What is a Presentation?

Why Am I Here?

The key question for any presenter is:

Why am I here?

Few people are asked to give a presentation because their audience likes the sound of their voice:
the majority of presentations are for a purpose. The key is to make the purpose of the presentation
that of the individual members of the audience, not the purpose of the presenter.

Unconsciously, members of an audience ask the following questions:

Why am I here?
What will I get out of listening to this talk?
Will what the presenter is saying help me?

The secret of a good presenter is to hook into what the audience wants from the talk and give it to
them. You must answer the WIIFM: WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

WIIFM Statement

If I Can Get ( My Audience) To Agree That (My Plan/ Proposal) Will

Help Them (In Their Jobs) Then They Will Agree To ( My Proposal).

For instance, if I can get Presentation Techniques for Impact course participants to agree that this
training will help them in their jobs, then they will agree to take part in the activities of the next
two days.

Before undertaking any presentation - or for that matter going into any meeting - ask the WIIFM
question. This way you can get into the minds of the audience and thus turn your knowledge and
thoughts into the items that they need to help them with their jobs.
B COZ Statements
As well as the WIIFM statement you must also answer the B COZ questions:-

I Am Standing Up Here Because...

They Are Listening To Me Because...

This way you will be allowed to say your piece and the audience will listen to you as opposed to
just hearing you. For instance,

I am standing up here because whoever books your training heard what a great course this
was and how good I was as its presenter and then contracted me to provide this course for
your company to answer your requests for help with presentations.

They are listening to me because they applied to come on this course having already
identified their own needs for help in giving more effective presentations.

The worst scenario is:

I am standing up here because I was told to and you are listening to me because your
manager sent you ..

If you ever get to that state - panic.

Note The key to a good presentation is to get through to the audience as

someone whose ideas can help them do their jobs more efficiently.
What is a Presentation?

Presentation

A Presentation is an occasion when the speaker talks through an idea or proposal with an
audience (normally more than two) who, after hearing them, react to the talk.

Training

Training is where the audience are actively involved in acquiring skills or knowledge from the
trainer.

Meeting

A Meeting is an occasion when two or more people discuss and agree actions.

Essentially the audience is "passive" during a presentation. The secret of a good presentation is to
involve the audience, but not be driven by it.

End Result of a Presentation

Giving a presentation is like selling something - an idea, a concept, some equipment. It allows a
number of people to listen to the arguments of the presenter then to ask questions. From the
perspective of the presenter, it allows you to influence a number of individuals at once.

Sometimes a presentation is not the answer: individual meetings may be the better choice for
delicate subjects.

A presentation is always intended to get results. This means that the presenter must be aware of
their end goal. If you are unclear of the purpose of the presentation, so too will be your audience.
Exercise One
WIIFM

TIME: 30 minutes

Take a presentation that you are scheduled to give soon, and

Using some scrap paper state briefly

What your presentation topic is

Who your audience is

Write clearly and concisely

Your WIIFM

Your BCOZ

Your audience's BCOZ

Take a piece of Flipchart paper and write on it

Your name

Who your audience is

Your WIIFM

Your BCOZ

Your audience's BCOZ

Stick your Flipchart up on the wall of the room

 The Audience
When giving a presentation, the total composition of the audience unknown to you in less than
10% of cases. In most other instances you know something about some members of the audience.
The key is to try to get to know enough about all the members of the audience and to try to get
them onto your side - before even going into the presentation.

Research and Questioning

You need to research and question to find out about your audience and their receptivity to your
ideas. You want to get the best possible reactions from them and this is best obtained by trying to
get to know them beforehand.

Use who/ where/ why/ what/ how/when questions to find out the answers you need to know.

You are trying to find out about your audience's :-

Attitudes towards your topic

Prior knowledge of your topic
Friendship/fears
Influence with the decision makers
Power
This prior knowledge will put you in a position to amend your presentation to fit into the
experience and expectations of your audience.

Your Contact

The most influential individual is the person that invited you to give the presentation. Consider
them and ask yourself:

Why were you invited to give the presentation?

What's their WIIFM?
Are you part of their hidden agenda?
How can you get this out into the open?
What help can they give you?
Is their success dependent upon your success?
Actions

Arrange to talk with them about the presentation - their purpose for inviting you
Ask them to lobby for you amongst the rest of the group
Ask them about the composition of the rest of the group and their "views" on your topic
Ask them if it could be possible for you to talk with some others - get them to arrange and/or
smooth the meeting path

Ask them to identify the Group Leader's trigger points

The Group Leader

This is the second most important person to influence. Try to get to see this person and to get
them on your side before the presentation. If others look up to this person, then they will be more
inclined to agree with their views on your presentation. Consider them and ask yourself:

What's their WIIFM?

How do they feel about the person who invited you?
What is their trigger point?
Do they lead or rule?

