Preparation for Successful Presentation mbaratkj.blogspot.com

Preparation for Successful Presentation

PREPARATION

Planning.

Plan your presentation carefully. Thorough preparation will make you

more confident and help you to overcome your nervousness.

Objectives.

Think  about  what  you  want  to  achieve.  Are  you  aiming  to  inform,

persuade, train or entertain your audience?

Audience.

Whom  exactly  will  you  be  addressing?  How  many  people  will  be

attending?  What  do  they  need  to  know?  What  do  they  already  know?

What will they expect in terms of content and approach?

Content.

Brainstorm your ideas first. Then decide which are most relevant and

appropriate  to  your  audience  and  to  your  objectives  and  carry  out  any

research that is necessary. Be selective! Don t try to cram too much into

your presentation.

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Approach.

A good rule is to  tell your audience what you re going to say, say it,

then tell the audience what you ve said.  Try to develop your key points

in an interesting  and varied way, drawing on relevant examples, figures

etc. for support as appropriate. You might also like to include one or two

anecdotes for additional variety and humour.

Organisation.

Think  about  how  you  will  organise  your  content.  Your presentation

should have a clear, coherent structure and cover the points you wish to

make in a logical order. Most presentations start with a brief introduction

and end with a  brief conclusion.  Use  the introduction to welcome  your

audience,  introduce  your  topic  /  subject,  outline  the  structure  of  your

talk, and provide guidelines on questions. Use conclusion to summarize

the main points of your presentation, thank the audience for their attention,

and invite questions.

Visual  aids.

If you have a lot of complex information to explain, think about using

some charts, diagrams, graphs etc., on an overhead projector or flipchart.

Visual  aids  can  make  a  presentation  more  interesting  and  easier  to

understand,  but  make  sure  they  are appropriate and  clear    don t try  to

put too much information on each one.

Rehearsal.

Allow time to practise your presentation   this will give you a chance

to identify any weak  points or  gaps. You will also  be able  to  check the

timing, and make sure you can pronounce any figures and proper names

correctly  and confidently.

DELIVERY

Nerves!

You  will probably be nervous  at  the  beginning of  your  presentation.

Don t worry   most people are nervous in this situation. Try not to speak

too fast during the first couple of minutes   this is the time you establish

your rapport with the audience and first impressions are very important.

You may find it helpful to memorize your introduction.

Audience rapport.

Try to  be enthusiastic    your  interest in the subject matter will  carry

your  audience  along.  Look  around  your  audience  as  you  speak     eye

contact is essential to  maintaining a good rapport. You  will also be able

to pick up signals  of boredom  or disinterest, in which case you can  cut

your presentation short.

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Body language.

Stand rather than sit when you are delivering your presentation and try

to be aware of any repetitive hand gestures or awkward mannerisms that

might irritate your audience.

Voice  quality.

You must be clearly audible at all times   don t let your voice drop at

the end of sentences. If you vary your intonation, your voice will be more

interesting  to  listen  to  and  you  will  be  able  to  make your  points  more

effectively.

Visual  aids.

Use your visual aids confidently, making sure you allow your audience

time to absorb information from flipcharts and transparencies.

Audience reaction.

Be ready to deal with any hostile questions. Polite, diplomatic answers

are a good disarming tactics, but if you should find yourself  under fire ,

suggest that the audience keeps any further questions until the end of the

presentation and continue with your next point.

LANGUAGE

Simplicity.

Use short words and sentences that you are comfortable with. There is

no  benefit  in  using  difficult  language.  Keep  your  language  simple  and

clear.

Clarity.

Active and concrete words are much clearer and easier to understand

than  passive  verbs  and  abstract  concepts.  Avoid  jargon  unless  you  are

sure all your audience will understand it.

Signalling.

Indicate  when  you ve completed  one  point or section  in  your

presentation  and  are moving  on  to  the  next.  Give your  audience  clear

signals as to the direction your presentation is taking.

Practical Assignments on Presentation

1. On the spur of the moment. You have just two minutes to prepare a

talk on one of these topics:

1. How good presentations can benefit your company. 2. How speakers

should  prepare  before  giving  presentations.  3.  The  qualities  of  a  good

speaker. 4. How a speaker can keep the attention of the audience. 5. The

effective use of visual aids in presentation.

