we get a monotone delivery, projected in a serious voice. Think about how we communicate with our fellow human beings every day. We use very simple language and lots of emotional variety in our voice. In other words, we 'chat'. It's all very informal. Complex language delivered in a serious voice is the opposite of normal communication and is therefore alien to the audience and incredibly difficult to listen to. Think of your audience as reasonably bright 13 year old's and you'll then get the language about right, which will allow you to chat to them rather than lecture them.
Mistake # 4 - Constant visual support.
Why do we see so many PowerPoint slides in most business presentations? Because the slides have not been prepared for the audience at all. The presenter has prepared them for himself, to remind him of what he wants to say. The audience does not want to see everything you say. Supporting everything we say with the written word or images is an unnatural (and therefore alien) way of communicating. It also gives the audience a big problem. They cannot read and listen at the same time. So, resist the temptation to produce a slide for everything you are going to say. You only need to show a visual aid when words alone are insufficient to convey your message. Visual aids are a visual aid to understanding and should be shown only when the audience NEED to see them. Notes are for you, to remind you of what you want to say and are of no interest to the audience whatsoever.
In summary, have a clear objective that will give value to the audience. Spare them the detail. It may fascinate you, but they'll find your talk too hard to follow and just switch off. Use simple, ordinary everyday language and deliver your messages with emotional variety and enthusiasm. And finally, only show the audience visual aids when they need to see them - so that they can 'see what you mean'.
Bob Malloney, a personal and business skills trainer for over 20 years can help you to make a real difference to your working life, all from the comfort of your PC. Register now for a free, no obligation 7-day trial at http://www.videocoaching.tv.
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