How to Win Your Audience’s Attention
Anxious about an upcoming corporate presentation, a speech or a lecture? It’s normal to feel nervous every time a speaking engagement gets near. Even the best speakers claim to have that feeling from time to time and still ask for presentation tips from fellow public speakers or their mentors.
Winning the audience’s attention is certainly a big challenge to a public speaker or a presenter regardless of how big or small his audience is and regardless of his or her experience as a public speaker. To be able to successfully do that, one must not only be gifted with natural communication skills but must also be knowledgeable enough about his subject matter. Similarly, he must know how to properly communicate his message to his audience.
To help you win your audience’s attention while doing a presentation, below are some presentation tips you can follow:
• Assess your audience’s needs – a big part of preparing for your presentation is assessing your audience’s needs. Do they need to be informed, persuaded or entertained? What do they need to know about your topic? Be sure to match your discussion, your speech or the contents of your presentation with their needs. If your audience realizes that they have nothing to gain from your presentation or your discussion, they won’t be interested to listen.
Communication experts George Grice and John Skinner recommend that when seeking to inform the audience, you must project yourself as a mentor. When seeking support to a belief or a cause, project yourself as an advocate. When aiming to amuse the audience, be an entertainer to them.
In addition to knowing your audience’s needs, it is important for you to determine their characteristics before the presentation. Although they might have the same interests, they may differ in many other aspects such as age, gender, economic status, cultural background and the like. Prepare a presentation that would be able to meet expectations and needs of different kinds of people as much as possible.
• Be presentable – Like an actor performing on stage, you are the center of attention when speaking or presenting to an audience. One way of sustaining your audience’s interest is to show a desirable image to them. You can do this by dressing appropriately, standing or moving confidently without appearing arrogant, and staying calm and unruffled. By being presentable, you exude authority and mastery of your presentation. It’s also one way of establishing rapport with your audience.
• Watch your body language – Simple gestures, facial expressions and hand movements or even sitting or standing positions could communicate a different and unintended message to your audience. They could suggest meanings that could lose their interest or their respect to you as the presenter. Avoid unnecessary gestures, facial expressions and body movements that could distract your listeners.
• Use visual aids – Visual aids are effective transmitters of message. They come in handy when you are lost for words, presenting highly technical concepts, or have been talking for a long time. It can break the monotony of your presentation or discussion and can help deliver your message clearly and more effectively.
Take note however that they are only tools for your presentation. They must not be used as your substitute or as an alternate speaker or presenter.
There are different kinds of visual aids you can use. Advancements in computer technology allow us to make more effective visual aids such as PowerPoint presentations. They combine texts with images, videos, sound clips, animation and other audio-visual effects.
• Establish rapport with your audience – It is important to make your audience feel like you are talking to them sincerely. You can achieve this by maintaining eye contact, listening to them intently when they comment or ask questions, and responding to their reactions.
If you know of a good public speaker, it would be best to get some presentation tips directly from that person and to know about his public speaking experiences. Nothing beats words of a seasoned speaker who’s been there and done that.
To your success,
Greg
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tips For The Best Presentation Skills
Tips For The Best Presentation Skills
Take note of this fact: no matter who you are or what you do for a living whether as a self-sufficient professional, a freelancer, or a self-regulating agent, you will need to make a presentation. As a member of any institution, you have to welcome any opportunity of presenting your ideas to a group of people because it will be for your own benefit. It will gauge how well you can handle pressure and yet maintain your poise, your reputation, and enhance your own experience in terms of presentations.
You need your presentation skills when attempting to speak and stand in front of a group. The “big meeting”, as most business corporations term it, marks the day for the showcasing of many individuals’ presentation skills. Take note that business firms rely upon the success of every project that they spearhead and you as the presenter must prove to all that you are capable of living up to whatever expectations they have.
Hence, it’s time to sharpen your presentation skills with the following tips.
Details- Find out all the necessary details that you will need before the scheduled presentation. Hop from one department to another to gather the pertinent data that you’re possibly going to use. During the face to face encounter with the bosses or with budding clients, there may be questions that will arise and will suddenly take you by surprise. But, by being thoroughly prepared for the big day, you’re confident enough that you can handle all the queries even with your eyes closed.