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2. A prepared presentation. Prepare and make a presentation on a topic

of your own choice.

Example: your company,  your  products, a project  you have been

involved in recently, new developments in your field.

Before you  begin, decide:

1. who you are talking to, 2. how many people there are, 3. who they

are, 4. if it s a formal or informal occasion.

Prepare  any  props  you  need,  e.g.  white  boards,  projector  slides,  etc.

Write brief notes outlining the talk.

3. Company presentation notes.

1. Who it was founded by. 2. Date it was founded. 3. Nature of business.

4. The type of customers it has. 5. Location(s). 6. Number of employees.

7. Annual turnover. 8. Location of headquarters.  9.  Group  turnover. 10.

Number of group employees. 11. The company s main strength. 12. The

company s future plans.

4. Which of the following steps would you include in an introduction to

a presentation? And in what order?

1. State  subject of your talk  /  presentation.

2. Say when / if  you will accept  questions.

3. Welcome audience, thank them for opportunity to speak.

4. Tell  a joke.

5. Highlight relevance of  your subject.

6. Give  outline of the  sections of  your talk.

7. Say, how long your talk will last.

8. State your main conclusion.

9. Introduce yourself.

5. Read the text below and number the paragraphs in the correct order.

( ) Now, if we turn to another large trading country, Japan, we can see

that the situation is different. Price inflation in Japan was as low as 1% in

1988, and  even though it subsequently rose,  it  was  always well below

4%.

( ) First of all, let s look at a country whose price inflation was higher

than anyone else s during this period.

( ) In conclusion  we  can observe that Britain had the highest rate of

inflation of the five countries examined throughout this period, although

the gap narrowed substantially in 1991.

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( ) As you can see from the graphs, price inflation in Britain stood at

around 5% in 1991.

( )  Good  morning,  ladies  and  gentelmen.  Today  I m  going  to  talk

about changes in  consumer  prices  in  Britain, the  United  States, France,

Germany and Japan during the period 1989 to 1991.

( )  Finally,  let s  look  at  Germany,  the  only  country  experiencing  a

rise of inflation in 1991. This rise from around 2% in 1990 to over 3% in

1991  was  largely  due  to  the  extra  costs  of  reunifying  East  and  West

Germany.

Meeting

Do you dread meetings more than Monday morning? Do you find them

boring,  unproductive  and  far  too  long?  Meetings  are  central  to  most

organisations; people need to know what their colleagues are doing and

then take decisions based on shared information and opinions. How well

you present yourself and your ideas, and how well you work with other

people, is crucial to your career.

Make a meeting work for you.

Running a Meeting

Only call a meeting if you (and your colleagues) are quite clear about

its purpose. Once you are certain of your objective, ask yourself whether

it could be better achieved through  alternative means, such  as a memo.

Meetings called on a routine basis tend to lose their point. It s better to

wait  until  a  situation or  problem  requires  a meeting.  If  in  doubt,  don t

waste time  having  one.

If you re sure a meeting is the solution, circulate a memo several days

in  advance specifying  the time  and place, objectives, issues to be

discussed, other participants and preparation expected. Meetings should

be held in the morning, if possible, when  people are usually more alert,

and  should  last  no  more  than  an  hour.  Six  is  the  optimum  number  of

participants for  a good working meeting. Inviting the whole department

(more  than  10)  increases  emotional  undercurrents  such  as,   Will  my

suggestions  be  taken  seriously?   Larger  meetings  can  be  productive  as

brainstorming  sessions  for  ideas, provided participants can speak freely

without  feeling they will  be judged.

A  successful meeting  always  leads  to  action. Decisions  should take

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up  the  bulk  of  the  meeting minutes,  including  the  name  of  the  person

delegated  to each  task, and a deadline for its completion. Circulate  the

minutes  after  the meeting and again just before the next one.

Draw out quieter members of the group. Encouragement helps create

a relaxed and  productive atmosphere.  Do  not  single out  any  individual

for  personal criticism   they will  either  silently  withdraw,  upset  and  be

humiliated, or try to come up with excuses rather than focus on the problems

in hand. Save critical  comments for a private occasion.

If you re talking for more than 50 per cent of the time, you re dominating

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