By Joel T. Fagsao
As you move on to the phases in your career, you are more likely to do a presentation in a meeting, a seminar-workshop, inter-agency gatherings or simply present in public. The various seminars and workshops I have attended or conducted through the years have helped a lot in honing my presentation skills. I share with you tips to make a better and effective presentation.
Using PowerPoint or Presentation Software:
Laptops (notebooks) and LCD projectors have become more affordable, enabling organizations to equip office workers with these tools. If you have a notebook and an LCD projector then you are only about 5% better than the next presenter who uses the black board to do a presentation. Granting however that you are blessed with the right tools to do a presentation- you now have the opportunity to come up with the best presentation in your life. The PowerPoint presentation software by Microsoft is a popular presentation tool used all over. So how do you prevent boredom in your presentation? Let us count the ways:
- Preparation, preparation: There is no substitute to preparedness prior to a presentation. No amount of technological jazz ups will make your presentation when you have more aaaahss…and ehems….. Research well, organize your thoughts, put the presentation on paper, highlight the important points of your presentation and come up with an effective summary and conclusion. It also helps to know first your audience, the time allotted for you to speak. Inform the organizers in advance if you have special needs during the presentation. This includes setting up of a screen, sound system, back up convenience outlet.
- Rehearse: know your audience so you can make an adjustment to your presentation, with this, you will know what areas to highlight or emphasize. Rehearse your presentation if time is a luxury. Ask your friends or co-workers to give their honest opinion on areas for improvement in your presentation.
- PowerPoint Blues: in doing your presentation in PowerPoint, here are some guide points. a) maintain consistency in fonts and colors in your slides b) keep special font effects, slide transitions to a minimum- your audience might be focusing more on how your fonts move rather than on the content of the presentation itself c) pictures convey a greater impact, better yet, if you have a brief video clip, then include it in your slides d) a slide must only contain three lines of words or phrases- continue on to the next slides since there is no limit to the number of slides to use, put only the important points because the worse that you can do in a presentation is to flash an entire document on a screen e) check for spelling errors f) include sounds if it is an important aspect of the presentation- you don’t put a clapping sound after every slide transition g) don’t read the contents of your slide to your audience- your audience can read, by reading to them, you make them feel stupid. Better yet, adlib, expound the content of your slide. To help you expound have index cards ready. Writing the important points in an index card or piece of paper will help you remember and impart the important points of your presentation. Remember the slides or your visual presentation is not for you; rather it is for your audience. The PowerPoint presentation is not your cue card.
- Presentation proper: Don’t attempt to be funny- attempting to crack a joke which does not get your audience to laugh is one of the worst things that can happen. Be aware of who your audience will be before you do a comedic spiel- at the expense of a group, race, culture or creed. Maintain eye contact from time to time with your audience. A well modulated voice is important. Ask your audience at the back if they can hear you at the back. Hands in your pockets or annoying mannerisms are best avoided. (Apply dental adhesive on your dentures, you don’t want your dentures falling off during a presentation). Grooming and proper attire is critical to the success of your presentation- dress for the occasion.
- Back-up, back-up: Have a back up plan. Your presentation file should be saved on separate storage devices- aside from your file in your hard drive, burn the file on a CD or save to an external storage device. If power fails, veteran speakers have a ready back-up, slides are done in Manila paper. Lastly technology driven presentations should not be the focus of your presentation. You can enthrall your audience for the first few slides but pretty soon they will know and judge whether you are an effective speaker or not. This calls for putting much time on the preparation of the content and less on the technical wizardry. Good luck on your next presentation. joelfagsao@xijen.com