Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Presentations: Quick Calls


You're going to make a presentation to a group and there are "room" issues. Consider these quick ground rules:
  • Small group, small room. Scratch the PowerPoint. Use a flip chart or a white board. No microphone. Keep a conversational tone. Make meaningful eye contact, where each person occasionally gets a direct look from you, as opposed to general glances. 
  • Stand or sit? Standing may increase your projection of authority. If you choose to sit, make sure they can see your hands. That will add to the aura of openness.
  • Large group, large room. PowerPoint is appropriate. Make sure there are few slides, no more than three bullet points per slide and the font should be so large that people in the back of the room can easily read it. Don't dim the lights. Use a  microphone that will permit you to wander around.
  • Raised stage. If the stage is very high, get off the stage. It creates a barrier between you and your audience. Your tone can be less conversational.
  • Long table in front for your notes. Move it to the side so it is not between you and the audience. If you keep it in front of you, you can come across like a duck in a shooting gallery.
  • Large group, large room, PowerPoint has problems. Scrap problem equipment. Don't try to stagger through with anything that will distract from what you have to say.

1 comment:

CincyCat said...

Another tip: Please do not stand up and READ the PowerPoint slides (or handouts) verbatim. Not only is that incredibly boring to sit through, but it insults the audience's intelligence. I think it is a more engaging presentation if the speaker/facilitiator hits the highlights, and then follow ups with a real world example that the crowd can relate to.