In this age of information overload, any time you can streamline the message you present, your audience will be thrilled.
Now I'm not suggesting that you strip it down to the point that you leave out meaningful or relevant information. But most presentations include way too much detail. Most presenters, in preparing their presentation, neglect to ask the question, "What does my audience need to know?"
Although it sounds counter-intuitive, it's less work for a presenter to just include everything he knows about a topic rather than assessing what the audience may already know and then what would be most valuable for them. It's also frequently difficult for us to edit our own material.
The benefits of presenting less, rather than more, are several:
a smaller quantity of data is easier to organize and easier to present in a clear, logical flow
less information leaves more time for questions and dialogue, providing a richer experience for the audience
if the audience isn't suffering from information overload, they'll be better able to focus on the salient points you're making, rather than becoming bored, confused or scrambling madly to take notes
depending on the circumstances of the presentation, it may not be a bad idea to simply whet the audience's appetite for your topic and leave them wanting more information [e.g., when you're previewing the products and services you offer or introducing a new concept]
For another perspective, take a look at this video where Guy Kawasaki, in his charmingly blunt style, gives us the 10-20-30 rule for simplifying presentations:
Last weekend I went to see A Little Night Music on Broadway with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. It was an absolutely stunning production and the two headline stars (as well as everybody else) were superb.
I watched the production from two perspectives: a regular theatre-goer, immersed in the story and music and a presentation trainer, observing the actors' techniques.
I have written before (see links below) about the many lessons a business presenter can learn from a stage actor -- techniques like blocking, care of voice, how to evoke emotions, rigorous rehearsal and the value of a story line. A Little Night Music offered some additional lessons we can apply on the business stage.
SHOWING UP
These actors have been presenting this 3 hour show nine times a week since mid-December, 2009. By my calculations, that is roughly 180 performances. Even if you allow for some understudy fill-ins, that's still a lot of shows. Yet the cast was as fresh and energetic and engaging last weekend as if it were the first performance. Can you imagine delivering the exact same business presentation the exact same way 100+ times?
How we show up as business presenters has a great impact on the audience's experience. If we appear bored or uninspired by our topic or if we deliver our material robotically, how can we expect the audience to become (or stay) interested? Try these ideas to help you focus on how you show up:
audio record your rehearsals so you can assess if your voice sounds upbeat and positive
practice sufficiently so that you know your material well, allowing you, during the presentation, to focus on your tone of voice and eye contact
create an intention before each presentation that you will deliver maximum value to your audience
ask for feedback from a trusted colleague or professional coach so you can incorporate any suggestions into future presentations
PACING AND PAUSING
Actors rehearse their lines over and over to get the rhythm and pacing perfect. In the above video, at about 4:25, Zeta-Jones delivers the line, "There could be one tiny [pause] snag." This pause allows her to build anticipation in the audience while making the line much funnier than if she had delivered it straight through. Deliberate pacing can elicit a specific response, emphasize particular
information, build anticipation and change a mood.
You can achieve these same outcomes in business presentations. Pauses help an audience process what you've said and get ready to hear something new. Rather than delivering your entire presentation in the same tone and at the same speed, try these tips:
"chunk" your sentences into phrases which makes it easier to pause between thoughts
determine where you want to emphasize various points and build in pauses just before you deliver the point
annotate your notes to remind yourself where you want to pause
audio record yourself rehearsing your presentation so you can accurately assess where and how effectively you're pausing
While we can't all have the thrill of being on a Broadway stage, we can all embrace some of the same techniques used by actors to improve our business presentations and our audience's experience.
In a group presentation, several presenters need to collaborate and coordinate so they offer a seamless end result to the audience. Yet integrating a variety of material and diverse personalities can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help make group presentations effective.
PICK A LEADER
This is the "point person" who can keep things organized and flowing smoothly. The leader can set the tone, give the introduction, manage the Q&A, referring questions to the appropriate presenter, and make concluding remarks.
KNOW WHAT OTHERS ARE GOING TO SAY
Get together in the early planning stage of the presentation and share outlines. Integrate the material so it looks like one presentation rather than several separate ones. Look for places you can refer to points or examples others use and tie them into your section.
HAVE CLEAR TRANSITIONS
Create transition statements that hand off the presentation to the next person and show the audience how the segments hang together. For example, "Now that I've provided an overview of the new accounting system, Alex will now show you how some of the features will make your daily reporting so much easier."
ENSURE VISUAL CONSISTENCY
All slides should look and feel the same. Agree up front what the master slide will look like and what fonts, headings and graphics will be used. Take care that everyone's slides have a similar quantity of data or visuals on them. Also ensure that each presenter has approximately the same number of slides.
PRACTICE TOGETHER
Without several group practice sessions, it will be very difficult for the presentation to appear seamless. Practice together, with the slides, to work out rough spots in timing, transitions and integration. Practice in front of colleagues to get objective opinions.
SUPPORT EACH OTHER
When the audience evaluates the presentation, they will look at it as a whole. So it's in everyone's best interests that each speaker is as good as possible. Support the other presenters during the preparation stage by offering suggestions and feedback. Support them during the presentation by paying attention while they are speaking and being ready to jump in if someone loses his train of thought or is stymied by a tough question.
Group presentations, like panel discussions, can be an audience-pleasing alternative to the standard, one person presentation. But only if the entire group comes across as a cohesive, integrated whole.
I always caution my clients about using humor in their presentations. Humor, like beauty, can be in the eye of the beholder and is frequently fraught with pitfalls.
If, however, you are naturally funny or lucky enough to have someone writing clever, humorous lines for you, and you do decide to include humor in your presentations, here are some tips to maximize the effect.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
There is an ever increasing list of topics that would be considered inappropriate or insensitive by an ever increasing number of people. The last thing you want, as a presenter, is to offend or annoy some portion of your audience. So do your homework to find out whether the funny comments you want to use about certain topics will have the audience throwing their heads back in laughter or throwing sharp objects in your direction.
PACING
Every actor will tell you that pacing and timing in delivering a line are the keys to getting the intended response. Don't hurry in speaking the humorous line or lines. Figure out where you need to pause, either to build anticipation and suspense or to give the audience time to digest what you've said and find the humor in it.
Watch even the first few moments of this video of President Obama at the recent White House Correspondents' Dinner. Although I think there are several things the President could improve about his speaking style, one area where he is quite masterful is pacing. Watch how many beats he holds between "Biden talked me into it; he leaned over and he said, Mr. President..." and "...this is no ordinary meal", giving the audience plenty of time to get the reference, find it funny and respond by laughing.
PRACTICE
Equally as important as pacing, practice will ensure that you deliver the line(s) as planned. Practice irons out the bumps and lets you add nuances to tone and expression. Practice also gives you the opportunity to "test run" your lines, delivering them to others to see if they evoke the kind of response you want.
Humor can be a powerful tool for engaging an audience. But only if done well. If you do decide to incorporate humor in your presentations, try out these suggestions for the best results.
Here are some more tips from John Zimmer at Manner of Speaking where he dissects an actual presentation.