Actions

Make sure you hook in their trigger points

Be prepared for questions about their trigger points
Don't aim your presentation solely at the Group Leader - this will alienate the rest of the
group

Can you meet them before you finalise your presentation?

Failing meeting, can you call them on the phone before you finalise your presentation?
Failing the above, can you have 5 minutes with them before the presentation starts?
 The Powerful Others
These are people who have influence on the decisions and who may be at the presentation, or
may have briefed others who will be at the presentation. Consider them and ask yourself:

What are their WIIFMs?

How do they feel about the person who invited you?
Are you treading on their turf?
Are you helping them with a problem they've got?
Can you talk their language without taking too much of a tangent?

Action

Try to have answers ready for their trigger points

Avoid getting caught into helping them trip up other members of the group
Can you meet with them before the meeting - individually - and talk to them about your
ideas?

Attitude
If you sense in your discussions beforehand that everyone is against your proposal then cancel
the presentation (unless you like being a martyr). You need to find some friends in court to get
through the blockages in the rest of the audience so ensure you deal well with these people -
acknowledging their contributions as you go along. They should be on your side, so keep them
sweet and they will step in to help you when the discussion goes to the audience.
Prior Knowledge
Use talks with the audience beforehand to establish the extent of prior knowledge in your
audience. Where you have a mixture of knowledgeable and unknowledgeable in the same
audience then you have the responsibility of getting them up to the same starting point. You can
do this by

Sending out some pre-reading (but be aware they may not have done it or never received it)
Preparing a brief summary of the key points in a short sharp slide and form to distribute at
the time of the presentation

Have a poster/model/diagram in the presentation room to view

List complex words on flip chart and put definitions beside them as you talk

Friendships/Fears
If you know the dynamics of the group then you can predict how they are likely to react and then
you will be able to judge your words accordingly. Group pressure can be quite dramatic when
used and often group pressure can alter the most fixed views. Try not to get yourself into a
position of being the catalyst in a witch hunt.

Others may fear to agree with you if that seems to be against current policies so watch for those
who were strong in one-to-ones but now seem to be backing off. If you sense that the discussion
is going this way then propose a realistic solution which may not lead to direct confrontation at
that moment.
Influence with the Decision Makers
When you look at the composition of the audience, ask yourself:

Are the audience the cheque signers?

Can they give final approval of the project or are they in a strong position to influence the
decision makers?

There is nothing so self-important than a committee that has no power - and nothing so time-
wasting .

Will the decision makers be there in the audience?

How are they influenced by the rest of the group?
How are decisions made - by consensus or by individuals?

Try to test out the culture of the organisation before presenting to it - if it is your own then you
have an advantage if you step aside and observe the organisation to see who are the decision
makers and how they make decisions.

Power
Power and decision making authority should be linked but may not be. Some of the powerful are
the "gateholders" - holders of information or resources that they control although they cannot
make decisions but can make or break them. Examples here are the finance bodies who control
expenditure but do not decide how the monies are to be spent - the relationship between
Treasury and other Government Departments is a classic case of this in action.

Other powerful people are those who form natural leaders and whose actions get mirrored by the
rest.
Exercise Two
The Audience

TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes

Suggested allocation of time: 10 minutes individual work
10 minutes per individual on audiences

Work individually on your audience, as identified in the previous exercise. Go through

the questions and actions that have been mentioned in this section and write down all you
currently know about your audience.

Questions you will need to answer include:

Who are they?

Who are friends?

Who are gatekeepers?

Who has the power?

What is their pre knowledge?

What is their attitude to your topic?

Who can you influence beforehand?

Pair up with another participant and discuss your audience work with them.

As the listener your role will be to help your partner refine precisely the audience's
characteristics and see how they can be influenced in advance.
 You - The Presenter

Introductions
Your Introduction is where you hook your audience, where you present them with a key message
that makes them sit up and decide to stay awake, where you establish your credibility.

Initially you will need to break the ice with the audience - to get them on your side. This can be
done with a funny remark; some comment upon the weather or such like; saying how nice it is to
see so many familiar faces; - some way of establishing rapport before going into the meat of your
presentation. We will look specifically at establishing rapport later.

Your own introduction should be

Pertinent
Promotional
Punchy
...and include the action that you want the audience to take as a result of listening to your
presentation.

Pertinent
Your opening statement needs to get to the root of the matter. A presentation is not a strip tease -
there is no magic in not revealing all until the last moment - that moment may never come.

Pertinent statements include:

"My name is Pat Yokes and I'm here to show you how to save 20% from your next telephone
bill and the next one and the next one..."

"Hi. I'm Jan Smith and I'm here to discuss passion with you."

"I'm Syd Wright from XYZ Company and my job is to give away money."
Promotional
You need to sell yourself; your credentials for being in front of everyone and your purpose.

This is where your B COZ statements come in - why are you there ?

