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Delivering Powerful Presentations
I will always remember witnessing a presentation to an invited audience of press and industry experts by a member of the board of a major public company. The occasion was the launch of a new product, and the purpose built stage and audio visual system was ‘state of the art’.
There followed a professional video presentation which culminated in a strong voice introducing the speaker as an industry expert who would explain the innovative features and benefits of the new product.
An embarrassed individual proceeded to trip up the stairs to the stage, and then, with his back to the audience, read every word on a poorly constructed PowerPoint presentation. He had lost the audience in less than one minute, but he made them endure 40 minutes despite increasingly loud mumbling, shuffling and numerous departures from the audience. And all the while, cameras rolled and sound engineers waved their microphones!
When he concluded, the presenter was physically drained and he looked like he had just endured his worst nightmare.
We have all seen the famous statistics that people fear making a speech more that they fear death! It may not be quite that bad, but standing up in front of an audience and coming under their scrutiny can quite often be a very nervous time.
So what’s your approach? Plan your presentation in great detail weeks ahead? Scribble a few notes on the morning and hope for the best?
But it’s not just the words; it’s also how they are delivered to the audience. How much time and care do you spend on the delivery, rather than just the content? What do the audience remember? The words? How you look and behave? The Audio/ Visual support?
So preparation is essential. But what should you prepare and what tools and tips will make this difficult time easier and help you to deliver a professional and powerful presentation?
