The worst
presentation sin is to waste time.
Imagine this
situation. You prepared a 45 minute presentation because that's what you were
told to deliver. You arrive at the meeting ready to speak and the chair informs
you that your time has been cut to 30 minutes.
What can you do?
Charlie Sheen might
curse, stamp his feet, raise a fist and yell, "Do you know who I am? I
insist on my time."
That's probably not
what you should do.
Instead, smile and
ask the chair, "What time should I
finish?"
In fact, make it a habit of asking that question just before
you start every presentation.
That thoughtful
question will demonstrate that you respect their time and plan to finish on
time. That will also diminish the need for the chair to interrupt you with a
reminder about the time or to surprise you with a last minute change.
To finish on time, place a travel clock where you can easily
glance at it while speaking. Looking at your watch can be distracting for both
you and the audience. Sometimes there is a clock on the back wall but don't
count on that. Never stand in front of an audience and ask, "How are we
doing for time?" You should know because you are the presenter.
To make it easier
to trim your presentation, create it as a series of modules. Rehearse the presentation as modules so you can separate
or reorder them when necessary.
If you had three
examples use only the best one. Have more than one version of your stories.
Those might be 5 minutes, 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
Be clear on your
purpose and what you need to say to achieve it. It's never as much as you
think. I coached a CEO to cut his 60 minute presentation to 12 minutes. He
originally prepared 60 minutes because that was the maximum time the client
scheduled. After listening to his original 60 minutes we uncovered only 12
minutes of pertinent material.
By the way, that
CEO closed that deal. It was a $10 million contract.
If you can't
explain your message in 5 minutes, you don't really understand it. On the other
hand if you are able to explain it in 60 seconds or less then you are clearly
aware of the relevance of your message to your listeners.
Einstein was able
to explain his theory of relativity to the public with a simple analogy of a
man walking on a train. He did that under 60 seconds.
Here's one more
test for you. Summarize your presentation in six words. When you can do that
you know your message and can easily adapt to changing time frames.
Forward this tip to
your colleagues who want to be more effective presenters.
Facebook Page
Twitter
For more frequent short tips follow me on Twitter
Presentation Tips on Twitter
Presentation Skills Club on Facebook
Executive Speech Coach,
Business presentation tips from George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives
No comments:
Post a Comment