It is not the time for a lengthy life story taking you from the age of 2 to your present age - just a
brief statement that justifies your right to be in front of the audience and taking up their valuable
time.

"I'm District Sales Manager for ABC telephone company and we sell the most modern
telephone exchange systems on the market."

"I'm a quality consultant for PQR consultancy and believe that quality is too important to be
left to IS9000."

"I'm Dealer Marketing Manager and created the dealers award scheme that I want to
introduce to you."

You may also include here a brief summary of your capability to talk to the subject in question.
Your title may suffice but you may like to add some time dimension - or research dimension - to
your work.

"I've been with ABC for 5 years having started with B.T. and have never seen such advanced
switching technology as in the new range of exchange systems that have been designed for us
by Lexiter University's Research department."

"Prior to joining PQR in June I spent 10 years with M&S firstly as a buyer then in designing
and running their quality programme which as you know has been awarded their ISO
certificate."

"I used to work for the Superspecial dealership and know how frustrating some of the
complex dealer incentive schemes can be, that's why I was attracted to my present company
and the idea of working on their dealership schemes."

Punchy

This has to be in short sharp sentences, not lengthy prose. It is enough to give the audience a
taster for what is to come "I'm here and I mean business."

Your Introduction is the advertisement for your product - your presentation - think of a favourite
magazine advertisement and base your introduction on that.
Call for Action
The action that you want from the audience as a result of the presentation needs to be made clear
up front so that they can weigh your words against this request - if you just talk then at the end
ask for x thousand or to spend another 3 days with them then this can come as a shock. Warn the
audience beforehand what you want from them - tell them your WIIFM.

"At the end of this presentation I will be asking you to approve a 3 months feasibility study
into our telephone system."

"What I will be asking you is to agree to introduce a quality improvement programme in the
Northwitch factory as a trial for the rest of the group."

"Finally I will be showing you how to sign up to become one of our approved resellers and
benefit from our generous marketing pay back scheme."
Exercise Three
Introductions

TIME: 20 minutes + Recording and Feedback

Preparation of Introduction - 20 minutes individual work
After 20 minutes we will record everyone's introductions and WIIFMs onto video tape.
This will be followed by tutor feedback to individuals.

Work on your introduction to your presentation keeping it

Pertinent

Promotional

Punchy

Devise a way of establishing your credentials with the audience

Produce your call to Action

 Structure of Presentation

Introduction

The basic rule of any presentation is:

Tell Them What You're Going To Tell Them

Tell Them It

Then Tell Them What You've Just Told Them

You will have many points you want to make to state your case. Select those that are

Key for your audience - WIIFM

Key for your WIIFM
Most likely to have an impact now

Then rank the points into order and always put your most important point first. If your
presentation is cut short you must ensure you have said the most important item.

Body of Presentation
We have already dealt with your introduction in the previous session; where you have an
opportunity to make an impact on the audience. Now we come to the presentation proper.

Each of the major points that you are making in your presentation needs to follow a pattern -
reflecting the above "Tell them" statement. Each theme needs to flow as follows:

From theme statement...

to proofs...

to invitation to comment...

to problem...

to restatement of theme
Theme statement
This is the hook for each section of your presentation - the main point of this section. What is the
key point you wish to get across to your audience?

"With an annual turnover of 7.2m a switchboard like your current one is probably losing you
30,000 worth of business every month."

Proofs for this statement

Having caught the audience's imagination with your theme statement, you must prove what you
have just said - using facts, figures, graphs, charts - anything factual to show you have done your
homework. This is the evidence for your comment, the reason why you have made such a bold
statement.

"Current research shows that:

85% of telephone callers who are not answered after 4 rings hang up

70% of callers will ring back later and of those

30% will try to contact a company 4 times

20% will not try again but ring another company

10% will have buying intentions

5% will actually buy goods from that phone call"

State the problem

Explain how the problem could have arisen. Avoid blaming anyone or anything, just explain that
times have changed; business has changed. Be careful about pouring scorn on someone's pet
project.

"Your switchboard is the FGH version that can only cope with a volume of 30 calls at a time.
Monitoring it for 2 weeks we found that it operated at 99% capacity for 6 hours a day -
therefore you will be losing callers every working hour of every day."
Invite reactions
Ask if this accords with the audience's own experiences. At this point you are inviting the
audience to comment but ensure you are in control of the question. You are asking here for
confirmation or negation about the problem as you see it; not opening up the presentation to as
full discussion. In some instances you may feel that a show of hands could prove the point.
Remember, if you can get your audience to argue your case for you and accept that there is a
problem then you have almost won.

"Yes... Every time I try to phone in from a customer site its really embarrassing. I can never
get through..."

Restate the theme statement

You are now at the 'Tell them what you have just told them' stage and need to re-state the theme
statement. Use different words to get the message across again and re-emphasise your point.