Prepare- Not only should you prepare your materials but yourself as well. Remember that no one may come to your rescue should you start to fumble for words. The audience will entirely depend on what you’re going to share and discuss with them, so you’ll be the master of your own show. Prepare yourself from the apparel that you’re going to wear, up to the very last words to finish your sentence.
Maneuver the discussion- Be in control of the presentation. Solicit effective responses such as nods to confirm that the audience is getting your delivery. Emphasize important points. Ensure that they understand everything.
Be enthusiastic- Your enthusiasm to convey an idea to your audience will reflect on how you talk. Use visual materials to stress your points. Touch on their emotions and engage them into the dialogue.
Look confident and knowledgeable- Your audience will readily know how capable you are in handling your presentation topic. Skilled presenters can play with their topic and appear really knowledgeable although they lack material. It’s your own calling to enthuse your audience.
Presentation skills don’t solely cover the speaking prowess of a person. It is vital that you create a link between your idea and the technique that you’re to use in conveying it. Your efficiency as a presenter will matter a lot as you tackle tasks such as this.
To your success,
Greg
Take note of this fact: no matter who you are or what you do for a living whether as a self-sufficient professional, a freelancer, or a self-regulating agent, you will need to make a presentation. As a member of any institution, you have to welcome any opportunity of presenting your ideas to a group of people because it will be for your own benefit. It will gauge how well you can handle pressure and yet maintain your poise, your reputation, and enhance your own experience in terms of presentations.
You need your presentation skills when attempting to speak and stand in front of a group. The “big meeting”, as most business corporations term it, marks the day for the showcasing of many individuals’ presentation skills. Take note that business firms rely upon the success of every project that they spearhead and you as the presenter must prove to all that you are capable of living up to whatever expectations they have.
Hence, it’s time to sharpen your presentation skills with the following tips.
Details- Find out all the necessary details that you will need before the scheduled presentation. Hop from one department to another to gather the pertinent data that you’re possibly going to use. During the face to face encounter with the bosses or with budding clients, there may be questions that will arise and will suddenly take you by surprise. But, by being thoroughly prepared for the big day, you’re confident enough that you can handle all the queries even with your eyes closed.
Prepare- Not only should you prepare your materials but yourself as well. Remember that no one may come to your rescue should you start to fumble for words. The audience will entirely depend on what you’re going to share and discuss with them, so you’ll be the master of your own show. Prepare yourself from the apparel that you’re going to wear, up to the very last words to finish your sentence.
Maneuver the discussion- Be in control of the presentation. Solicit effective responses such as nods to confirm that the audience is getting your delivery. Emphasize important points. Ensure that they understand everything.
Be enthusiastic- Your enthusiasm to convey an idea to your audience will reflect on how you talk. Use visual materials to stress your points. Touch on their emotions and engage them into the dialogue.
Look confident and knowledgeable- Your audience will readily know how capable you are in handling your presentation topic. Skilled presenters can play with their topic and appear really knowledgeable although they lack material. It’s your own calling to enthuse your audience.
Presentation skills don’t solely cover the speaking prowess of a person. It is vital that you create a link between your idea and the technique that you’re to use in conveying it. Your efficiency as a presenter will matter a lot as you tackle tasks such as this.
To your success,
Greg
Thursday, February 25, 2010
PowerPoint Presentations
PowerPoint Presentations
For many, standing and speaking in front of an audience is just a matter of confidence; for some, it’s just a matter of having the facility to speak. Some would say it’s just a matter of strategy. Public speaking and presentation skills are not just natural abilities that effortlessly come out every time you are faced with an audience; they are artistic abilities that you can learn, develop and perfect through time by means of proper training, constant practice, and use of techniques. Presentations can really be daunting especially if you are not used to it, but with proper tools, you can surely get your message across.
A Powerful Presentation Tool
PowerPoint is a presentation software that is part of the Microsoft Office system. It is a high-impact presentation tool that allows you to convey all sorts of messages to your audience. It serves as a digital replacement for pamphlets, flyers, posters, charts, and other visual aids. PowerPoint can be all these and more.
PowerPoint slides can be incorporated with sounds, videos, movies and images that help you deliver your message more effectively. Through PowerPoint's graphics and formatting carnalities, it’s easy to design your slides and make them more corporate looking, casual, or fit for a particular theme. PowerPoint allows you to customize fonts so you can make your delivery more emphatic and clear.
Tips to Maximize Use of PowerPoint
Although PowerPoint can be very useful during presentations, they can be ineffective as well when its features are not fully used. Here are some tips on how to maximize use of PowerPoint to come up with a more successful presentation.
