3 Ways to Make Your Next Presentation Unique Make your delivery feel more confident, comfortable and concise.
By Shannon Alter Edited by Bill Schulz
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Over coffee not long ago, a colleague mentioned she'd had difficulty with a recent presentation.
"I was reading my notes and thought there were only going to be two other people in the meeting, but more showed up," she said. "That threw me and I panicked."
We've all been there. Public speaking, in any form, can feel as though what we intend to say just doesn't come out of our mouths in the same way. As a result, we resort to whatever feels most comfortable.
But here's the thing: We can all make our own presentations feel more confident, unique and even enjoyable.
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Reading is not fundamental
If you're like many of us, you're sure regurgitating your notes will make you more comfortable. The result, however, is the exact opposite.
When I first started training, I wrote everything out on a yellow legal pad. It took five minutes for me to discover that I was avoiding having a conversation with my audience.
People can typically read your information for themselves in a handout or on slides. What they want is to hear you while actually seeing your face, rather than the top of your head. Your job is to translate what's between the lines and explain the "why". If you have to refer to financial information, think about either providing a handout to your audience in advance, or extracting a small but relevant piece of information for your slides, then talk about it.
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Pull away from the podium
When you use a podium, it's natural to want to hold onto it with an iron grip. "Pulling away" can be physical and mental.
Early on, I was invited to introduce the main speaker at a large conference. My job was to do this onstage at a podium with a script, although that isn't usually my first choice. Luckily, I was seated next to the speaker at lunch and we had a chance to chat.
After looking out at the audience, I saw the light bulb on the podium sputter out just as I arrived. Since I'd had the opportunity to chat with the speaker, I was able to introduce him without any notes.
As a result, I released that iron grip on the podium and just talked. As it turned out, it was much more interesting than what was pre-scripted.
If you're not comfortable yet going sans notes, think about using a second monitor or a white board placed directly behind your desktop, if you're doing a virtual presentation, or your laptop. Don't write out every word on what you want to say- you'll likely never see it and it will trip you up. Instead, use bullet points only, or even try using Post-Its.
Have that conversation
First, make sure you know your content inside and out. Next, tear up your notes, (or at least put them aside). Now, practice explaining the impact of whatever you want to relay. Your audience does expect that you've done your homework and will have all of the necessary background information. They don't necessarily need to hear all of it, what they want to know is the "why".
Once you have that down, the conversation is yours.
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