Lesson 25: Introduction to Presentation


At some time or other, most of us will have to give a presentation. The idea of speaking in public can be frightening enough if you're a native English speaker, but it's even more so if English is your second language.

In this first article on presentation skills, we show you how to take the stress out of giving presentations with eight tips to help you plan a perfect presentation.

1. Know your audience


To give an effective presentation, you need to know something about your audience. How good is their English? How much do they know about the subject of your talk? Why will they be interested in listening to you? It’s a good idea to find out who is attending your presentation so that you can make the information relevant and interesting to them. For example, a presentation on your company’s financial results to financial analysts will focus on results, reasons and analysis. A presentation on new auditing software will focus on the benefits and features of the software.

Also ask yourself what you want to achieve from your presentation. Sales presentations are different from information-giving presentations, for example. It’s always a good idea to work out what you want your audience to think or do at the end of your talk, as this will help you focus on the language and content of your presentation.


2. Use a strong opening statement or question to interest your audience


The first minute of your presentation is crucial. In this time you should interest your audience and give them a reason to listen to you. What you say in the first minute depends on your audience and their interests, but it must mean something important to them. Perhaps it is a problem that you know how to solve, or a fact or statistic that they need to know.


3. Don’t forget the physical details


You’ll need to make sure the room is big enough for the number of people attending, and that you have all the equipment you need. Find out when you are giving your presentation – your audience may be less attentive if it’s right before lunch or at the end of the week and you’ll need to make especially sure that the presentation is interesting if it’s at a difficult time.


4. Plan the content of your presentation


Planning helps you focus on your presentation goals, and minimises the chances of anything going wrong.

If you know who you are talking to and why you are talking to them, you can put yourself in your audience's position. You can decide what information to include and how to order it.

Aim to speak for no longer than 30 minutes, and leave time for questions and answers at the end. Remember that it’s difficult to absorb lots of new information, so don’t aim to include too much.
Many presentations are divided into five areas:

a) The introduction (Get someone else to introduce you to the audience. This gives you credibility as a speaker and means that you don't have to waste time telling people who you are and why you are there)

b) The overview

c) The main body of the presentation

d) Your summary

e) A question and answer session


Make brief notes about all the points you want to make in your presentation and make a plan. Organise your presentation into main points and supporting evidence.

During the presentation, remember that it is a good idea to refer back to your opening statement and remind your audience why they are listening to you.


5. Use index cards

Put your points on individual index cards to help you during the presentation. If you put the key words onto cards (1 card for 1 key word or point) you can refer to them at any time if you forget where you are in the presentation.

Use your index cards for any words that you might find difficult to remember, or words that are difficult to pronounce.
You can also use the index cards to write the links between points, such as:

· “this brings me to…”
· “now I’d like to move on to..”
· “Right…”


6. Keep visuals simple


Don't put too much information in visuals and only use them to illustrate information that would otherwise take too long to explain.
Simple graphic visuals such as pie charts and bar graphs work better than visuals with lots of labelling or words. Use colour and different fonts to help information stand out.


7. Practice makes perfect!


Practise your presentation as often as you can using your index cards. By practising, you will know how long it will take, and where the difficult areas are in your talk. The more you practise, the more confident you will feel!


8. Prepare questions and answers


You're likely to have questions at the end of your presentation, so try to think of some in advance, as well as possible answers. The more you prepare these, the better you'll feel able to deal with them


Stages in Presentation:

Overviews

After you give your opening statement, you should give a brief overview of your presentation. This includes what your presentation is about, how long you will take and how you are going to handle questions.

For example, a presentation to sales staff could start like this:"Welcome / "Hello everyone."

Opening statement

"As you all know, this company is losing its market share. But we are being asked to increasesales by 20 – 25%. How can we possibly increase sales in a shrinking market?"

Overview

"Today I am going to talk to you about how we can do this. My presentation will be in three parts. Firstly I am going to look at the market and the background. Then I am going to talk to you about our new products and how they fit in. Finally, I'm going to examine some selling strategies that will help us increase our sales by 20%. The presentation will probably take around 20 minutes. There will be time for questions at the end of my talk."


Useful language for overviews

· "My presentation is in three parts."
· "My presentation is divided into three main sections."
· "Firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally…"
· "I'm going to…
· take a look at…
· talk about…
· examine…
· tell you something about the background…
· give you some facts and figures…
· fill you in on the history of…
· concentrate on…
· limit myself to the question of…

· "Please feel free to interrupt me if you have questions."
· "There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation."
· "I'd be grateful if you could ask your questions after the presentation."


The main body of the presentation


During your presentation, it’s a good idea to remind your audience occasionally of the benefit of what you are saying.

