How to make the Perfect Presentation…. in English
You need to make a presentation at work and in English.
Where do I start? What will I say? Will they understand me?
With the right preparation and practice, the answers to these questions… and more are YES!
PREPARATION “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell
Firstly, let’s start with some questions…
1 - Most Importantly, What is the Key Message?
What is the reason for making the presentation? What is your KEY message?
“Ask yourself, ‘If I had only sixty seconds on the stage, what would I absolutely have to say to get my message across.”? – Jeff Dewar
To give you some ideas, here are some examples of the types of presentation, along with the potential key message for each case.
Reason for Presentation
Key Message
2 - Who is Your Audience?
“Designing a presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it ‘to whom it may concern.” – Ken Haemer
Who are you talking to?
Your audience can be defined in several different ways:
a) Who are they? What job titles do they hold? Do they work for the same company or are they customers / potential customers? Are they above or below you in the pecking order?
b) In this day and age, many audiences may be from different regions, countries or even continents. Is everyone speaking the same language? If not, what common language can be used. If the meeting is taking place online, is a translation service available?
The key to a great presentation is to effectively convey your key message to the audience in a way that they hear it… and remember it!
"The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives."
There is an acronym that is often used when making presentations… KISS - Keep it simple, stupid 😉
Introduce Yourself
Start with an introduction. Who are you? Where do you fit in the organisation, relevant to your organisation.
If you are presenting to:
– Say your name, position and department (if you already know some of them, add ‘For those who don’t know me’ at the front.
– Tell them your name, company and position if relevant.
Tell them what you are going to say – What the Key message is – Make it relevant to them…
Show that it’s relevant to them and that they need to actively listen.
Tell them the information – including the Key message
Tell them what you already told them (summarise) – Tell them the Key Message again.
Use visuals
This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:
- Contain no more than 10 slides;
- Last no more than 20 minutes; and
- Use a font size of no less than 30 point.
Make sure the slide needs you to explain it… helps to keep their attention.
Speak to the audience… don't speak to your notes.
A smile and eye contact is fantastic for getting and keeping the attention of the audience. (Do you remember the teachers at school who used to look at all the students and randomly select them to answer a question? I will bet that you gave those teachers your full attention).
- Eye contact also enables you to react to their responses… Are they starting to get bored?
- Change your speech patterns… ask them a question…
- Be enthusiastic and honest
- Have bullet points written down – then you cannot just read.
- Be interesting!
"Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening."
PRACTICE
PRACTICE
PRACTICE
The Presentation Itself
Make sure if you have made a powerpoint, that you have sent it in advance (and keep it on a stick too…just incase. I usually carry a summary of notes on actual paper, incase all technology fails… which is not unheard of)
If you have handouts, give them AFTER the presentation.
If you hand them out before or during, the audience WILL read them – taking their attention from you!
Question and Answer Session.
Prepare and practice for this too. What questions could you possibly expect? Prepare answers for those too. The more you prepare, the more relaxed you will feel. In addition, it will enable you to concentrate more easily on any questions you were NOT expecting… which may also happen.
Once you have prepared and practiced (many times) – now it’s time to perform.
After the performance: ANALYSE
“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”
- What went well?
- What went badly?
- What questions were you NOT expecting? (You can practice them for next time)
This element is often forgotten in the relief of having completed the task. If you make notes about your feelings about the presentation as soon as it’s finished … you can revisit this information when you are preparing for the next one! Use it to improve your next presentation….. and so on!
Would you like someone to guide you through your presentation? Someone, to help you to prepare and practice with? Someone else to help you to think of the tricky questions … and answers? Someone, to ensure your vocabulary and phraseology are perfect?
Get in touch…
GOOD LUCK
