Presentation Skills 101 by GioDati Part 1

Not so long ago, I was part of a very large company, enrolled in a Management Program - I was a Trainee in the World of Opportunities.

Large companies usually tend to spend quite a lot of money on educating such talents, hiring various consultancy firms or professors from well known universities. The same was a case in my story.

To Keep the long story short, I will get to the point of this post and say that I want to share my experience about Presentations, how to prepare them, what to say and what not to say, etc. Representatives from Percepti Global International gave us a full day class about it, presented in front of us, watched us present, shared detailed feedback, recorded everything on the camera and let us watch it on tape. This was a lifetime experience in terms of developing proper presentation skills.

So to beging with, let's talk about the Introduction.

The introduction IS difficult - It might take as much time to prepare a good introduction as the main party but it's worth it as you need to impress the audience. Make sure that it's not too long, you want to impress people and get to the point as soon as possible.

Some suggestions would be to:

• Appeal to the audience's curiosity
• Tell a relevant short story
• Begin with a specific illustration or visual
• Use an exhibit
• Ask the Audience a provocative question
• Start with a shocking fact

Some suggestions on what NOT to do are:

• Don't tell jokes
• Don't say "I am happy to be here" unless your body language sends the same message
• Don't apologize
• Don't turn the lights out (people might fall asleep)
• Don't read off the visuals or from a script

Defining Objectives.

Your objectives must answer these questions: Why are we here? Why is it important & What is in it for the audience? When the presentation is over, what do you want the audience to do? to say? to believe or to remember? What is the purpose of presentation? to persuade or to inspire? to inform, instruct or enterntain? Remember that the audience needs a reason to listen to the presentation, something that has to  important for them.

Speech Anxiety

There are 4 main things you have to keep in mind in order to get rid of your speech anxiety, but still every good speaker has had it and still has speech anxiety, so thte key is not to get rid of it but to focus it constructively:

1. People want you to succeed - All audiences want speakers to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They don't want you to fail
2. Don't Apologize - If you mention that you are nervous or apologize for any problems you thing            you have with your speech, you will only call attention to it
3. Turn Nervousness into Positive Energy - Transform your nervous energy into vitality and enthusiasm
4. Gain Experience - Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. 

Not to make my post very big, I decided to split it up, so let this be Part 1 and I will soon post Part 2, where I will discuss Presentation plan, core message, timing & agenda, visual aids, conclusion, etc.

Stay Tuned!

GioDati