Imagine that you are about to present to a potentially large customer or a committee of senior executives and you're experiencing those crippling doubts: Is the content of your presentation on target? Have you organized your key points? Is your PowerPoint attractive? Have you really considered the expectations of your audience? What if they ask a question you can't answer?
In business, ineffective presentations can result in customers who don't get the point, investors who aren't impressed, and employees who retain little of what you've said—all of which negatively impacts on productivity and revenue.
Here are five pitfalls of which you should make speakers at your meetings aware. Any one of them can result in a forgettable presentation.
1. Confusing Core StatementsThis is a typical problem with a presenter who wants to cover a lot of ground on many different subjects. In the end, more often than not, the audience is left to wonder what the main message was. Remember, a good presentation should have one core statement (message). To arrive at the statement, presenters should ask themselves what the overall goal of their presentation is and then identify the one central message they must communicate to the audience. Finally, they need to identify the core statement early in the presentation, either by stating it outright or introducing it as part of a story, an anecdote, or other device that will make the theme accessible for the largest percentage of the audience.
2. Rambling on with Key PointsA good presentation should have no more than three main points to support the core statement. After each point is made, presenters should use supporting information to reinforce the point and then end it by restating the core message. Rambling on with point after point makes it that much harder for the audience to focus on the important points.
3. Assuming the Audience is CaptiveBack in school, you had to sit and listen to your teachers, no matter how much they bored you. But that was then. Today, even when presenting to fellow employees, you need to entertain and involve them in your presentation. One of the ways to do this is to interact or dialogue with your audience. Don't wait to see if they have any questions after you're finished speaking, but ask questions of them during the speech. This involvement technique perks up their ears since they may be called on at any time. You only have to do it once to gain their attention, but remember to gain their interest as well.
4. Talking in MonotoneWe live in a multimedia world with a variety of sounds that can be produced electronically. Monotonous voices challenge the audience to listen and all that effort typically results in their falling asleep. With a monotone, they take away little from your presentation, even if the topic is of interest and the content is well organized. Presenters can avoid a monotone by raising their voice to make an important point, and by varying speed to emphasize one or more areas of the presentation.
5. Getting Lost in the SlidesPowerPoint and Flash presentations have great value. However, unless they are the star of the presentation (which is sometimes okay) and the presenter is playing a supporting role as a reader, make sure they fit the presenter's speaking style. PowerPoint and Flash presentations used to support a message should be appropriate for the occasion and not compete with the presenter. Visual tools are essential to almost every presentation, but they should not be the focus of the effort, unless that is the goal.
Bob Lipp is president of Better Business Presentations, a company that creates effective PowerPoint and Flash presentations and coaches presenters. He can be reached at www.betterbusinesspresentations.com
or (800) 790-2276.Originally published May 01, 2007For more ideas, tips, and tools for better meetings and events,
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