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Help! I’m giving a presentation soon, what should I do?

I have recieved that question many times, and even if my warmest recommendation would be that you participate in training/course in presentation techniquesyou don’t have a lot of time and need to make the best of the situation. Based on this, I’ve put together my top 6 tips of what you need to think about regarding your presentation techique, your presentation and what you should think about doing to avoid the infamous state
“Death By PowerPoint“.

Tip #1 – Goals and focus of your presentation

We are usually very adept at inserting too much information in our presentations. And even if, in a Utopian world it would have been great to be able to go into a presentation and burn of 30 minutes with facts, and then be absolutely sure that the recipients understood and remembered what you had said, it unfortunately is not our reality. Now, define a goal for your presentation and define up to three things that you want them to remember. While you are building your presentation, you always need to aim to challenge the contents of your presentation. Always keep a dialogue with yourself: “Does this lead me towards the goal?” “No – remove it!” “Does this lead to the goal?” “Yes – keep it!”

Tip #2 – Your own mental attitude

You are your own mental attitude. If you go into a presentation with a mental attitude that says, “I wonder if they want to hear this” or “This is really a boring subject” or “How can anyone think this is interesting”, as a result, you will also convey this feeling, and you have achieved exactly what you didn’t want to happen.
On the other hand; if you go into your presentation with a mental attitude that says, “If they will not hear what I am going to say, then they’ll really have problems” or “My topic is extremely interesting,” then you will convey the positive feeling, and your presentation will be a success. So when planning the delivery of your presentation, it is of most importance that you first created a positive feeling in yourself; after that you can start to build your PowerPoint and how the room will be furnished and so on.

Tip #3 – The structure of the presentation

A clear structure of your presentation leads to numerous advantages. For yourself, it creates security, it makes it easier to follow the red thread and you can manage the time and content better. For your receiver, is the same with the red thread, it is easier to follow your progress and a clear structure also creates security and confidence in you as a presenter. Always stick to structure.
In training Presentation techniques Step 1 we go through a structure of 15 steps that create all possible conditions for success, but we don’t have enough space to go through that here, so I will give you a little simpler structure that share the same foundation as the complete structure.

1. Start with something to catch the audience’s interest; if not made interesting, they will not be focused enough to concetrate on what you are saying.
2. Make a clear from the start what the goal of your presentation is.
3. If you are going to discuss more than one topic, you should post a bakgrund mini nocice to rouse awareness and interest.
4. Present your subject, which preferably shouldn’t be any longer than 20 minutes due to koncentrationsnivån.
5. Add up your topic with a maximum of three points.
6. Confirm with the recipients that you have met your goal.
7. Finish off the finale with a final memorable note, a quote or an urgent request at the end.

Tip #4 – Your Body Language

If we go back to tip number two, I wrote that you are your mental attitude, and rightly so, your body language reflect your mental attitude, but you can also reversely affect yourself. By entering into a presentation and by avoiding folded arms, “the fig leaf position” or maneuver – that is to say; you should have an open body language, therefore, you will also alter your mental attitude and also the recipients, because when they see that you dare to be open in your body language the audinece will also become more receptive as to what you have to say. So my advice is: keep an open body language and start off by taking a step
towards the audience.

Tip #5 – Avoid Death By PowerPoint

PowerPoint is an amazing tool, if used correctly. Unfortunately, it is used incorrectly much too often. And by incorrectly I mean, that it ‘s partially being used as a script for the presenter rather than a support to the beneficiaries. There is also a superstition about the human mind’s reception capability for amount of information per slide in PowerPoint.
All this leads to the phenomenon of “Death By PowerPoint and mylecture with the same name that is currently one of my main crusade. Three quick tips to make your PowerPoint way better is:

1. You are the presentation, and your PowerPoint is an aid to the audience. Always ensure that you are the focus of the presentation. Remember that PowerPoint is designed to help the audience – not you.
   .
2. To stay inside the human perceptive threshold, you should avoid having more than six items per slide. If you have more you should be aware that the brain must add 500% more resources in order to comprehend what you mean.
3. Avoid sentences in your PowerPoint. Our brains are far from good at reading sentences, understanding, and storing them while listening to someone talk. Try it yourself; how hard is it not to read the morning paper while someone tries to talk to you – your inability to concentrate on both the reading and listening, like for all people, is embarrassingly bad. Replace your sentences with words or very short phrases (3 words).
   

   Tip #6 – Video Coaching

   As I said at the beginning of this “Help-me-story” you will not have enough time to throw yourself into a course in presentation skills before your presentation, but if you still want to do well during your presentation, you can always take advantage of one of the site’s most popular services and it is video coaching. For a nominal fee, you will receive feedback on yourself and your presentation within 48 hours.

   And remember, you can always email me if you have any questions!

   Good luck – David Phillips

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