A presentation, if used correctly, can be a great way to communicate. However if a presentation is boring or badly done then it can be nothing short of a nightmare for both the audience and the speaker. Here are some of the more major crimes that you will want to steer well clear off:

1. Don’t bluff. The chances are that in your average audience there will beat least one or two audience members who will not only notice that you don’t know what you are talking about, but take it upon themselves to call you up on it. This is embarrassing and completely uninspiring, and besides your presentation will be a lot smoother, easier and not to mention better, if you have adequately prepared yourself and are fully aware of the facts.
2. Do not hide behind your notes. To grab and maintain an audiences attention throughout your presentation is difficult enough on its own, however, if you happen to have you nose buried in your notes at the same time then it will immediately become a lot harder..
3. Don’t attack the audience. This point perhaps seems a little obvious however attack in this case does not mean physical assault, although this wouldn’t be a good idea either. One of the most common forms in which speaker’s attack their audience is by making the audience members the butt of thei joke or making fun of them. Even if it is unintentional or “just a bit of fun” the audience will immediately have lost trust in you.
4. Don’t not make your examples too exclusive. This, whilst a few audience members might get it, will only serve to alienate large sections of your audience.
5. Do not outstay your welcome. Make sure that you do not become part of  “one of those presentations”, the one which will go on far beyond the allotted time frame and doubtless bore the pants of any multi-celled organism within a ten mile radius. Instead make your presentation precise, clear and to the point, and, most importantly, know when your time is up.

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Posted by Faye Binfield in Presentation Skills Training on April 1st, 2009 | 1 Comment »

No matter what the style or method you use when designing your presentation whether it fails or not will always be decided by how much you have practiced and how much self confidence and belief you have within yourself, as well as the quality of information you have been able to find.

It is important when preparing your presentation not to get too wrapped up in the style and aesthetics. Remember that what you have to say should always more impressive to an audience than how you say it. With this in mind it is still important to present yourself respectfully and appropriately, which does take consideration, however this should not overshadow the content of your presentation.

Organisation is also very important, for instance it would be wise to check that your equipment works and is properly set up a few times before you start. What you need is a solid base to work from and to yourself feel more at ease, which will no doubt be harder if you are worrying the whole time about the equipment not working.

No matter what your presentation, whether it be a business, sales or internal presentation, the basics remain the same, namely: practice makes perfect. I you don’t practice hard enough you are almost destined to fail. Through practice comes the rest of the attributes necessary to give a good presentation, like self confidence and being able to engage further with the audience. The skills to producing a good presentation are not a secret and anyone can do it. What are needed though are practice, self-confidence and dedication. It may take a while to learn but with the right training and proper guidance you’ll soon be wowing audiences.

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Posted by Faye Binfield in Presentation Skills Training on March 5th, 2009 | 1 Comment »