Whether you've done it a 100 times or this is your first presentation, standing up in front of a group and delivering a quality presentation is difficult. Their eyes seem to burn through you, the silence gets heavy and your confidence can dip. So how can you ensure you're as prepared as possible to fight through these challenges? This article will give you a few key pointers.
1. Practise, Practise, Practise, There is no substitute for this, by the time you present you should neither need nor use notes. Knowing your presentation inside out will allow you to stop worrying about content and concentrate on your audience. You may feel silly but practise in front of friends, partners or even the mirror. Why not record your voice and listen back?
2. Use an Ice Breaker, Ice Breakers are great if used correctly, they can relax your audience but more importantly relax you. Pick an ice breaker appropriate to the audience your presenting to, asking people to introduce themselves and 'tell an unusual fact' may work with a training group but would be inappropriate in a sales presentation.
3. Set up Early then Relax, Take your time setting up, there's no need to rush around raising your adrenaline. Plan ahead - set up early so that you have time to relax before your audience arrives. Have all of your handouts prepared, test any equipment then if possible leave the room and clear your mind, have a coffee or go outside for some fresh air.
4. Start Strong, Whether we like it or not we all form an opinion of someone within the first 5 minutes of meeting them, the same will be true of your audience. How you start will have the greatest impact on your audience's opinion of you. Negative body language and glazed eyes will follow a weak start. Make sure you grab their attention from the outset, raise your voice, start with an exercise; whatever it takes to create that initial impact.
5. Make Eye Contact, Eye contact will keep your audience alert, strengthen your presentation and allow you to engage the audience more thoroughly which in turn will help you to relax yourself. Be careful not to eyeball anyone in particular, you don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.
6. Address People by their Names, Nothing grabs someone's attention more than hearing their name. If possible refer to your audience by name it will help you feel in control, but don't over do it or you'll sound like a bad salesman!
7. Fail to Prepare and you Prepare to Fail, We've all heard the saying but lets be honest, its true! You can't stumble through a presentation with next to no preparation and expect a good result! If you take nothing else from this list of tips then let it be this, prepare thoroughly! It does wonders for those nerves.
Written by Kris Davies - Marketing Manager
Ecom Learning Solutions Ltd
For information and courses on delivering professional presentations please visit our website: http://www.ecomlearning.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kris_Davies
No comments:
Post a Comment