Is there such a thing as ‘natural born’ public speakers and communicators? Or, can effective presentation techniques be learnt?
The good news is, good public speaking and communication skills can be acquired. Even so-called ‘natural born’ public speakers or communicators have to learn and practise important presentation techniques over time to perfect it. Some of these presentation techniques, public speaking and communication skills are highlighted below.
These presentation techniques are derived from many expert presenters on how to elevate their presentations from “good” to “outstanding”. Whether you are an experienced presenter or novice, these presentation techniques will help you improve on your delivery while minimising any potential pitfalls.
There are three parts to this guide:
- Planning the presentation
- Preparing the presentation
- Delivering the presentation
Planning Your Presentation
“The only sure way to create a successful presentation is to begin with the goal in mind.”
Jerry Weissman, leading corporate presentations coach.
Firstly, determine the purpose of the presentation. For example, is it to publicise a new product, make a sales pitch or to share information about your company or institution. Having a clear purpose will ensure your audience receive the right information.
It is also important to know the profile of your audience such as their age groups, educational background, professions and income levels. Such information will help you to tailor your presentation according to their level of understanding. For instance, if you are presenting to a group of mostly technocrats, more technical terms can be used. If presenting to a general audience, more layman terms will be more appropriate to aid their understanding.
Before the presentation, it is also important to gather information about the presentation venue. These include:
- Capacity of presentation room and expected audience size.
- Layout of room – is it squarish, elongated or pillarless?
- Equipment – are there sufficient projection screens and loudspeakers in the room, what is the projection screen size and what type of projector is in use (standard or widescreen?)
- Room lighting – is there a dimmer?
Such information is important as it can affect the effectiveness of your presentation. If the room is elongated and has many pillars, your audience may find it difficult to see your projection screen. Hence, more than one projection screen may be required. Also, check whether your audience at the back of the room can hear you clearly.
It is also advisable to arrive at your presentation venue early to check and ensure the room setup is optimised and the equipment are working fine. Even if you have mastered all the presentation techniques and meticulously prepared for your public speaking assignment, equipment failure could compromise everything that you have worked so hard for.
Preparing the Presentation
Decide the outline of your presentation and how your information will flow. Then create a story around your presentation. Story-telling is one of the most effective presentation techniques as it helps to engage and connects your audience emotionally and hence, enables them to digest information more easily. Every presentation should consist of these three parts for it to flow seamlessly:
- Opening
- Body
Close
At the opening, provide your audience with an outline of your presentation and what they are expected to learn or hear from you. A vital presentation technique is to start strongly in order to grab your audience’s attention and hold it. If not, most will switch off. There are three objectives in public speaking – to inform, convince and persuade. If you fail to engage your audience, you would lose these objectives. This is especially so in the middle of your presentation as this is the time when message recall is at its lowest ebb.
Use the 10-20-30 Rule for Slideshows – This is a presentation technique used by Guy Kawasaki, who suggested that slideshows should:
- Contain no more than 10 slides.
- Last no more than 20 minutes; and.
- Use a font size of no less than 30 point.
The last point is particularly important – it ensures your font size is big enough for the audience to see clearly, especially those sitting at the back of the room. It also prevents you from putting too much information on any one slide and eliminate the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.
If your audience requires more information about your presentation, you can provide them handouts after the session. Don’t give them before the presentation as many may end up reading your notes instead of listening to you. If this happens, your ability to engage them and listen to you will be lost.
Tell Stories – All presentations are a type of theatre and stories can help your audience relate to you, which reinforces what they learn. It also helps to make the presentation more effective and memorable.
“Story persuades by creating a sense of involvement.”
Josh Gordon, author of Presentations that Change Mind.
However, give the audience only what they need to know, and craft your story around it.
“A clear and concise story can give a presenter the clarity of mind to present with poise.”
Jerry Weissman, renowned corporate presentations coach
To learn more about story-telling techniques, please refer to the article “15 Storytelling Tips and How to Apply them Today”.
Closing the Presentation – After spending a lot of time preparing your presentation and sharing it, make sure that you reinforce the key information by summarising them. By repeating the key points, it will refresh your audience’s memory.
