Professionally Speaking...

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of a Presentation Skills Course

Dear Presentation Skills Course Participant:

Now that you are scheduled to attend a training course to improve your public speaking skills, I know that you are looking forward to being transformed into a brilliant presenter upon completion. And while I, too, would like to see that happen, alas, my magic transforming wand can only accomplish so much.

Given that slight limitation, I offer you these suggestions for participating fully in the transformation process:

1. Come to the course with a specific objective. You have undoubtedly already had a small amount -- possibly a great deal -- of experience speaking in public. Reflect on what has gone well and what you wish could go more smoothly. From that analysis, pick 1 or 2 specific things you want to focus on in the course. Examples might be: manage presentation nerves; determine a process for organizing my content; create an interesting opening for my presentation; handle questions more effectively.

Although you will be tempted to focus on everything, picking just a couple things at a time will allow you to more effectively internalize the new skills.

2. During the course, question anything that doesn't make sense to you or that you couldn't see yourself doing. Ask for alternative methods. The instructor should certainly be able to help you modify various techniques to be more aligned with your personal style or circumstances.

For example, if the instructor recommends that you use small note cards to help you remember the main points of your presentation but you feel uncomfortable with that because everyone else in your organization uses PowerPoint notes, the instructor can show you how to either use the note cards unobtrusively or help you use the notes section of PowerPoint without compromising your eye contact with the audience.

3. Participate robustly in the videotaped practice. The feedback you receive from seeing yourself on video and the critique from the instructor and other participants will be the most valuable aspect of the course. You may feel shy, nervous, terrified or all of the above about being videotaped but find a way through those feelings so you can be present for this powerful piece of the learning. If necessary, speak to the instructor about your concerns and she can likely give you some perspectives that will help you manage your fears.

4. Take copious notes. Don't trust your memory to retain all the great ideas and techniques you're being exposed to. When you get ready to deliver a presentation, the elapsed time since the training and nervous anxiety will block out things that were crystal clear during the course. Take notes not only of the concepts being presented but also of thoughts that occur to you about specific applications or a particular [upcoming] presentation that would benefit from one of these new approaches.

5. Be generous in your feedback to others. By generous, I don't necessarily mean nice, although you certainly do want to look for the positives in others' presentations and comment on them. But equally important is the constructive feedback -- pointing out to others where they could have done something more effectively and what impact that would have had on you, their audience.

In many instances, if course participants are all from the same organization, you will have a better idea of company culture and context than the instructor and so your feedback will add valuable nuances. And best of all, if you're generous with your feedback, others will return the favor.

So, dear participant, embrace these five suggestions and you will speed up your transformation to brilliant presenter...and save me some wear and tear on my magic wand.

Photo Credit:
www.flickr.com C.C. 2.0
sheeshoo

In Presentations, Audiences Have Responsibilities Too

I'm a huge proponent of audience rights. I believe every presenter owes his audience complete focus and the respect of being well-prepared, interesting and relevant. However, audiences have some responsibilities in this partnership called a presentation. There is an implicit contract between presenter and audience, where each gets from, and gives to, the other. Too frequently, I have observed audiences just not living up to their end of the bargain. 

Here are the key obligations an audience has in order to fulfill their "contractual" responsibilities:

1. PAY ATTENTION. Give the presenter the courtesy of paying attention, at least long enough to determine if you are going to receive value. If you feel compelled to multi-task while in the presentation (e.g., checking or sending e-mail [I'm not talking about Twitter here], surfing the web, reviewing documents you brought with you, taking a phone call) consider not attending the presentation at all. You won't get much out of it, you'll be distracting to the speaker and other audience members and you certainly won't be able to provide constructive, meaningful feedback at the end.

2. ANSWER QUESTIONS. When the presenter asks a question, volunteer an answer. Don't sit like a lump, averting your gaze to ensure no possibility of eye contact. The more you engage in the conversation, the more value you are likely to get out of the experience. Obviously you're off the hook if you have no idea what to answer, but in most cases, you're likely being asked for an opinion...so share.