· "As I said at the beginning…"
· "This, of course, will help you (to achieve the 20% increase)."
· "As you remember, we are concerned with…"
· "This ties in with my original statement…"
· "This relates directly to the question I put to you before…"


Keeping your audience with you

Remember that what you are saying is new to your audience. You are clear about the structure of your talk, but let your audience know when you are moving on to a new point. You can do this by saying something like "right", or "OK". You can also use some of the following expressions:

· "I'd now like to move on to…"
· "I'd like to turn to…"
· "That's all I have to say about…"
· "Now I'd like to look at…"
· "This leads me to my next point…"

If you are using index cards, putting the link on the cards will help you remember to keep the audience with you. In addition, by glancing at your index cards you will be pausing - this will also help your audience to realize that you are moving on to something new.


Language for using visuals

It's important to introduce your visual to the audience. You can use the following phrases:

· "This graph shows you…"
· "Take a look at this…"
· "If you look at this, you will see…"
· "I'd like you to look at this…"
· "This chart illustrates the figures…"
· "This graph gives you a break down of…"


Give your audience enough time to absorb the information on the visual. Pause to allow them to look at the information and then explain why the visual is important:

· "As you can see…"
· "This clearly shows …"
· "From this, we can understand how / why…"
· "This area of the chart is interesting…"


Summarizing

At the end of your presentation, you should summarise your talk and remind the audience of what you have told them:

· "That brings me to the end of my presentation. I've talked about…"
· "Well, that's about it for now. We've covered…"
· "So, that was our marketing strategy. In brief, we…"
· "To summarise, I…"


Relate the end of your presentation to your opening statement:

· "So I hope that you're a little clearer on how we can achieve sales growth of 20%."
· "To return to the original question, we can achieve…"
· "So just to round the talk off, I want to go back to the beginning when I asked you…"
· "I hope that my presentation today will help you with what I said at the beginning…"


Handling questions

Thank the audience for their attention and invite questions.

· "Thank you for listening - and now if there are any questions, I would be pleased to answer them."
· "That brings me to the end of my presentation. Thank you for your attention. I'd be glad to answer any questions you might have."

It’s useful to re-word the question, as you can check that you have understood the question and you can give yourself some time to think of an answer. By asking the question again you also make sure that other people in the audience understand the question.

· "Thank you. So you would like further clarification on our strategy?"
· "That's an interesting question. How are we going to get voluntary redundancy?"
· "Thank you for asking. What is our plan for next year?"

After you have answered your question, check that the person who asked you is happy with the answer.

· "Does this answer your question?"
· "Do you follow what I am saying?"
· "I hope this explains the situation for you."
· "I hope this was what you wanted to hear!"

If you don't know the answer to a question, say you don't know. It's better to admit to not knowing something than to guess and maybe get it wrong. You can say something like:

· "That's an interesting question. I don't actually know off the top of my head, but I'll try to get back to you later with an answer."
· "I'm afraid I'm unable to answer that at the moment. Perhaps I can get back to you later."
· "Good question. I really don't know! What do you think?"
· "That's a very good question. However, we don't have any figures on that, so I can't give you an accurate answer."
· "Unfortunately, I'm not the best person to answer that."

What can you say if things go wrong?

You think you've lost your audience? Rephrase what you have said:

· "Let me just say that in another way."
· "Perhaps I can rephrase that."
· "Put another way, this means…"
· "What I mean to say is…"

Can't remember the word?

If it's a difficult word for you - one that you often forget, or one that you have difficulty pronouncing - you should write it on your index card. Pause briefly, look down at your index card and say the word.

Using your voice

Don't speak in a flat monotone - this will bore your audience. By varying your speed and tone, you will be able to keep your audience's attention. Practise emphasising key words and pause in the right places - usually in between ideas in a sentence. For example "The first strategy involves getting to know our market (pause) and finding out what they want. (pause) Customer surveys (pause) as well as staff training (pause) will help us do this."

Don't forget - if you speak too fast you will lose your audience!

Top 10 presentation mistakes

Many articles and books have been written on the subject of presentations. Along with good meeting and good negotiating skills, the art of giving a presentation is one of the most fundamental if you want to get ahead in business. But all too often, a business presentation doesn’t have the effect on the audience that was intended. It’s not just what is wrong in terms of content or language, but sometimes the delivery, the use (or abuse) of visuals, a perceived lack of organization – or even a missing “WOW” factor turn a presentation into a dull, boring “speech”.

Top ten presentation mistakes:

1. Ignoring the “What’s in it for me?” factor

Any time you give a presentation, you should first think about why the audience is there. This “What’s in it for me?” factor is vital. Unless you involve and get your audience’s attention from the start, you’re going to lose their interest. Starting your presentation with a “hook” (a reason to listen to you) is one crucial step in making sure your audience pays attention.

2. Not practicing in front of a live audience

Even if you feel confident that you know your presentation word for word, nothing compares to real, live practice. Deliver your presentation to a colleague, a family member or a friend, and you will soon know which areas of your presentation cause you difficulty.

