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| Pretentious Presentations |
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Pretentious presentations, sloppy slides, and spiritless speakers, by Leah Guren, director of training,
In Other WORDS.
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| Leah Guren is Director of Training at In Other WORDS, one of Israel's oldest technical documentation companies. In Other WORDS offers a professional seminar, The Art of Presenting, to teach you the basics, help you overcome your fear, and give you immediate feedback. For details, see the In Other WORDS' website.
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The chances are that at some point in your life someone will ask you to make a presentation. You may have specific knowledge that you need to share with coworkers, or you may find yourself in front of the company's board of directors, trying to justify a new program or idea.
The need to make presentations crops up in virtually every professional career; it is a reasonable job expectation. So why does it fill so many people with a sense of dread?
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| Stand Up and Present |
The simple act of standing up and speaking in front of an audience is listed as the number one fear by more adults than any other fear (Book of Lists). To really put that into perspective, consider that fear of dying comes in only at number seven!
I can't explain why over 41% of Western adults experience fear or distress at the thought of public speaking. Do we fear embarrassment more than death? Or are we naturally worried because of all the horrible presentations to which we have been subjected over the years?
Countless local managers blandly get up in front of savvy, discerning international customers and present dull, poorly-organized, sloppy presentations. The near-universal availability of PowerPoint makes the actual creation of slides very simple; unfortunately, this also means that a powerful tool is often abused by those who don't understand the basic rules of effective slides.
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| The Seven Deadly Sins |
As a professional speaker, I am often asked for advice about making effective slides. I always try to remind people that the actual slides are only a small part of the overall presentation. Your preparation, speaking skills, connection with the audience, ability to handle questions, and knowledge of the subject are far more important than glitzy slides. Still, consider the following most common errors made by novice presenters:
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- Cram as much text as you possibly can onto a slide. Try to use 10 pt. Times New Roman so that even those in the front row won't be able to read anything. Remember, they can't read and listen to you at the same time, so make sure you distract them from your real function (speaking) by flooding them with useless visual stimuli.
The real scoop: use minimal text (for example, terse bullet items) in a large font (32 pt. if possible). Test the readability of your presentation from the back of the room.
- Use a cluttered background, preferably with annoying images which have absolutely nothing to do with your subject. Audiences will naturally feel more comfortable seeing the same stale, ubiquitous clip art. Perhaps it will allow them to start tuning you out sooner.
The real scoop: use a simple background—dark with white or light text for a theater-style presentation, light with dark text for a well-lit room. Either invest in custom graphics or at least select clip art wisely and customize it for your specific presentation.
- Write your speech and read it from the paper. Read in a monotone and don't give any eye contact to the audience. Do this with the same crammed slide up on the screen for at least 15 minutes. Your audience will appreciate the short, refreshing nap.
The real scoop: never read! Know what you want to say and talk about it. Don't recite a memorized speech, but communicate naturally and fluently. Make direct eye contact with audience members.
- Use every possible slide animation feature provided in PowerPoint. Make sure that text "builds" in differently in every slide. This can produce headaches, eye strain, and epileptic seizures in your audience—all of which are sure to liven their day and make your presentation that much more memorable.
The real scoop: use animation effects with discretion, and above all, be consistent. Building text helps focus the audience's attention on a single bullet item, so don't lose the benefit by distracting them with unpredictable animation actions.
- Fidget, play with your laser pointer, pace back and forth (this is especially effective if the microphone is attached to the podium, rather than your lapel). Make sure that when you make a mistake, you apologize; after all, if the audience didn't notice it, you certainly want to bring it to their attention.
The real scoop: if you appear awkward and uncomfortable, your audience will be uncomfortable. Most people won't notice minor mistakes, so never point them out.
- Don't rehearse or practice your timings, word pronunciation, or speaking voice. Audiences really love speakers who drone on slowly for the first half of their speech, only to suddenly start racing through the material at a dead run. Losing your place, forgetting what you wanted to say, and generally appearing totally unprepared will help endear you to your audience; after all, they all want to see you fall on your face, so why disappoint them?
The real scoop: audiences want to see you succeed; they want to hear a good presentation — they don't enjoy squirming in their seats, watching a speaker crash and burn. They are on your side, so give them the courtesy of preparing thoroughly. Practice your presentation out loud, make sure you know how much time to spend on each slide, and that you are confident about pronouncing everything.
- Don't plan on any audience interaction or questions. After all, they should only sit there passively and soak up your charisma! Don't let them think they can actually ask a meaningful question and get a useful, specific answer. What chutzpah!
The real scoop: the sign of a good presentation is when enough interest is generated to stimulate real interaction and genuine questions. Make sure your presentation allows for Q&A time, and also make sure you are prepared for tough questions.
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Anyone can learn to present effectively. While the preparation requires hard work, the gratification from a satisfied audience is more than worth it.
Happy presenting!
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