Executive Speech Coach - Business Presentations: December 2012

Warning – Presentation Danger Ahead

How to manage things that go wrong in your presentation

When you speak before an audience you will encounter the ravages of Murphy’s Law. It is not a matter of “if” things go wrong, it is only a matter of “when” they will go wrong. You can’t predict when that will happen. Murphy is always lurking in the room just waiting to attack.

Don’t count on luck to help you avoid these presentation gremlins. Remember that there’s both good luck and bad luck. Some presenters claim that if it wasn’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all.

If you speak, you will encounter some of these presentation potholes, detours and accidents. Murphy seems to enjoy messing with presentations. This report is as close as you can get to holding a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.

You can’t always prevent these potholes, detours and accidents from assaulting your presentation. But you can prepare for them so you can minimize the damage and shine through the turbulence.

Luck is the residue of design.

Rickey’s Law

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Warning: Know When to Shut Up

Effective public speaking is not only about speaking. It’s also about knowing when to stop speaking. Some times you need to shut up.

I don’t say that to be offensive, even though some might be offended by those words. If you are offended, perhaps that message is most intended for you.

As public speakers we must accept the reality that no one wants to hear every word that we want to say.

Read that last sentence again. There’s a difference between what you want to say and what your audience wants or needs to hear.

The question is, “How big is that difference and how aware are you of the difference?”

No one cares about what you think you need to say. The audience only cares about what they believe might be important to them. When a speaker says, I need to tell you this – the audience might wonder, “What has that got to do with us and why should we care what you think you need to say?”

When you find that you are saying things that you feel you need to say – it’s time to shut up.

When your audience doesn’t appear to be listening – shut up and wait for them to pay attention.

When you get lost and need to gather your thoughts – shut up, smile and gather your thoughts before proceeding.

When there is a disturbance in the room – shut up, wait for the commotion to die, then continue.

If you want to be a more effective speaker – know when to shut up. Your audience will love you and you’ll be invited to speak again.

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Anyways: What does that really mean?

Anyway or Anyways

What does that mean?

When you hear that word from a speaker what happens in your mind?

It might create a disconnection between the speaker and the listener. When I hear either of those words my head snaps back to listen for the change of thought. In other words, what was said before that word was irrelevant to what follows.

That suggests that this is a disjointed presentation or conversation. Perhaps the speaker got lost in thought and took us down the wrong path. Now, he’s trying to get back on track with the expression “anyways”.

Where do these words really belong?

We’ll get there any way we can. We’ll do what ever we need to. That might be reminiscent of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his war elephants.

But the expression, anyway or anyways is a dismissal of previous words.

It implies, “Ignore what was said earlier; what I really mean is…”

The speaker wants you to forget the words that were said earlier.

Does that mean those words were a lie, a lost tangent or a waste of time?

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Worst PowerPoint Slides Contest - Worst of the Worst

Here are the "winners" of the Worst PowerPoint Slides contest sponsored by InFocus.

Laugh at these designs then quickly to look at some of your PowerPoint slides.

If you don't laugh when you see these slides, then you better get help for your PowerPoint slides - fast. Who knows what it could be costing you.

Click this link to view the Worst PowerPoint Slides

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Move from Left to Right

English and other languages originating from Europe read left to right. That means that those people naturally move their eyes from left to right when reading.

They prefer to absorb information in the same manner.

When you speak before an audience you can use that principle to enhance the acceptance of your message.

First you must realize that it’s the audience’s perception of left to right and not your on-stage left to right that counts. It’s not what you thought you said. It’s what they thought you said that is important.

How can you use this principle in your presentation?

Timeline

Ask these folks to draw a timeline of a project and they will likely draw it from left to right. The left represents the beginning while the right represents the end or the future.

Here’s how to move while presenting about your project or proposal. Talk about the past while standing on the extreme left side of the stage (your right). Stand in the middle of the stage when talking about the present and move to the far right of the audience when describing the desired future.

You could also simply gesture to your right when talking about the past and to your left when talking about the future.

Progress

Use the same methods to place problems in the past and solutions in the future.

This is not natural so you will need to rehearse these movements. But the audience will be more willing to accept your ideas when they can SEE progress.