There is no substitute for practice. My first teacher-trainer told me she practised her first ever lesson to her dining room table and chairs. Although a lesson is obviously not a business presentation, the principles are similar. If you practise, you get a better idea of timing, a better feel for where you need to pause, and you become more aware of nervous habits. So much better if the person you’re practising to can also video you. It may be embarrassing at first, but all exceptional public speakers use video to help them give great presentations.

3. Forgetting the main principle of public speaking

Audiences have short attention spans. They’re likely to remember less than one half of what you tell them. Some audience members get bored, drift off in day dreams, or start thinking about other things. Then when a colleague asks what your presentation was about, they’re unable to give a good summary. Help your audience remember what your presentation is about with these three rules:

- Tell them what you are going to tell them

- Tell them

- Tell them what you have told them

Essentially, you tell them at the beginning what the presentation is about. Then you give your presentation. Finally, you summarise what you have said.

4. Using too many visuals

Visuals can be distracting. It is better to use fewer, but more self-explanatory visuals, than to overload your audience’s attention by giving them too many to look at. In my opinion, a good speaker can engage an audience better if he or she speaks directly to them. Use visuals only when the information you want to give is much better understood graphically. Choose your visual style carefully, and remember you can present information in a variety of ways, such as pie charts, graphs, tables and so on.

5. Not giving people time to look at visuals before commenting on them

Don’t fight with your visuals. As soon as you present a visual, your audience is going to look at it. Don’t distract them by talking while they are looking. By giving them a few seconds to absorb the information, you can then be sure to have their attention when you explain what is important or interesting about the information.

6. Using font that is too small

I was devastated to hear that during my first ever presentation (which I had worked so hard at!) the people at the back of the audience couldn’t see or read the slides. The font was just too small. Don’t underestimate how large the font will need to be, and if possible, try a visual in a similar sized room before you make all your slides or visuals. If the room is large, nothing less than 20 point will be visible to people at the back.

7. Using bad color combinations

Blue or black text on white = good

Red text on yellow = bad

Don’t make your audience strain to read what you have written. Some colour combinations just do not work. When in doubt, stick to a classic blue or black text on a white or cream background.

8. Not having a clear questions policy

Let your audience know at the beginning of your presentation how you are going to handle questions. It is probably easier and less stressful if you have questions at the end of the presentation. Then you can speak knowing that you won’t be distracted. A simple sentence such as “Please feel free to ask questions at the end of the presentation” is generally enough.

9. Speaking too fast

A sure sign of nervousness, if you speak too fast, you risk losing your audience. Don’t be afraid to pause for effect and to let your audience absorb information. On the other hand, don’t speak so slowly that the audience risk getting bored. Practicing your presentation before will help you find the optimum speed.

10. Bad or nervous posture

Body language is one of those almost undefinable factors that help us form an impression of someone. If you look relaxed, people will relax around you. If you look nervous (by standing stiffly or by making nervous gestures) your audience will not feel relaxed either. This can make the difference between a bad and a great presentation, so practice in front of the mirror to see how you look when you stand in front of people.
Here are some common mannerisms exhibited when giving a speech:Do you do any of them?

• Bite your fingernails
• Tap your feet
• Wave your hands/arms
• Play with your hair
• Move around a lot
• Speak too fast
• Speak too slowly
• Stiffen up
• Shake/Shudder
• Play with objects in pockets, etc.
• Make strange facial expressions
• Say "uh," "uhm"
• Tap on the table/podium
• Repeat yourself
• Breathe heavily
• Sweat
• Giggle
• Pause inappropriately
• Clam up/Become speechless
• Shift your eyes
• Move your head around
• Gesture inappropriately

Becoming aware of what you do is the first step to overcoming nervous mannerisms.

· Ask a friend to watch (or videotape) you when you give a speech.
· Have him/her tell you candidly about your mannerisms and presentation skills (both positive and negative).
· Practice your speech in front of a mirror, or ask your friend to observe you rehearse.
· Think positively about what you do well and focus on that rather than the negative.
· Be enthusiastic about what you have to say and share with others.

Grammar:

Future Tense Continued (I will):

1. Predict future happenings

Do you think he will get the job?

2. We use going to (not will) when there is something in the present situation that shows what will happen in the near future. The speaker feels sure about what will happen because of the situation now.

Look at those black clouds. It’s going to rain.

I feel terrible. I think I’m going to be sick.

Future Continuous Tense (I will be doing):

1. Say that you will be in the middle of doing something at a certain time in the future.

This time next week I’ll be on vacation. I’ll probably be lying on a beautiful beach.

John will be watching the hockey game tomorrow.

2. Talk about things that already planned or decided.

I will be going to the supermarket later. Can I get you something?

3. We use will (you) be-ing? To ask about people’s plan, especially when we want something or want someone to do something.

Will you be using your car this evening?

Will you be passing the supermarket on your way home?

Future Perfect Tense (I will have done):

1. Say that something will already have happened before a certain time in the future.

Next year is John and Mary’s 25th wedding anniversary. They will have been married for 25 years. (Now they have been married for 24 years).

We are late. I guess the movie will already have started by the we get to the theater.