As the purveyors of excellent content on marketing and sales for professional services, we here at RainToday attend many events and see a lot of presentations—both live and online. Over the years I’ve seen some really great presentations, and others that have downright put me to sleep.
RainToday Publisher Mike Schultz recently took the stage at the ICCA Congress & Exhibition in Florence, Italy
What do the most successful presenters do differently? And what can you do to keep your next audience from falling asleep? Here are eight presentation tips that are sure to improve your skills and get you delivering powerful presentations like the pros in no time.
8 Presentation Tips
Tip #1: Give examples and tell stories. Nothing brings a presentation to life more than stories. Stories demonstrate to the listener how he can take the information you are sharing and apply it to real life scenarios. Stories inspire. What’s more, your attendees are much more likely to remember a story than a 10-step process.
Tip #2: Keep the audience engaged. No one wants to attend a presentation and listen to a talking head for 60 minutes. Boooring! Engage the audience by asking questions. To get the juices flowing at the beginning of your presentation, ask the audience a poll question and rather than having them raise their hand, ask them to stand up. This will energize them and you.
Tip #3: Keep the mood light. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Be professional, yes, but also keep the feeling light. Insert humor. Consider sharing a YouTube video. Pick on an audience member (gently). Pick on yourself.
Tip #4: Practice, practice, practice. You should know your presentation inside out. Nothing puts an audience to sleep faster than someone standing up and reading from his PowerPoint slides. You should know your presentation well enough that if your computer broke the presentation could go on. Or, as some very high profile keynote speakers do, don’t use PowerPoint or a computer at all.
Tip #5: Bring the energy. In live presentations, you feed off the energy from the audience. Online presentations are quite a bit more difficult, as you cannot see how your audience is reacting to you and your presentation. If you are doing a lot of online presentations, consider having an audience in the room with you when you deliver. This will help keep your energy level high.
Tip #6: Use your body. No one likes to watch a stiff person stand anchored behind a podium, nor do they like to watch someone pacing back and forth on the stage. Especially if you are nervous, there is a tendency to either use the podium as a crutch or become fidgety. Be aware of this and use your body language and motions to emphasize your points. Use hand gestures when you speak. Use inflections in your voice to make points stronger. But don’t overdo it.
Tip #7: Slow down. Even when you think you are talking slower than molasses in January, chances are you’re talking too fast. We all speed up when we are nervous and, frequently, let our voices trail off at the end of sentences. Keep a slow pace. Trust me, you are going much faster than you think. If you have a trusted partner in the audience ask him to give you signs if you need to slow down or speed up.
Tip #8: Record yourself. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and your presentation style from watching a recording of yourself. When you watch the recording, see how you do on the other seven tips. You may be surprised at all the areas for improvement you uncover.
Follow these presentation tips and you’ll be giving keynotes like the pros in no time at all.
For more presentations tips along with presentation habits to avoid, don’t miss RainToday’s upcoming webinar with Tim Wackel on January 19, Become a Polished Presenter: Keys to Delivering Powerful Presentations.