"So from this you can see that without any extra selling effort you could add up to 5% to your
bottom line with a more efficient telephone system."

Note To you it may seem very repetitious and tedious to keep on going over
the same information; however, this will be the first time your audience
have heard your arguments and therefore this gentle repetition will not
be upsetting to them.

Now you are ready to move onto the next theme - but remember to bridge between one statement
and the next.

Bridging statements
These make the link between one proof and the other. They make the presentation flow rather
than being a series of disjointed phrases and show the overall picture of the presentation.

"Now if we look at your sales effort..."

Theme statement two

"1 in 3 of your sales team cannot make their first outgoing phone call to a customer because
they cannot get an outside line."

Proofs for theme statement two

"In two week tests each salesperson was asked to record the number of times they got 'not
available' when dialling for an outside line. In ten working days the figure was two hundred
approximating to roughly one in three salespeople."

State the problem

"So you have the problem of customers not being able to phone in and sales teams having
difficulty phoning out."

Invite comments

"I was asked to ring an important customer at 3.15 exactly as they had only 10 minutes before
going into a meeting to get the latest details from me and I couldn't get an outside line. In the
end I went to the call box on the corner to ensure I got through..."

Restate the theme

"200 wasted attempts to phone out in 10 days leading to frustrated sales teams."

Bridge

"...and talking of frustration..."

By the time you have told of the turnover in telephonists, number of repair calls for the existing
switchboard when you come to the call for action your audience will be anxious to agree to it.
Call for Action
This is where you ask the audience to take some specific action - the result of their listening to
your presentation is that they will do something. So ask them for that Action:

"Finally ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to agree to my company, ABC Phones, setting up a
detailed feasibility study of your system with your Facilities Manager with a report back in
three month's time complete with cost figures."

Argument Flow
Each theme should run through

intro...

theme statement...

proofs...

invitation to comment...

problem...

theme restatement
then bridge into the next theme.

Introduction...
theme statement...

proofs...

invitation to comment...

problem...

theme restatement
...then bridge into the next theme

Note During and at the end of your presentation there should be discussion
from, with and between the audience, but remember it is your
presentation. Ensure that you always have the last word - and this is the
call to action.
Exercise Four
Structure of Presentation

TIME: 30 minutes + Video time

After 30 minutes individual work we will again record individuals on video

Determine your theme statements for your presentation

Rank these in terms of most important to least important

Work on your most important theme statement and organise it into

Theme statement

Proofs

Problem

Invite discussion

Restate theme

Bridging phrase

If time allows, start working on the other theme statements in declining rank order
 Organising Supporting Materials

'I Hear And I Forget; I See And I Remember, I Do And I Know'

Chinese Proverb

Try to get your support materials to work as far as possible towards the "Do" and "Know" end of
the spectrum.

The reason for wanting to introduce appropriate support material is to help those members of
your audience that relate to pictures and real objects as opposed to listening to information. There
is a surprisingly high percentage of individuals who need to either see or touch something for it
to have an impact, therefore all good presenters try to work with visual and real materials as well
as relying on their spoken word.

Some examples of types of support material to consider are:-

Real things

Would real objects help? Bringing in the product to let the audience see/feel/test it? Is your
product attractive compared with the opposition?

Pictures

How complex is your proposal? Would it be aided by an illustration? What about posters?
35mm slides? Photographs?

Overhead transparencies

Can you use the overlay facility to build up your argument? What about the use of colour?
An overhead can magnify considerably when projected onto a screen and this will make
complex detail clearer than could perhaps be seen in a photograph.

Flip chart

Here you can list up specific words or concepts that can stay as a permanent reminder during
your presentation. You can bring along pre-prepared flipcharts or you can make them up as
you go along. Do ensure that they are visible to all.

Graphs

These are very dramatic but remember to note factors such as scale. Take care with the
number of lines and ensure that they are easy to understand. Also be sure to put dates on the
graph.
Pie charts

The requirements here are similar to graphs. Pie charts can be easy to understand, but do
make sure that the segments are labelled appropriately and clearly.

Formulae

You need to ensure a high degree of audience sophistication before employing too many
formulae or you will be in danger of confusing them at best and at worst, be appearing to use
formulae to prove your point rather than to illustrate it.

Video

How does this add to your presentation? What of the length and cost of preparation. Would
your presentation suffer if you could not play the video? Is it compatible with most forms for
video-playback machines? Can you ensure you have the attention of the audience when you
show a video?

