Since COVID, Corporate America has been locked behind a screen, bringing a sense of urgency to improving our presentation skills. The most important thing when you are presenting, is to be yourself, be authentic.
Most of us are terrified about public speaking… Seinfeld jokes that at a funeral, most people would prefer to be in a casket than delivering the eulogy. It’s not that bad!
Let me help… Here are some tips to improve your presentation delivery, whatever the medium.
Simple – in journalism, this is called ‘the lead’. What is the headline of your story? Start with your big idea… ‘What does it mean to be a leader in the digital era?’ Remember, The Gettysburg Address is 272 words, John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech was under 15 minutes, and the Declaration of Independence guarantees three unalienable rights — not 22.
Be realistic – how much can you accomplish in an hour, or even in 30min. Most people will takeaway 1 or 2 key points from your presentation. If you do an amazing job, maybe 3. Plan for the top 3 ideas or deliverables, and don’t jam in any more than that.
Make an analogy – use what people know to get them to understand something complex. I supported a very complex, high tech business. People were usually intimidated before I even started to describe the financial challenges. I learnt that to make it easy, I needed to relate it to something they knew. In my case, I used a Smart TV, what makes it smart? What are common commands you expect a Smart TV to obey?
Use data and make it relatable- but don’t make it a data dump. Make it visual. Take one number and use it to paint your story… “if everyone lived with the same density as Hong Kong, the whole world would fit in Egypt.”
Keep calm, and carry on – be conscious of ‘ums’, ‘ahs’, ‘like’, ‘sort of’ in your speech. Instead, replace this with a pause, or a breath. Don’t open your mouth until you know what you are saying, and what your arc is, there should be a start, a middle and an end. The best to catch this: record yourself presenting something that you know in and out, then watch the video!
Be emotional – own your content and understand the emotion of what you are delivering. When we are happy, our message comes out differently than when we are upset. We need to match the emotion of the content we are delivering.
I hope this helped you! Some more resources here.
