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This site and all its contents © Copyright 2006 David W. Richardson CSP
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Test
Your Presentation Skills by David
W. Richardson, CSP The
big moment has arrived . . . you knew it would . . . that's why
you're here. You've
been asked to speak to the morning gathering of the Chamber of
Commerce. At the time
they invited you it didn't seem like such a bad idea, but now the
chairperson is introducing you, will momentarily announce your name
and welcome you to the platform amid thunderous applause. Your
stomach just did a flip flop, a strange numbness is starting to
overtake your body, and is that a little perspiration on your
forehead? We've
all been there in that very spot waiting for the introducer to say
our name and jolt us into reality. Ninety-nine
percent of all speakers have some form of anxiety before they get up
to speak. Rate
yourself on a scale of 1-10 on the test below and be honest!
YOUR TOTAL
Let's
review each statement briefly: 1.
"I occasionally get sweaty palms before I speak." This is a very normal reaction; however, if you get
sweaty palms while you're speaking, that's totally different.
That could be an indication that you're not comfortable as
you deliver your message. Perhaps you're not as prepared as you
should be, or perhaps you're not as familiar with the material as
you would like to be. As you sit in your seat just before your
introduction, remind yourself that you're well prepared, you have a
good message, and that the listeners are here because they believe
you have something of value to say. Take three very deep breaths, bring the air in slowly
and let it out slowly. Everything
else in place, you're now ready to deliver a powerful presentation. 2.
"I'm more concerned about 'getting the speech over with' than
making sure my audience is taking away information of value." Come prepared to make contact with your audience and
share something of value.
An audience-centered presentation places your energy right
where you want it . . . in the minds of the listeners. 3.
"I frequently lose my place in the middle of a speech".
It's not uncommon to lose your place or get
distracted midway through your speech.
I've had it happen to me on several occasions. The question is not how to avoid forgetting or losing your
place but how to deal with it. If your mind goes blank you can always repeat what
you just said and 95% of the time you'll find yourself right back on
track. Or perhaps you could ask the audience a question.
I recall a situation where I was telling the audience a story
about Muhammed Ali and his first professional fight.
When it came to saying the name of his competitor I drew a
complete blank. I asked
the audience, "Does anybody remember who that fight was
with?" Someone
shouted out, "Sonny Liston".
I pointed right at him and said, "Now there's a fight
fan." Remember, only you know where the presentation is
going; your audience has no idea.
So if something happens, don't let them know it, just keep on
going. 4.
"I tend to ramble on sometimes." If it's relevant and must be said,
recognize your tendency to ramble, deliver this excerpt in a very
quick, succinct manner and then get back on track immediately. 5.
"I am often uncomfortable in Q & A sessions."
If you're very knowledgeable on the subject and
comfortable with your topic, you should be able to handle most Q
& A sessions. If
you don't know the answer to a question, be up front and admit it,
then suggest the format (e.g., e-mail, personal call, etc.) you will
use in getting the correct answer disseminated after the meeting.
A word of caution . . . don't try to bluff. Q & A sessions frequently become uncomfortable
when the questions asked are very specific and usually of interest
only to that particular individual.
Rather than dragging your listeners through tedious answers,
suggest to the questioner that you continue the conversation after
the meeting. In the final analysis, it all comes back to preparation. Not only do you prepare your presentation, but you also prepare for questions. 6.
"My presentation opening is 'thank you for inviting me here' or
'I'm pleased to be here today'."
You have twenty seconds to grab the attention of your
audience. Now, if you
don't get that attention in the first twenty seconds, it doesn't
necessarily mean that you've lost them for good, but you'll work a
lot harder to maintain their attention. It's not necessary that the opening be some sort of
elaborate performance. Ask
a profound rhetorical question, tell a story that would get their
interest, or perhaps draw an analogy between a very topically
current event or an article in today's newspaper which relates to
the essence of your presentation. Avoid telling jokes. If you've heard it, there's a good chance others have too.