Computer graphics

These are very effective and relatively cheap to produce these days but again make sure that
they add value to your presentation and do not take over from your message. Ensure you are
familiar with the technology and that the connections at the presentation site are working.
You should always have a paper copy of your presentation available in case of machine
failure.
 Comparing Different Forms of Support
Materials

Type Pros Cons

Real Things Solid Bulk
Visible Clean?
Able to handle How many for audience - one
each ?
Overheads Bright image Not suitable for detail
Can build up/reveal as presentation Bulky to transport machine
progresses Bulb, mechanical failure
Can write on Technique in changing over
35mm slides Good quality image for details Need to turn off lights - hard to
Can show progression of events gauge reactions
Can adapt from basic set Technical problems
Costly to produce
Transportation of equipment
Wallcharts Build up complex events as you go Space needed
along Can you use the walls?
Colourful Audience cannot remove with
Flexible them
Control pace of discussion Glue needs to be good
Flipchart Simple and reliable - no mechanism Can lack impact
to go wrong If sloppy can undermine
Prepare at short notice credibility
Can add new messages as Not good for complex diagrams
presentation proceeds
Video High impact - sound, image and Expensive for one offs
motion Bulky to transport machinery
Demonstrate complex events Can look 'canned' and false
Brings credible spokespersons to the
presentations
Computer Hi-Tech image, high impact User failure if in inexperienced
graphics Quick calculations hands
Show progression of events Incompatibility risks h/ware &
s/ware
Time and cost of preparation
 Hints on Using Support Materials
With any form of support material remember the word support. They are their to help you with
your presentation, not to substitute for it. A golden rule is KISS.

Keep It Short & Simple

These hints are related to three support materials, but will apply to any materials - the key is to
know your materials; know how the technology works; practise writing, talking and reading from
the materials whilst still maintaining eye contact with your audience.

Flip Chart
KISS
Use bullet points
Use colour: variety, clear, restrict to primary colours
Indicate items with pointer (hand, stick)
Print or write clearly

Practice

Standing to side of chart

Looking at and talking with the audience not the flip chart
Write items on page in pencil so know what is next
Writing on flip chart while you talk to and look at audience
Write bullets in pencil to extract from audience
Printing not joined-up writing
Tearing off sheets cleanly

Tip Try the following: rip a corner gently then pull or score with a penknife
or sharp item then pull.

Spelling
Overheads
KISS
Use bullet points
Use colour: variety, clear, take care with non-primary colours
Indicate items with pointer (hand, stick)
Print or write clearly
Stand away from the light source thus avoiding a shadow on the screen

Practice

Changing the bulb

Focusing
Putting overheads on straight
Printing on transparency whilst talking
Turning off OHP whilst asking questions
Sliding new transparency on whilst removing old one
Using pen as pointer
Slides
Colour and variety
Check for interest of audience
Check for timeliness of slides
Stand away from projector
Stand away from screen

Practice

Changing the bulb

Setting up the projector to correct elevation (legs, books)
Installing the cartridge
Putting in slides correct way round
Know the order of slides - in the dark...
Using the remote control
Pointing to the screen and talking to the audience
Retrieving a jammed slide
Putting the room into darkness then light again quickly
Exercise Five
Preparing Support Materials

TIME: 30 minutes

Consider the presentation that you are preparing.now:

What support materials will you need? Justify each item of support material in terms of
what it will add to your presentation.

Prepare two different types of support material for your presentation.

Check the prepared material for KISS

 Preparing the Presentation

'Set' Appearance
This is how the area in which the presentation takes place is laid out - the stage set for your
presentation. You may not have many alternatives but you can and should adjust things if you
want your presentation to succeed.

Are the OHP, Flip, slide, set exactly where you want them ?
Can you be seen clearly by everyone?
Have you room to move?
Are your papers and materials arranged near to hand and professionally ?
What about the seating - do you want to re-arrange the audience?

Tip Good presenters always check their equipment before starting their
presentation.

Appearance of the Materials

The way in which you have prepared for your presentation indicates your seriousness and
professionalism to the presentation. Try to ensure:-

Consistent overheads - not a mixture of hand-written and typed

Same font in overheads
Same font in any written material
No hand-written pre-prepared material
35mm slides in the correct order
Correct information on the slides/ohp/flip
Easily read graphs/pie charts
No spelling mistakes ..
Clear distinctive colours
Your Appearance
When faced with giving a presentation, people tend to over-concentrate on what they are going to
say and pay little or no attention to how they are going to say it (paraverbal communication) or
what they look like when they say it (body language). Although words are the main focus of attention
when preparing for a presentation, getting these other factors right is vital to its success.

Research by Mehrabian in 1969 showed that we take in information in the following percentages:-

55% - Body Language

38% - Para Verbal Language
7% - Words Spoken

Body language

How are you standing?

What are you wearing?
Where are your hands?
What are your feet doing?
What are your eyes doing?
What does your posture say to the audience?

Stance

Avoid hiding yourself or hiding the OHP screen. Stand in the audience and come into the
body of the room when you are talking. If nothing else, moving around means that you keep
the audience's heads exercised by looking at you.

Avoid slouching, or standing so erect that you look like a soldier on guard outside
Buckingham Palace. Try to be natural.
Clothes
Look the part:

What is it appropriate to wear?

