This is Howard Moskowitz’s list of top 9 most important ideas to consider when giving a presentation. Any topic and any audience can apply:
There are 9 good points to think about when starting off in the presenting world.
- You are not that important. What you say in a meeting probably will be forgotten, pretty quickly, and, perhaps, as you are speaking. That should be sufficiently sobering to you to allay any fears.
- For the most part, you’re not facing enemies. Your biggest enemy is disinterest and lunch.
- It’s not about you, it’s about your topic. No one stands in judgment except your own fears. Most of your audience has already been bored to death over the years. If you screw up the presentation, it’s not so bad. No one will remember anyway.
- Less is more. Get to the ‘meat of the presentation’ quickly. No one wants to hear all the minutiae of why you should be permitted to present what you’re presenting. Again, it’s not about you. It’s about your material.
- Talk clearly and slowly. Don’t cram in everything.
- No one knows statistics. People want stories. What happened? What’s the meaning of all the stuff you’re presenting? When you can tell a story you’re way ahead of the game.
- Write out your story up front, in the middle, at the end. In bullet points. Assume that no one will remain awake throughout your presentation.
- Look for signs of ‘glazed over’ eyes. These are people who have tuned you out. Get them back in by cycling back to the start and reiterating why what you will tell them will help their business or science. You’re not presenting in a linear progression. You can jump back and reiterate, emphasize, repeat, restate in different words. You won’t bore anyone.
- Have content and don’t giggle. No one is interested in the fact that this is your first presentation, and you are nervous. Don’t ask for forgiveness, nor call attention to whatever inadequacies you have. The audience will find your inadequacies, even if you don’t call attention to them. But..to your surprise… most of the audience just doesn’t care.
Just relax and have a good time. If you enjoy your presentation, the others will.