But if you do tell a joke and are a good joke teller, make sure that
it relates closely to your topic.
Discard the old trite openings that signal the coming
of a boring speech and find a way to grab the attention of your
listeners. 7.
"My presentations frequently end without a call to action or a
suggested next step." The most common ending to a presentation . .
."thank you". Thank
you for what? Enduring
my presentation? For
listening to my ideas? What is the objective of your presentation? How do
you want people to be different when they leave the presentation?
How will they use this information to benefit themselves or
their business? Conclude your presentation with a strong call to
action or suggested next step; otherwise, why give the presentation
at all . . . just send them a fax or an e-mail. 8.
"I read my presentation word for word." Have you ever heard a presentation that someone read?
What did it sound like?
Like someone was reading it.
Look, why don't we just save everybody the time, give me a
copy of the presentation and I'll take it home and read it at my
leisure. There are very few people who are really skilled at
reading presentations, and those who are, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw,
Peter Jennings, do it as part of their business every day. There are occasions, however, when it might be
necessary to deliver a speech from a manuscript. One situation might involve a presentation to a high level
audience in which you could be quoted or misquoted. Or, if you're part of a multimedia presentation it's
mandatory to use a script to avoid driving the producer completely
bonkers. There may be times when you'll want to read certain
excerpts word for word during your presentation. There's nothing
wrong with that but at all costs avoid reading your entire speech. 9.
"I never know what to do with my hands during the
presentation." Did you ever watch two or three people just standing
around talking to each other? Did
you notice their hand gestures?
Were they consciously thinking about what to do with their
hands, or were the gestures just a natural part of their speech? Why is it that we can have a perfectly normal
conversation in a group of people without giving a thought to our
hand gestures yet when we stand before the audience to give a
"speech or presentation" we wonder what to do with our
hands? If you have to think about your hand gestures then
all of a sudden your presentation has become more speaker focused
than audience focused. As you become more natural in delivering a speech or
presentation, more audience focused, the gestures will happen
automatically. 10.
"I wish I had better eye contact." During my presentation skills workshops I frequently
ask people if they see the face of the class participants as they
deliver their practice presentation.
Many people readily admit to only seeing one or two out of
maybe ten faces in the room. They
further indicate that in a large presentation they have a tendency
to make eye contact with only a few listeners in the front and
center of the room. It's important that you see the faces of your
listeners. By looking
into their eyes you have taken one big step to demonstrate that you
really care about them. It
also gives you an opportunity to read the reaction to your
presentation as it is being received.
Leaning forward and nodding their heads with great interest
indicates they're with you. Many
other indications will unfortunately remind you that somewhere
you've lost them. When speaking to a large group, particularly in an
auditorium, your eye contact should fall upon various sections in
the audience. Even
though you may not be able to see beyond the first ten rows because
of the lighting, act as though you can and give eye contact to those
in the very back. Remember,
you may not be able to see them, but they can see you. Above all, remember that people want you to succeed .
. . they're not there to judge you.
They're anticipating the reception of valuable information.
Be sure to look them in the eye and share real value with
them. Well,
how did you score? If
you scored 100, congratulations . . . you can write next month's
column! If you
scored between 80 and 100, consider yourself to be a pretty good,
competent speaker. You're fairly at home on the platform and almost always get
your point across. If
you scored between 60 and 80, you are an average business speaker.
You know where your shortcomings are and have a desire to be
more effective in getting your message across.
You have a few minor kinks that can be worked out.
In today's challenging business environment you know you have
to get better to stay competitive. If
you scored below 60 you have a lot of room to grow, but with
dedication and practice you will become a better speaker. If
you scored below 40, that indicates a lot of 3's and 4's on your
test sheet, strongly indicating many areas on which you need to
seriously focus if you are to improve your speaking skills. Good
speakers are made, not born. To
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