Where are you ? A university? A business meeting?
With your colleagues? With your peers? With others from the same firm?
At an off-site meeting - if so, why have you been invited?

Tip If in doubt wear a suit.

Look professional

This includes such simple things as ironed clothes, polished shoes, no hems in need of
mending or slips showing, clean and ironed ties...

Hands

It is very difficult to decide what to do with your hands in front of a group of strangers but at all
costs avoid:

Sticking them in your pockets - trousers or jacket

Putting them on your hips
Fiddling with "tools" - pens, pointers - or loose change
Holding them in prayer
Holding them folder across your chest

If you usually talk and use your hands then do this too - gestures help convey meaning.

Feet

Try to avoid dancing around the room - or even do little shuffles on the spot. If your feet are
anchored firmly to the ground and your head high you will present an air of calmness - even
if you do not feel that way at all inside.
Eyes

Your eyes reflect your emotions in a way that you cannot control easily. What is important
therefore is that you maintain eye contact with the audience and do this equally with all
members of the audience so that no-one feels left out. If someone appears not to be listening
then staring at them for just slightly longer than "usual" will make them feel uncomfortable
and turn their attention back to you. Looking at people makes them feel recognised as human
beings and also enables you to judge the effect your presentation is having on your audience
so you can fine tune it if necessary.

Posture

If you are calm, reassured and confident in the way you look then the audience will believe in
you and what you are going to say. A slouching back and nervous hand movements will not
help your presentation - neither will arms folded like a fishwife and a thrusting chin and
frown.

Paraverbal language

This is the sound of your voice. It is difficult to alter your voice but try the following tips:

Try to talk deeper than your own voice (especially for women)
Talk more slowly than usual - what you are saying is new to the audience so they need to
take it in slowly and understand it so - go slow

Avoid sarcasm - unless amongst people you know very well - it often backfires
Be enthusiastic about what you are going to say - it comes across in the voice
Remember that what you hear is one stage less aggressive than what your audience hears
when you speak
Mannerisms
Try to avoid specific mannerisms:

UMMMMM........UMMMMMM....ER.....ER.......ER......

You know....you know..... you know..... you see....you see....you see......

basically ... essentially .......actually

If you are not sure if you have any mannerisms or not:

Watch yourself on tape

Record your presentation into a tape recorder and listen for them
Ask your best friend

These annoying mannerisms get to the state where an audience will count the number of times
you say "you know" rather than listening to what you are saying .

Words

We will be looking and listening for the words you are going to say during the course but take
care with:

Technical jargon (bits, bytes, mips)

Abbreviations (LANs, WANs)
Talking over the heads of your audience (judge their level of understanding)
Talking down to your audience (judge their level of understanding)
Using double negatives (no-one can disagree with...)
Too complex sentences - you are speaking this presentation, not writing a report
("Howsoever, when we take the first hypothesis with the second it is clear that unless one
conceded to the possibility of an intervening second clause, that...")

Too many conditionals (should this not happen then unless the sun shines we will...)

Tip The best advice for presentations is to KISS: Keep It Short And Simple.
 Stories

If you can bring some stories and anecdotes into your presentation then you will enable the
audience to relate to you. Facts and figures are important as back up material, but a story or
anecdote give a succinct picture and generally is retained longer in the audience members'
memories.

Metaphors

As with stories, a metaphor is a very powerful tool to get your message across to the
audience. A metaphor is a symbol that represents reality. For instance, you can talk about a
budget as "The map that guides your financial way into the future." Think of a simple way of
explaining your point and try to find a metaphor.

Silence

Use silence occasionally for impact. Let the importance of your words sink in. Remember you
have heard the words several times - this is your audience's first time so take it slowly and
allow silence for people to think and assimilate the information.

Putting Impact into a Presentation

To have impact, a presentation must be

Positive
Have actions clearly indicated
Present facts clearly
Be simple
Be easy for your audience to understand
Use stories and metaphors where appropriate
 Rapport
You need to develop and maintain rapport with your audience throughout the presentation. Do
this by regarding each member of the audience as a friend and therefore smile at them, establish
eye contact with them and move towards them as you speak.

Eye contact
Eye contact is essential since it is through the eyes that we communicate the most. You must
ensure that you have established eye contact with every member of the group.

In a very large auditorium with large numbers in the audience you achieve this by letting your
eyes describe a 'M' and 'W' around the room. Take care to do this slowly otherwise you may go
dizzy.

Go to the audience
Go into the body of the audience. Try to get close to them as you would with a group of friends.
Physical space can impact acceptability. Coming into the 'U' of a board room layout is very
effective. You will know what is an acceptable space but the greater the distance between you
and the audience, the harder you will have to work to overcome the coolness that the distance
creates.