3. ASK QUESTIONS. Unless everything is crystal clear to you, ask questions and challenge the content being presented. Ask for clarification, ask for jargon to be explained, ask for an example of how this would work in your situation. Not only will this make it more interesting and relevant for you, it's quite possible that others in the audience may have the same questions, so you're helping everyone by asking.

4. RESPOND. Be involved rather than sitting passively. When appropriate, laugh or smile in response to what the presenter says. Maintain eye contact to capture the nuances of meaning on a given point.

5. EVALUATE. If you engage in the above four behaviors, you will be in a great position to provide meaningful, specific feedback to the presenter which will improve his skills thus ensuring better presentations for future audiences. Take the time to fill in that evaluation sheet thoughtfully. Even if you're not an expert in assessing presentations, you know what worked for you and what didn't. Make some notes throughout the presentation about areas or techniques you found useful and other areas where you wish the presenter had covered something in more depth or used more examples or made eye contact instead of reading from his slides. The majority of presenters want to hear how their audiences felt about the information they provided, even if the feedback points out some weak spots that need improvement.

So what's in this for you, you ask? As Seth Godin says, being a responsible audience member has big paybacks -->> more energy and insight from the presenter and more focused answers to your questions. And by raising the bar for the presenter by evaluating critically, you will contribute to a better presentation the next time around. 

So, audiences, make the choice to hold up your end of the bargain. The rewards will definitely be worth it!

When Audiences Give False Feedback

I have written recently about the lengths to which a presenter should go to obtain specific, timely, usable feedback. The most critical source of that feedback is, of course, the audience. Yet what if the audience isn't cooperating?

I'm beginning to think that business audiences and presenters are in collusion. Theoretically there should be checks and balances between these two entities, much like there are between buyer and seller or the executive branch and the legislative branch.

Audiences should be the watchdog for the presenter, alertly evaluating whether or not they're getting value and their needs are being met. And ready to provide constructive feedback if that's not happening. But too, too frequently I see audiences providing at least adequate, if not highly positive, feedback to crummy presenters.

SHOULDN'T WE RAISE THE BAR?

If we keep telling presenters they're OK, how will we ever encourage them to stop reading PowerPoint slides, to rehearse their presentation before delivering it, to incorporate examples and stories to help us understand better, to stop saying "you know" every 5 seconds, to use simple words instead of jargon, to....? Those 3s, 4s and 5s (out of 5) on the feedback questionnaire allow the presenter to dwell in a self-congratulatory bubble, neither cognizant of nor caring about his presentation inadequacies. After all, the scores were pretty good, weren't they?

WHY ARE AUDIENCES RELUCTANT TO BE HONEST?

I think it's either fear or apathy. Fear of not being a nice guy, of delivering feedback and a low score that the recipient won't like or that will hurt her feelings. Or...perhaps worse...too apathetic to take the time and energy to provide thoughtful, constructive comments. Hmmm...who's the loser here??

This begs for someone to develop a list of audience responsibilities. Stay tuned.

Presentation Feedback: 7 Steps To Using It Wisely

Few people quarrel with the general concept that feedback on a particular skill allows one to improve that skill. Yet even when we know where we can get feedback on our presentation effectiveness, we don't always know exactly what to do with it.

Here are some steps that will allow you to maximize the value of the feedback you receive.

1. Gather feedback from as many sources and as frequently as you can. You can never have too much feedback, because ultimately it will be you who decides how much of it you will use.
2. Ask for immediate feedback. When the presentation is still fresh in your mind, you can better integrate any feedback with the recent experience of 'doing' and this makes the feedback more actionable. According to this blog post from Psychology Today, "...timely feedback is a crucial part of developing habits and skills."
3. Demand specificity. A broad comment like, "I loved your presentation" or "You were great", although ego-affirming isn't very useful. Press for specifics...What did you particularly like? How did you feel about my closing? How could I have made the slides clearer? 
4. Don't be defensive! Recognize that any constructive feedback is about your behavior/style/approach and how it was perceived by the audience, not about you personally. Sometimes it may be hard to hear negative comments about a presentation you've slaved over. But it is generally the negative or constructive feedback that is most valuable and allows you to make the most impactful improvements in your skills. Recognize that the feedback is offered sincerely and refer back to #1.
5. Decide what feedback is useful to you and what you will incorporate. You may receive comments  you either disagree with or are unable to act on. If you disagree, be sure to validate your opinion by asking other trusted sources, so you don't miss correcting something that may be a blindspot for you. In any event, it's better to have a lot of feedback to choose from rather than too little.
6. Make notes and keep a file of all the feedback you receive so that you can easily access it. Date the feedback from each presentation to allow you to review progress over time.
7. Choose only one or two things to work on at a time. If you find that the feedback suggests you have many areas to improve on, it can be overwhelming to tackle them all at once. Prioritize the feedback based on who gave it, how much you agree with it and how many times you've heard the same thing.

