Professionally Speaking...

A Holiday Presentation Poem

I'm participating in Angela DeFinis' Blog Carnival on Public Speaking and the Holidays. Head on over to check out other authors' tips and insights.

 

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the hall
the well-rehearsed speaker kept her audience in thrall.
Her metaphors were crisp, her words well chosen,
on her the attention of the people was frozen.
 
The slides on the screen had been created with care;
no over-used templates or bullet points there.
She had stories and eye contact, confidence galore,
the audience loved her for she was no bore.
 
And when she finished there was such a clatter,
those outside the hall asked what was the matter.
It was naturally assumed the audience was napping,
but, no, behold! -- the noise was them clapping.
 
We then heard her say to everyone in sight,
"Happy presenting to all, and to all a good night!"

 

Professionally Speaking...will be on hiatus for the next two weeks, returning the week of January 4, 2010.

I wish everyone a very happy holiday season, filled with peace and joy, compassion and generosity. May your New Year be abundant with standing ovations!

Presentation Tip: How To Tell A Story

Everyone has heard the advice about incorporating stories into a presentation to make your message more "sticky" and easier to understand. So we're all on board there. But if you're not a natural story teller [and I count myself firmly in this camp]...you know, the person who always has an anecdote, a colorful example or a yarn to spin...then how exactly do you go about telling a story?

Think back to some of the stories you heard as a child or perhaps read to your own child. A story has a recognizable beginning and end. A story has engaging characters. A story has action. A story has conflict...a problem, dilemma or challenge that needs to be solved. These same elements are what you have to work with in your business stories. 

The story you create should underscore and amplify the business message you're communicating. Including a story that seems to have no relevance to the content and message of your presentation is just confusing for the audience. Make sure you know and the audience knows why you told the story.

WHERE WILL I FIND A STORY?

Fodder for stories is everywhere...newspaper articles, TV shows and newscasts, your colleagues, your family, famous people and of course, yourself. Personal stories are always intriguing and can lend authenticity to your message. If you don't have any personal experiences that will work, another option is to interview other people and tell their story.

WHAT DETAILS SHOULD I INCLUDE?

The amount of detail in a story should be just enough to make it vivid but not enough to make it rambling. Remember, this is a story within your presentation, not a stand-alone tale you're telling around the camp fire.

Ditch the backstory unless it's relevant to the audience's understanding...you don't need to say that Sydney, the hero of your story, backpacked through South America before he came to work at XYZ, Inc. if his travels have nothing to do with your point.

CREATE CHARACTERS THAT COME ALIVE

It's the characters -- what they do and what that means -- that form the heart of your story. Give them life, give them color, give them dialogue.

"He was an inch, perhaps two, under six feet, powerfully built, and he advanced straight at you with a slight stoop of the shoulders..."  [Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim]

HOW LONG SHOULD THE STORY BE?

Each story within your presentation should be only long enough to make your point. Strive for around 2 minutes, with an absolute maximum of 3 minutes. Anything longer likely includes extraneous details or side issues that don't move the story ahead. Aim for a crisp rendition, leaving the audience so engaged that they want more. 

DELIVERY TECHNIQUES

Pacing and tone are the keys to grabbing and keeping the audience's attention. Vary sentence lengths to create anticipation -- short, staccato sentences suggest action. Know when to pause...for effect and to let the audience absorb what you've said. Slow down your speech and clearly articulate each word when you want to add a bit of drama.

"It was a dark [pause] [lower voice slightly] and stormy night." [E.G. Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford]

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...AND THEN DO IT AGAIN

Rehearse your story until you have the language and pacing perfect. Say it out loud, tell it to a colleague, record yourself and really listen to what you sound like. Your goal is to have your story crisp, relevant to your overall message and engaging enough that the audience feels like they were there.

As a way of further honing your story telling skills, read some of the classic stories for insight and inspiration. Read Grimm's Fairy Tales, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and learn from the masters.

Here are some other posts on various aspects of stories in presentations:

Using Story To Strengthen Your Message

Are Our Brains Wired To Enjoy Stories?

A Lasting Impression: A Lesson Once Again on the Power of Stories

Storytelling for Sales Professionals

Presenting in Africa

I've just returned from two trips to Africa where I spoke and ran workshops at the Women in Management and Business (WimBIZ) conference (Lagos, Nigeria) and the Kenyan Association of Women Business Owners (KAWBO) conference (Nairobi, Kenya). They were both amazing experiences and I thought it would be interesting to make some comparisons between African and U.S. presentation style, format and approach.

STYLE

The style in Nigeria was definitely more formal than we're used to here. The wife of the Governor of Lagos State attended the entire conference and each presenter started her comments with, "Her Excellency, First Lady of Lagos State, distinguished ladies and gentlemen..." When speakers referenced someone in their remarks, they always used the title Mr. or Mrs., never a first name. This was a challenge in my own presentation; when I wanted to refer to another speaker, I had to be sure I could correctly pronounce the unfamiliar, Nigerian name.

Kenya was more similar to here, with first names being used freely.

Also worth noting in both countries was the politeness of attendees. They paid serious attention to the speakers, didn't leave the room and clapped enthusiastically. Conference delegates in Nigeria were really put to the test as there was a power outage which delayed the start of the conference by over an hour. Unlike one might imagine, attendees sat patiently, without complaint, using the time for additional networking.

FORMAT

The majority of the presentations at both conferences were in the form of moderated panels. Each panelist gave a short presentation, commented on the other panelists' remarks and answered questions from the audience. I found this to be a richer format for attendees as it gave them a number of perspectives on a given topic and encouraged greater dialogue among panelists and between panelists and audience. And it minimized the pain of a bad presenter!

Handouts were, refreshingly, non-existent at both conferences. All speaker notes/presentations were going to be put up on the websites of the sponsoring organizations, for download by interested attendees.

I am sorry to say that PowerPoint is just as ubiquitous and badly done in Africa as it is in the US. Bad PowerPoint slides have clearly become viral. One of the presenters at the Kenya KAWBO conference, Dr. Julius Kipng'etich, Director of Kenya Wildlife Service, gave me a great definition of PowerPoint I hadn't heard: "PowerPoint is too many points without power."

Keeping to a time limit presented as much of a challenge in Africa as it does here. In Nigeria, speakers who went past their alloted time were silenced by a moderator who took enforcement seriously. In Kenya, speakers went over time frequently, to the delight of the audience who were getting such value, but to the chagrin of the organizers who were forced to then constantly juggle time lines.

APPROACH

The presenters at both conferences were generally better prepared than what I experience at presentations here in the US. It was obvious that many of the speakers had rehearsed their remarks and most spoke conversationally without heavy reliance on notes. Almost universally, they included stories and anecdotes, many from personal experiences, to underscore their message.

The true measure of any speaker's or conference's success is the satisfaction of the attendees. KAWBO and WimBIZ did an awesome job of putting on as professional and relevant a conference as any we would attend here in the US. Based on the conversations I had with attendees and their reactions throughout the conferences, both organizations passed the success test with high marks.