Using people's names

If you know people's names, use them. For instance 'James told me that' In a large auditorium
when taking questions you can ask that the questioner identifies themselves before asking the
question. This can help to personalise an answer despite the numbers of people involved.

Mirroring and matching

This is best achieved by watching the body language of the audience and copying it. In
presentations it is probably better to match the pace and tone and volume of the audience. Some
may be fast and quick and loud; others quiet, slow and soft. You should match their tones or else
your contrast may be too much for your ideas to be accepted even where the ideas themselves
seem sound.
Sense Types
In the next exercise you do you will be discovering that people use different senses when trying
to describe their world. These senses split into

Visual
Auditory
Kinaesthetic
Auditory digital (factual)
When you are giving a presentation you need to ensure that you use all these types of descriptors
so that you can appeal to every member of the audience at some time or another. When replying
to a question, listen out for any words that may identify the questioner's sense type as this will
establish quick rapport between you.

Tip: Relax with the audience - they can be just as nervous at a presentation as
you are giving it ..
Exercise Six
Communication Questionnaire

TIME: 20 minutes
Questionnaire - 10 minutes
Practice - 10 minutes

For each of the following statements, please place a number next to every phrase

Use the following numbering system to indicate your preference

4 = nearest description of me

3 = next best

2 = not so familiar

1 = least familiar

1. I base most decisions on

a) gut feel A

b) what sounds best B

c) what looks best C

d) precise review of the facts D

2. During a heated discussion, I am highly likely to be influenced by

a) the other persons tone of voice A

b) the expression on the other persons face B

c) the logic of the other persons argument C

d) the way they project their true feelings D

3. I most easily communicate my mood by:

a) the colours I choose to wear and how I look A

b) expressing my feelings B

c) using facts and reasoning C

d) the volume and tone of my voice D

4. It is easiest for me to:

a) identify the most logical points of a subject A

b) perfectly tune a radio to any station B

c) picture how colours will look together C

d) gravitate towards the most comfortable D

chair in the room

5.

a) I am always tuned into sounds around me A

b) I constantly process new facts and B

information

c) I am very aware of how the texture of C

fabrics feel

d) I have a very discerning eye for the D

relationship between hues and colours
Scoring

For each question, copy the scores for A, B, C and D to the relevant box in the table below

Now add up each column to get a total score for V, K, A and D

Comparison of the total scores give the relative preference for each of the four representation
systems.

V K A D
1 C A B D
2 B D A C
3 A B D C
4 C D B A
5 D C A B
TOTAL

Talk for five minutes to a colleague on this course about your home using words that you
scored lowest in terms of preference. Reverse the process.
 NLP Communication Indicators

Visual Auditory (Tonal) Kinaesthetic Auditory Digital

V A K D
Memorise by seeing Can repeat things back to Respond to physical Spend some time
pictures. you easily. rewards and touching. talking to themselves
Often have trouble Often distracted by noise. Often talk very slowly and Memorise steps,
remembering verbal Learn by listening. breathy. procedures and
instructions. Memorise by doing or sequences
Like music and to talk on
Less distracted by noise. the telephone. walking through something. Want to know if
Can be bored by long Go by 'gut feel' something makes sense.
Tone of voice and words
verbal sentences, because used are important.
their minds tend to
wander.
see hear feel sense
look listen touch experience
appear sound(s) grasp understand
view make music get hold of think
show harmonise slop through learn
dawn tune in/out catch on process
reveal be all ears tap into decide
envision ring bells make contact motivate
illuminate silence throw out consider
twinkle be heard hard change
clear resonate unfeeling perceive
foggy deaf (ear) concrete insensitive
hazy dissonance scrape distinct
focused overtones get a hold conceive
crystal clear unhearing solid know
flash attune suffer question
imagine outspoken unbudging be conscious
picture tell impression analyse
sparkling announce touch base communicate

I see what you mean on the same wavelength get a grip on the idea what are the facts?
looking forward to.. speak your mind hold on a moment lets get down to basics
A dark cloud on the word for word a cool customer the bottom line is...
horizon loud and clear put my finger on it what precisely does this
Taking a dim view what do you say? heated argument mean?
lighten up a bit a smooth operator
 Handling Audiences
The secret with handling any audience is to treat them professionally in terms of:

Timing
Language
Rapport
Respect
Special techniques

Timing
You will have an agreed time allocation for a formal presentation. Check if that time is still
appropriate and be prepared to shorten your presentation if necessary. You should be able to get
the key message over in five minutes.

For less formal presentations set your own time limit of, say, 15 - 20 minutes presentation and 10
minutes discussion.

Note If you waste your own time for 30 minutes ...you suffer.

If you waste 10 other people's time for 30 minutes, you've wasted 5

hours of their collective time...

Language

Speak loud enough to be heard; slowly enough to be followed and clearly enough to be
understood. Speak to the level of the audience - not above or below it and illustrate your talk
with examples, facts, figures. Use personal examples from real life.

