Presentation skills -and how to improve

Last week I did a talk at Smidig2013, and I did my best to use the presentation skills I learned earlier this year in a practical training class. You can find the talk here (in Norwegian). In this post I will summarize my notes from the presentation skills class:

1) Body language:

a) Standing still:

Stay still and firm when you talk. Be grounded on the floor.

I had a tendency to sway, both in hips and in knees. In the presentation I held last week, you see that I do this a little bit in the beginning, then remembering to stand still.

b) Moving around:

It is great to use the whole floor, do this: talk, move, talk. This means do not talk when you move, and it is ok to move and turn your back to the audience, but do pause the talking when you do this.

I have a tendency to much more swaying when I move, so for me, it is more important to focus on a then on this.

c) Arms

• do not touch yourself (not in the face or anywhere else.)
• you may have your arm(s) straight down beside you
• or you may use your hands to gesticulate –not in front of you, the best is using large movements out to the side (feels wired, but looks great, use video and record yourself and you will be convinced)

For me, I have focused on the first one of this, I am aware of the last one, but think this is hard. Most of my gesticulation is in front of me.

d) Words

Skip all words that do not have a meaning. Words like “ehm”, “sure”, “right”, “like” and so on. It is much better to pause and to have just silence. It feels strange, but sounds great!

After practising this and recording myself, I have been aware that silence is definitely my friend. When I need to think, it feels like minutes, but in reality, it only takes seconds. A pause only makes the content standing out.

2) Content

When all the rest is in place, off course content is the most important part of the presentation.

a) Introduction part one

(10-30 seconds) Get on the same page with the audience, let the audience know that you know the context and domain, and get each and one of them to buy in to the idea of you being able to contribute in the area of topic.

For me this was an eye-opener. Before I attended this class, I had the impression that it was smart to present any controversial ideas or summarise the whole point of the presentation in the introduction. Big mistake!

b) Introduction part two

(10-30 seconds) Let the audience know what they can expect during the presentation, i.e.: “in this presentation I will start by examining the three different options, and summarize pros and cons. I will also present the recommended solution and how to bring this forward”

I did not know how important it is to let the audience get a sense of what to expect, and this being key to engage the audience during the presentation, making them curios.

c) The PowerPoint

Who are the slides for? –It is not supposed to be for the presenter J The audience are only capable of either reading or listening –not both at the same time.

If it is important that the slides capture content for people not present (it is going to be sent out) consider making two separate slide decks or provide the extra content in the “notes” section.

I have fallen in love with pictures on my slides only. This is also what I used in my presentation at Smidig 2013. These are three slides from that slide deck:

 

 

d) The end

Summarize your point and present next steps or actions that the audence should take.