Preparing and Planning For a Presentation

You may sometime in your career be called upon to make a presentation. Then on delivering or speaking in front of people you wished the ground would open up and swallow you. Even the most confident people will have this fear and dread. Being nervous prior to any preparation is perfectly normal, in fact a certain amount of nervousness will get the adrenalin going and can produce the best performances. However, too much nervousness can spoil performances.

By reading through these notes you will discover that by doing more and more presentations, preparing and planning you will be able to reduce the fear.

In fact many of the fears and problems in public speaking can be overcome by two things:

Practice and Preparation
Preparing and Planning your preparation

Only by doing more and more presenting with plenty of planning and practicing, you will be able to reduce the fear and become a more confident person.

Remember

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

Preparation

Before making a preparation there are certain questions you need to know:-

Why am I making the presentation? Is it to communicate new information, to make proposition or to inspire or motivate.

What am I going to say? Really know your subject, make use of books and directories etc, make lots of notes, think of questions you may be asked and how you will answer them.

Who am I going to speak to? You need to know the size of your audience to help determine the level of formality, also how much do they know about the subject.

Where will I be making the presentation? You should visit the venue to determine the seating arrangement and to organise any equipment you will be using.

How will I say it? Is it formal or informal and what will they expect.

After you have determined the above questions the next stage would be in the Planning.

Time

How much time have you been given for your presentation?
To write your notes.
Time needed for each subject (if more than one) to rehearse and read over.
For research and preparation
To practice, practice and practice.

Introduction

Welcome courtesies
Identify your self, name and job
Intention - topic
Time - any breaks
Questions and Handouts

Techniques and skills in presenting

The notes
Write out your whole preparation in full, read it through, make notes on cards, sheets of paper or use power point speaker notes

The Audience
Maintain eye contact
Don't bury your head in your notes
Avoid distractions
Make sure you do not over run

The Questions
Knowing why people ask questions will help you answer them
Listen carefully to the question
Decide and tell the audience when are you going to answer them
Ask for clarification if needed
Answer briefly keeping to the point

The Delivery
Gear it around 'what is it in for your audience'
Begin without referring to your notes
Use a minimum number of note cards
Do not fiddle
Do not give materials out, it detracts attention
Appear to enjoy what you are doing
Focus on your audience throughout your presentation
Speak with enthusiasm
Vary your speaking rate, tone and volume
Do not panic if you make a mistake
Give a genuine smile
Be yourself, be natural