There are many presentation techniques for this, but one of the most frequently used is the ‘Rule of Three’, which suggests that people generally tend to remember concepts or ideas better, when presented in threes. Some examples are ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’, ‘Mind, Body and Spirit’ and the ‘Good, Bad and the Ugly’.
Work out what the three messages that you want your audience to take away before structuring your conclusion. This could be three words, phrases or sentences.
Delivering the Presentation
“Persuasion is the art in which all business presenters must be prepared.”
Jerry Weissman, leading corporate presentations coach.
Build trust – Communicate to your audience the facts or quality about you, your company, the products you sell or an idea you are advocating. If you are able to gain their trust, what you say will carry more weight and sounds believable.
Be passionate to help connects with your audience – To connect with your audience, project your passion into your presentation. Be honest and enthusiastic with the audience about what you say, and your audience will respond likewise. As mentioned earlier, the objectives of public speaking are to inform, convince and persuade. You will not be able to deliver these objectives if you fail to connect with them.
Focus on you audience’s need – Always remember the main reason your audience is attending your presentation. Always bear in mind their needs and what they want to know, not what you like to tell them. Focus on your audience, make it easy for them to understand and respond to you.
Keep it Simple and Concentrate on your Key Message – Always remember what are the key messages you want your audience to take away. Tell them what benefits they will gain. To do so, communicate to them clearly while reminding them briefly throughout your presentation. You can use the ‘Rule of Three’ to emphasise your key points and make it easy for them to remember.
Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience – Surprisingly, even seasoned presenters have failed in this aspect. By smiling and making eye contact, you will build rapport with your audience. This helps them to connect with you and the subject you are talking about. Making eye contact can also help alleviate some of your nervousness because it gives you a feeling that you are talking to individuals instead of a mass of strangers.
Project Your Voice Effectively – Public speaking using monotone is a sure-fire way to put your audience to sleep. To present effectively, vary the speed you talk. Also, use different pitch and tone to emphasise certain points. This will make your presentation more interesting and help capture your audience’s attention.
Body Movement – Body movements can reveal much about you – whether you are confident, nervous, authoritative or weak. Some body language to avoid includes crossed arms, keeping your hands behind your back or in your pockets, looking down instead of making eye contact, and pacing back and forth. To project confidence, make your gestures open and move naturally around the stage, or even among your audience. If you want to emphasise a point on your screen, turn your body towards it while using your hand to gesture in the same direction. Your audience will naturally follow your cue.
Relax, Regulate Your Breathing and Enjoy – If you are nervous, your audience can easily sense it. One way to relax is to regulate your breathing and take deep breaths. Also, have occasional short pauses during your presentation to calm yourself down and collect your thoughts. Do not rush through your presentation and ‘get it out of the way’. You will be doing a great disservice to yourself and your audience.
Practice Makes Perfect – As mentioned earlier, public speaking and communication skills can be learned. To communicate effectively, rehearse your presentation as many times as required. One way is to video yourself presenting and you will notice all sorts of mistakes you are making. This includes the way you speak, your vocal tone, facial expression, body movements and hand gestures. You may even find yourself unconsciously making some involuntary movements. I have witnessed this before during a public speaking course when a participant kept rubbing his hand against his arm. He only realised it when the public speaking coach brought it to his attention.
Presentation Techniques And PowerPoint Design
Although mastering all the important presentation techniques is important, a good PowerPoint design is equally crucial for delivering a successful presentation. In a PowerPoint presentation, the following is a summary about what annoys audiences:
As can been seen, beside acquiring effective presentation techniques, public speaking and communication skills, we must also learn how to design good PowerPoint presentations. Meanwhile, the following resources will help you eliminate the so-called ‘Death by PowerPoint’:
- Effective Presentation Design
- Education PowerPoint Design
- Eight Common PowerPoint Presentation Mistakes
However, should you require creative PowerPoint design services or if you encounter any difficulties in crafting a professional-looking PowerPoint presentation, please contact us for an obligation-free consultation. We offer very competitive and personalised PowerPoint presentation services. We also provide three design options that will cater to the different needs and budgets. Here are some examples of our design ideas.
In addition, we also offer the following design services for your business presentation, advertising and marketing campaigns:
Useful Presentation Resources
The following are some other useful presentation resources to help with your PowerPoint design.