Ensure your body language reflects your words - try to calm your nervousness.
Use pictures, graphs, images - the eyes take in information five times as fast as the ears. Use
this fast information flow to the brain.

Rapport

Establish and maintain rapport by talking with the audience members, looking at them and
smiling. Your enthusiasm in your topic will encourage theirs.
Respect

Respect your audience's right to be there, to ask questions and to want to hear what you have
to say. Avoid talking down to them, and work on an adult to adult communication basis.

Special techniques

If one member of the audience is going to prove difficult then see if you can arrange
beforehand for a supporter ( or two) in the audience to sit beside them.

If one member of the audience keeps interrupting or asking trap questions then walk round
to stand near them. This 'blinds' them from your vision and also your physical presence close
by can be threatening and will quieten them down.

Use any expert in the audience that you know to back up your statements by asking them
direct questions such as, 'how does that fits in with your analysis, Jack?'

Look for signs of commitment and interest - move in close, arms in steeple position and smile
at these people to encourage them.

Look for signs of boredom and disinterest - shuffling, arms folded, and stare hard at these
people - it can disconcert them and get them to try to pay attention.
 Questions
You need to both ask and answer questions as your presentation proceeds but must be careful not
to fall into a dialogue with one or two individuals nor to go so far down rat holes with questions
that you are detracted from your main purpose. At the same time some members of the audience
may be out to trap you with certain questions for their own purposes.

To try to avoid these happening here are some question types to consider:

Open questions

These open up discussion and answers and are preceded by:

What ? Where? Why? How? When? Who?

Whilst these are excellent for interviewing techniques, they are not so good for use in
presentations as you do not want to get the audience talking at great length.

Closed questions

These require one word - or short - answers.

Have you ever..? Does this happen..? Is this the case..?

These are very useful in getting and maintaining audience involvement without letting them
get too much of your "airtime".

Rhetorical questions

Questions that are answered at the time they are spoken.

...isn't it? Don't you agree? Correct? ...right? You must be thinking, "Is this really the case?"

A good ploy is to ask the questions your audience may be silently thinking, then answer them
in your own words to add to your proofs.

For example,

"Is training is expensive ?"

"Not when you consider the alternative of buying in trained people at higher basic wages".
Information seeking questions

Information seeking questions are asked either because something you have said needs
clarifying, or because more details is required.

Answer both with a quick example - if the person wants more detail then commit to deal
with their points 'off-line' and remember to do so.

Any questions of this type from the audience indicate they are interested in what you are
saying - they are listening to you .

Anticipatory questions

These pre-empt something you are due to deal with later on in your presentation.

Acknowledge the question and state that you will be looking at it later in your
presentation. Once you have covered the topic, check that it covers the point that the
questioner wanted to know. If not, then deal with their question immediately.

Trap questions

These fall into four main categories

Impossible choice

This is when you are asked to choose between two impossible alternatives. For example,

"So we either have to give up half our profits for training or increase our wage bill by 50% to
get trained staff?"

Set up

This often starts with "are you satisfied..."

False premise

This question expects you to take the blame or answer for the actions of the whole of your
industry

"All banks are charging exorbitant rates to small businesses. Why should we borrow from
yours?"

Loaded

This starts with "Given the fact that..." which may well not be a fact and often is not a
question.
Handling trap questions

Recognise it as a trap question

This is not always easy to do but comes with practice.

Often by paraphrasing the question back to the person you can see the trap in it and then be
in a position to calm it down.

Calm down the anger in the trap as follows...

Impossible choice

"I'm not asking you to make such a difficult choice. I am asking you to think longer term
about the implications behind cutting training budgets in the short term."

Set up

"My satisfaction is not really important here but the success of your company is and one way
to make it more successful is to install an XYZ system as has been proved by..."

False premise

"I cannot answer for the whole of the banking industry but my bank found out that only 2% of
our 5,000 small businesses nation-wide were dissatisfied with their charges."

Loaded

"I cannot comment on those facts without seeing some proof but I know that our company has
only had two cases brought against it for unfairness at Industrial tribunal."

It can be hard not to snap back or make a reply that makes the questioner look stupid. Try
to avoid this at all costs. If you diffuse the question and give a reasonable reply then you
will earn the respect of the rest of the audience - if you make the questioner look silly then
the group will react against you and defend their own.

Proceed with your presentation.

Exercise Seven
Presentation

On Day Two you will present to your fellow participants the presentation that you will
give to your final audience and which will be videoed

This should last about 15 to 20 minutes.

Your presentation should be built upon all the stages of the course and will be critiqued
by the other participants both as possible audiences and on presentation style.

You should therefore have some of the support materials with you that you may need to
use in your actual presentation.

It will also be recorded on video and played back for general comment. You will be able
to keep the copy of your video.