Presentation Skills Structure & Technique Presentation Skills - PDF document

Presentation Skills Structure & Technique

Presentation Skills 1

Presentation Skills PREPARING FOR A PRESENTATION 1. Set objective. Write it down in one sentence. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________  Is your objective measurable?  How will you measure it? Write down : - why are you speaking? - what do you hope to achieve? - what reaction do you want to provide in your audience? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Research Your Audience Why are they there? __________________________ How Many? __________________________ What do they know already? __________________________ What do they need to know __________________________ What is their likely reaction/attitude? __________________________ What do they expect of you? __________________________ 2

Presentation Skills 3. Gather Material  Research. Many sources available. Books, memos, instruction books, other people, other presenters, Training Office!  Brain storm your ideas.  Use mind maps. What will be in your intro? - __________________________ - What will be in your middle? __________________________ How will you conclude? - __________________________ What questions might you be asked? - __________________________ 4. Structure Your Material  Plan an easy to follow structure  Create logical links between key ideas  Write appropriate notes in boxes provided, or, invent your own 3

Presentation Skills WRITING TIPS  Choose a theme to link your messages. This will give your talk cohesiveness.  Change the pace to keep interest high e.g. short sentences will up the tempo of your talk.  Repitition will help the audience remember your presentation.  Use surprises to arouse interest.  Humour is a good way to keep interest. Avoid - patronising or talking down to your audience anything of questionable taste – bad language, smutty joke - over complex words – keep it simple - - jargon 4

Presentation Skills THE INTRODUCTION TO YOUR PRESENTATIONS a) Welcoming Courtesies Simply thanking people for giving up time and hoping they will think it is well spent. b) Self-Identification Your name and job, your background (if relevant) and any details of colleagues who are with you. c) The Intention What you are proposing to explain, suggest or demonstrate at this presentation. This has to be angled towards the benefits they can expect from your presentation. Everything should be presented in terms of their interest, not yours. Example “What I am going to tell you” should be: “What I thought you would like to know.” d) The Route Map This is where you let them know the following: 1) How long the presentation will last; 2) Will it all be in this room or will be moving to other parts of the building; 3) Any special features: i) A film; ii) A demonstration iii) A model to see; etc. 4) Will there be a break for tea/coffee. e) The Rules of the Road This particularly refers to the handling of questions and it is necessary to tell them because they cannot possibly know otherwise. Questions can be taken in one of three ways: 1) People to interrupt if they have a question; 2) Wait until the end of the section; or 3) Wait until the end of the presentation. 5

Presentation Skills THE MAIN BODY OF THE PRESENTATION The main body of all presentations have the same structure – SITUATION, COMPLICATION, and RECOMMENDATION. It may well come embroidered in all sorts of ways, but if you abandon it and resort to a string of unstructured and incorrect assertions you will not hold your audien ce’s attention for long. Having done your preparation thoroughly you will now find that everything you have to say will fit into one of the three sections: a) Situation; b) Complication; and c) Recommendation. a) Situation Your audience will be like the horses at the start of a race, scattered all over the place and facing in different directions. Your job is to bring them up to the starting line and make sure they all go off in the same direction, just like the starter of a race. Whatever the purpose of your presentation it is essential that everyone should start with the same knowledge, and important that you should demonstrate to them all that you know about the situation and the background. This part of the presentation, levelling of knowledge, may need a lengthy analysis or only a couple of sentences, but some statement of the present situation has to be made and agreed upon. Ask questions of your audience about the present situation and past history, it may help to angle the rest of your presentation more precisely to their needs, and a bit of two-way communication in the early stages is a valuable icebreaker. b) Complication This is where you introduce the need for change by showing why the present situation cannot continue or why it would be unwise to continue it. e.g Demand is shifting, technology is changing, staff are leaving, delays are lengthening, competitors are gaining, costs are rising, profits are falling, buildings are leaking, whatever the reason there must be some significant change or danger to worry or opportunity or you would not be making the presentation. This is the stage where you dig the hole in which you will plant your recommendation. 6

Presentation Skills c) Recommendation The recommendation will form the bulk of your presentation and is the one part you were least likely to omit. It may include: 1) Evaluating alternatives; 2) Describing services; 3) Meeting objections; or 4) Quoting examples, etc. The above are generally thought of as “a presentation,” but the success of the presentation will depend on how well you have prepared the audience in the SITUATION and COMPLICATION sections which are both all too easy to omit. Often “ evaluation alternatives” is important enough to deserve a section of its own. You may decide that your recommendation should be a choice of alternatives rather than a “take it or leave it” proposal. d) Paragraphing Although a small part of structuring, paragraphing is important and is an easy thing to do, but is also an easy thing to forget to do. The problem is that you know where you have got to and where you are going, the audience does not and cannot see your notes or glance forward as in a book to see what is coming. It is therefore important to provide them with the equivalent of a paragraph. It only needs a summary sentence to round off a section and a statement or question to introduce the next. Example: “Right. So we have seen that the condensation problem is getting to a crisis. So what can be done? Well, there are 3 practical options open to us. I’ll describe them briefly first and then discuss the in turn. Option on is …..” Good paragraphing is a great help to retention. Your audience are getting two things: 1) The information; and 2) An inbuilt filing system. 7

Presentation Skills SUMMARY OR CONCLUSION The ending of a presentation is like the opening, important, and should not be left to chance. You should have planned and rehearsed ending which may be improved whilst speaking. It does not have to be long or complicated, but must be worked out before your presentation. When working at your ending you must go back to the original objective. It is this objective that dictates the ending, which normally includes: a) A summary of the outstanding facts and arguments with a review of key visual aids; b) A recommendation of a course of action; c) A proposal for the next step, if the recommendation is accepted, with target dates; d) A description of the supporting literature (if any) which you are now distributing; Thank you’s; and e) f) An invitation for questions. 8

Presentation Skills PERSUASION TACTICS Persuade audiences by appealing to their desire for: ‘adopt my scheme and your job will be safe’ - Self preservation - ‘my scheme will increase income by 10%’ - Pride in possessions - ‘Your influence will increase in this way’ - A sense of power - ‘You will be remembered for making this - A good name with posterity - decision’ ‘This will make you like everyone else’ - Convention - ‘And you will be providing for the OAP’s’ - Sentiment - RECOMMENDATION TECHNIQUES  Stress positive aspects of chosen option.  Stress positive aspects of chosen option in contrast to the tailings of all other options.  Discuss poor options as early as possible in the presentation.  Set up a contest between your favourite option and the nearest contender. Prove your option is best.  Prepare fully – know everything about your option. Be ready to answer difficult questions. What are your audience’s feelings?  End your presentation on a high. Summarise your option and point the way forward. DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES  Accentuate the positive  Acknowledge weaknesses  Point the way forward  Don’t allow yourself to be backed into a corner  Remain calm and in control when under pressure  Be assertive. Stand up for rights. 9