HOW TO Multiple Speakers, One Message How to prepare a cohesive group presentation. BY CHRISTINE CLAPP, DTM W hether it is a sales seminar deliv- and storytelling expert at Duarte, Inc. However, group presentations often ered on a large stage or an intimate Ti ey can increase faith in the team, show- lack a collective point of view, says the pitch to a new client or potential funder, case individuals discussing their areas of Oregon-based Pacchione, who facilitates the most important thing about a group expertise, reduce the monotony of listen- workshops for companies like Nike, Twit- ter and Google. “What typically happens “Allow people to brainstorm individually first, then is that members of the group have the same topic, but when they go to pres- come together to brainstorm as a group.” ent, sales and operations people will have — presentation-skills trainer Mike Pacchione di ff erent messages or the person who ex- plains the new technology won’t highlight presentation is that it gives the impression ing to one person speak at length, and what the salesperson said,” he explains. of being put together by one person. allow speakers to play o ff one another’s Ensure a collective point of view and Group presentations with a cohesive ideas and energy. Working in a group can a polished performance the next time point of view and careful preparation raise the quality of the overall presenta- your team is charged with giving a group o ff er many advantages compared to those tion, he says. After all, “ Ti ere’s less for presentation. Ti ese six guidelines—drawn delivered by individuals, says Mike each person to remember and rehearse, so from the advice of experts—will help your Pacchione, a presentation-skills trainer the presentation should be better.” group prepare. 27 WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE TOASTMASTER | NOVEMBER 2015 27
HOW TO Once the whole group agrees on the gen- eral outline of the entire presentation, assign each portion to the speaker who can deliver it knowledgeably and enthusiastically. Ti en let each presenter work independently to develop an outline for his or her part. “ Ti e group has to agree on the direction and the outline, not the details, ” says Trivers. Make sure speakers know how long their part of the presentation should run before they go o ff to work independently. Ti ough timing for specific sections can be refined as the presentation develops, it’s important that speakers have general guidelines early on, so they don’t prepare too much or too little material. 4 Craft cohesive visuals The person or team responsible for visu- al aids should curate and maintain a master Choose one person to open and close the presentation based on whoever is most comfortable. document of slides and handouts of leave- behind materials. It’s best when the visual- aid contributions from different presenters 1 Start earlier team; it may be easier for team members are consistent—both in the amount and the For a make-or-break presentation, a single to respond to suggestions from a consul- formatting of material. Allot about a week to speaker needs at least a month to prepare. tant rather than from within the group or refine and finalize visuals and another week Working in a group of presenters extends organization. Whoever it is, this person is for a print shop to print handouts. this timeline, because it takes longer to responsible for developing a timeline for “One of the biggest challenges with schedule planning meetings, make decisions the group’s major milestones (like creating groups is they spend way more time with and conduct rehearsals. Aim to start prepar- an outline, coordinating visual aids and creating slides than with practicing,” warns ing one to three months in advance. holding the first rehearsals) and keeping Trivers. She thinks groups should only Because “people want to debate every the team on schedule. spend about 20 percent of their prepara- last decision, ” says Pacchione, groups often tion time working on slides, so they don’t get bogged down in minutia. “One of the biggest challenges with groups is 5 they spend way more time with creating slides Rehearse effectively About two weeks before the presenta- than with practicing.” tion, the group should do a rough run- — business coach Susan Trivers through, sitting down with the visual aids and talking through the presentation. This 3 take way too long to prepare presentations. Develop a perspective and helps to identify gaps or redundancies in His suggestion: “Allow people to brainstorm a detailed outline the presentation; to allow presenters to individually first, then come together to To present a collective point of view, your plan references to material discussed by brainstorm as a group. ” Making it a more group needs to develop an outline for the other team members; and to craft smooth democratic activity often increases buy-in entire project. Susan Trivers is a business- transitions between speakers. Just as and cuts down on decision-making time. growth coach who has consulted with more important, it provides an opportunity to than 4,000 people in 450 companies on how check on speaking times. All too often, 2 Have a point person to present to win audiences. She recom- speakers go longer than they anticipate Identify one person to serve as the mends starting an outline by asking what the and must streamline their material. project manager. He or she might be a ultimate goal of the presentation is. Trivers recommends that group members leader in the group—a respected member “Know your call to action. Don’t start practice a great deal individually before prac- of the organization—who is not speaking from the beginning and hope to get to the ticing as a team. “You don’t want speakers to in the presentation. Or your point person end,” she advises. “It’s much harder to get practice with the group; it’s a huge waste of could be a presentation-skills consultant to the end when you’re crafting a presenta- time. Speakers need to get fluent first—hav- who brings an outside perspective to the tion with five people.” ing a coach, a colleague or a spouse will help. ” 28 WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE
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