Presentation skills
With a number of presentations coming up, it's time to review the presentation process. Years ago I took the Decker Communications course and found it worthwhille.
Decker suggests starting by writing up small Post-It notes in four areas:
- POINT OF VIEW. What is your stance, attitude, opinion about the subject?
- LISTENERS. Who are they? What are their demographics, needs, attitudes?
- BENEFITS. How will your listeners benefit by taking the action step?
- ACTION STEPS. What do you want your listeners to do?
Decker also recommends these communication skills:
- Eye communication
- Posture/movement
- Gestures/facial expression
- Dress and apearance
- Voice/vocal variety
- Language/non-words
- Listener involvement
- Humor
- The Natural Self
Beyond these, I want to tell some good stories -- easy to follow and more interesting.
My earlier notes on giving presentations are here. Off the top, the most important advice that sprung to mind then was:
- tell stories, not what appears on a PowerPoint slide
- use pictures -- graphics and mental images -- to convey the message
- put yourself in the listener's shoes first, last, and always
- practice, practice, dry run, practice, revise, practice, edit, practice
- never read a speech
- talk with one member of the audience at a time
Techniques that are good enough that I've shamelessly ripped them off are:
- present a series of "objects," not a fully structured presentation; let the listener choose the sequence
- before the presentation, ask individuals in the audience what they want to/expect to hear
- put the questions at the beginning, not just the end.
Don't ask "How am I doing?"
Rather, ask "How are they doing?"
Posted by Jay Cross at December 31, 2002 10:01 PM