• Choose an appropriate theme/ template– There are many pre-designed presentation themes or templates you can choose from. If you are not yet familiar with PowerPoint, you can use these themes to create your presentations. Make sure to pick a theme that matches your corporate identity, the theme of the event or the occasion, and the message you intend to impart to your audience. You may also get ideas from existing themes on how to create your own.
• Customize fonts – Using the default font--which is normally Times New Roman--all through out the slide presentation would be boring. As much as possible customize your fonts to make your presentation more dynamic and appealing to the audience; however, choose font types and sizes that are easy to read. Moreover, be consistent with the fonts you use for the headings and sub headings. Use larger fonts for more important points and smaller fonts for secondary points. Do not capitalize, unless it’s necessary, as this constitutes yelling at your audience.
• Keep slide structure simple – One way to enhance readability of your slides is to keep it simple. You can achieve this by avoiding wordiness. As much as possible, write down only the key words and phrases and not the entire sentence. You can show one point per slide to help your audience focus on a particular message at a particular time.
• Use color to reinforce your message – Colors can have different meanings. Blue suggests calmness and security while red suggests strong emotions. Green is usually associated with money. Use colors that match your message and are pleasing to the eyes. Make sure that they also match or complement the background. Light colors used on a light background would be very difficult to read.
• Use graphs, charts, sounds, videos and images when necessary – Reinforce your presentation by using graphs, charts, sounds, videos and images. These would make it easier for your audience to understand and recall the information you are giving them.
To your success,
Greg
For many, standing and speaking in front of an audience is just a matter of confidence; for some, it’s just a matter of having the facility to speak. Some would say it’s just a matter of strategy. Public speaking and presentation skills are not just natural abilities that effortlessly come out every time you are faced with an audience; they are artistic abilities that you can learn, develop and perfect through time by means of proper training, constant practice, and use of techniques. Presentations can really be daunting especially if you are not used to it, but with proper tools, you can surely get your message across.
A Powerful Presentation Tool
PowerPoint is a presentation software that is part of the Microsoft Office system. It is a high-impact presentation tool that allows you to convey all sorts of messages to your audience. It serves as a digital replacement for pamphlets, flyers, posters, charts, and other visual aids. PowerPoint can be all these and more.
PowerPoint slides can be incorporated with sounds, videos, movies and images that help you deliver your message more effectively. Through PowerPoint's graphics and formatting carnalities, it’s easy to design your slides and make them more corporate looking, casual, or fit for a particular theme. PowerPoint allows you to customize fonts so you can make your delivery more emphatic and clear.
Tips to Maximize Use of PowerPoint
Although PowerPoint can be very useful during presentations, they can be ineffective as well when its features are not fully used. Here are some tips on how to maximize use of PowerPoint to come up with a more successful presentation.
• Choose an appropriate theme/ template– There are many pre-designed presentation themes or templates you can choose from. If you are not yet familiar with PowerPoint, you can use these themes to create your presentations. Make sure to pick a theme that matches your corporate identity, the theme of the event or the occasion, and the message you intend to impart to your audience. You may also get ideas from existing themes on how to create your own.
• Customize fonts – Using the default font--which is normally Times New Roman--all through out the slide presentation would be boring. As much as possible customize your fonts to make your presentation more dynamic and appealing to the audience; however, choose font types and sizes that are easy to read. Moreover, be consistent with the fonts you use for the headings and sub headings. Use larger fonts for more important points and smaller fonts for secondary points. Do not capitalize, unless it’s necessary, as this constitutes yelling at your audience.
• Keep slide structure simple – One way to enhance readability of your slides is to keep it simple. You can achieve this by avoiding wordiness. As much as possible, write down only the key words and phrases and not the entire sentence. You can show one point per slide to help your audience focus on a particular message at a particular time.
• Use color to reinforce your message – Colors can have different meanings. Blue suggests calmness and security while red suggests strong emotions. Green is usually associated with money. Use colors that match your message and are pleasing to the eyes. Make sure that they also match or complement the background. Light colors used on a light background would be very difficult to read.
• Use graphs, charts, sounds, videos and images when necessary – Reinforce your presentation by using graphs, charts, sounds, videos and images. These would make it easier for your audience to understand and recall the information you are giving them.
To your success,
Greg
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