Search out feedback on a regular basis and embrace it. It will absolutely make you a better presenter.

People Talk...Are You Listening?

Just how much do you search out feedback after you've made a presentation? Do you quickly collect the smile sheets [a.k.a. feedback forms...more on these in a subsequent post], breathe a sigh of relief, and stuff them into your briefcase where they're unlikely to again see the light of day?  Do you gratefully accept thanks from the event organizer without probing for more detail about whether you really hit the mark? If this sounds familiar, you are missing a fabulous opportunity to gain insights, correct shortcomings and generally improve your presentation effectiveness.

WHERE CAN YOU GET FEEDBACK?

You can certainly obtain feedback from the forms that your audience fills in at the end of a presentation. These will give you a general idea of how your comments were received and perhaps even a few suggestions for improvement. But frequently these are filled out in a hurry or audience members are reluctant to provide negative feedback.

And then, what about the situations where there are no feedback forms? Like the presentation in the boardroom or the remarks at the employee meeting.

Luckily, there are several sources of feedback which can be useful in giving you insights about your presentation effectiveness. Here are some to search out.

AUDIENCE

Since your entire focus should be on understanding and meeting the audience's needs with your presentation, the folks listening to you speak are the most critical and valuable source of feedback.  During the presentation, consciously read the non-verbal clues your audience provides to understand how they are receiving your message. Are you seeing boredom, excitement, confusion? Learn to read and interpret these signs so that you can make adjustments in your message or your style of delivery, if necessary.

After the presentation, don't rely solely on formal feedback forms to assess your effectiveness. Engage audience members as they are leaving the room or when they approach you with questions. Don't strive for the useless "Oh, you were great." Ask open-ended, non-threatening questions to get specifics about what worked. Ask what they found most useful. Ask what resonated with them. Ask what more they would like to have heard. This not only gives you valuable data but it shows the audience that you genuinely care about serving them.

COACH

A coach or mentor can provide usable feedback to help you improve your presentation content, techniques and delivery. The key is to find someone who either knows a good deal about your audience's needs or who knows a good deal about what makes for a successful presentation, and ideally both. The coach/mentor can work with you before your presentation, assisting with your preparation and rehearsal. If they can sit in on the actual presentation and provide feedback based on their observations of the audience, all the better.

A trusted colleague can also perform this role, but be sure to choose someone who has the background to offer you insightful critique, perhaps someone whose own presentation style you admire.

VIDEO

Don't overlook the power of video feedback. You will hear and see things, both positive and negative, that you were not aware of and the visual aspect of the feedback will solidify the insights. However, for it to be useful, you have to know how to interpret what you are seeing, which means you need some knowledge of what effective presentation skills look like. You also need to be able to assess your own performance through the filter of this knowledge. Once you can do that, you will gain great insights from watching your presentation on video.

THE EVENT ORGANIZER

The meeting planner or the admin assistant who organizes the event at which you're presenting can provide unfiltered feedback that augments the more formal feedback you receive. This person will likely hear "buzz" and candid remarks about your presentation and can share that with you, as long as you've clearly communicated that you are open to constructive feedback.

HERE'S THE TAKE-AWAY

No matter how skilled (or even famous) we get at making presentations, we never outgrow the need for feedback. Although our skills may reach an expert level of competence, every audience is different and therefore we need to continuously evaluate how effectively we are communicating our message.

Photo Credit:
Zimbabwe Wildlife 
Derek W. Keats, Cape Town, South Africa
License: Creative Commons::Attribution-ShareAlike