The eloquence of the speaker might have been evident but like a cheap Chinese meal you were left somewhat hungry and disappointed soon after the presentation.
Content does matter as so do the actual words you will use and how you use them.
Aung San Suu Kyi will be addressing both houses of the British Parliament this afternoon in the historic Westminster Hall. This honour is usually extended only to heads of state. She will be only the second women after the Queen to do so.
The publicity of her European tour , her first since 1998 has raised expectations but the Nobel Laureate and Burmese opposition leader still has to deliver a speech of substance.
Her undoubted charisma , personality and eloquence are important of course, but I guess she will have to have thought and prepared very carefully what message she wants to convey.
Despite her outward serenity we can imagine that she will be nervous and excited by the occasion.
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| Mural Painting in Brighton, Sussex, England of Aung San Suu Kyi |
We may never have to make a presentation of such high profile as Aung San Suu Kyi's to the 'mother of parliaments' but the preparation of our presentation's content is the key to overcoming any nervous tension we may have as a speaker.
Our confidence will increase in direct relation to the amount of preparation you have done for your presentation.
There will of course be
occasions on which you simply do not have the time to prepare your presentation
as fully as you would like.
If, however you get into the habit of preparing presentations fully when you do have the time, you will find it much easier to put together an effective presentation when time is against you.
If, however you get into the habit of preparing presentations fully when you do have the time, you will find it much easier to put together an effective presentation when time is against you.
Opening a presentation file – ‘The Shark bait diary’
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| My Shark bait diary |
When you first
learn of an impending presentation, open a file into which you will place all
the material you find that is relevant to the presentation.
It may be that in view of the subject and the
audience, you need to do extra research in order to ensure that you know as
much about the subject as you need.
You may like to open a folder on your PC but I prefer a physical folder. for this job. Once you collect a lot of information it is easier to 'sort out the wheat from the chaff' when you can see and handle it.
There are many sources for
this extra information:
·
Record all the stories,
anecdotes, quotes you hear (if you don’t write it down, most of us forget the
things that can make us smile!)
·
Talk to colleagues within your
company and record their ideas and thoughts. Maybe write them on a 3M Post it note and stick them in your shark bait diary.
·
Read the sales aids which your
company produces. Access learning portals and learning management systems if your company has such resources available to you.
·
Read the relevant professional
publications. Whilst we still have a public reference library service in the UK use it and ask advice from the librarians / information scientists at the reception desks.
Every trade and profession has its own journal or magazine whether it is accountancy, marketing, computer technology or engineering.
Articles in these publications will contain interesting examples of work being carried out, problems that are being experienced and often amusing stories or anecdotes with which the writers ensure that they retain the interest of their readers.
Useful resources:
- Yahoo Directory of Trade Magazines Yahoo Directory of Trade Magazines
- UKTI part of the Foreign Office can be a helpful resource
- Click here for British Library Business and IP centre ,
- also for Sales Information ISMM library ( for full access you need to be a member)
Also consider setting up Google alerts on your subject area and gather the useful data from it.
Have you noticed how, as
soon as you know that you have to give a presentation on a particular subject
or to a particular client, you start to notice items in the press or on radio
and television programmes which relate to that subject or client?
 |
| Capture news cuttings, magazines, newspapers etc .Your Shark bait diary |
Keep the press cuttings, make a note of the
information you see and hear, and put all of these into your ‘presentation
file' or Shark bait diary.
Many of us have to make presentations at
short notice, so a source of entertaining and interesting data can be a
valuable aid in creating a memorable presentation.
Too often business presentations are very dry or heavily technical
where the ‘human’ element is missing – interest peaks are
anchored with illustrations, examples, stories, that will lift dull material
out of the swamp of sameness.
Your Presentation's structure
As the time for your
presentation comes ever closer, you will need to sit down and sort all of this
material into a complete presentation.
As you sit down to write
your presentation you will of course need a structure to ensure that your
presentation is built around a solid foundation.
The traditional structure
which is often recommended is that of the old style military method
"you tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em;
tell 'em
then tell 'em what you've told 'em"
Whilst this may be appropriate for perhaps a school lecture, there are
more effective and interesting ways of structuring your business presentation.
The basic
structure, which is far more interesting and stimulating, is to construct an
opening, a central theme and a close. It
is simple, easy and it works! In a
typical business presentation the structure is as follows:
·
Open
with a vivid, unexpected remark
·
Link
it to your main theme
·
Move
into an outline of your agenda for the presentation
·
Tell
the audience how you plan to handle questions
·
Define for your audience their
business objectives, whatever you perceive them to be:
e.g. - improve profitability
-
grow
new high margin business
-
achieve
targeted growth
-
lower
down time
-
reduced
maintenance
·
Present
your core theme
·
Handle
and answer their questions
·
Close
(Define what you
want your audience to do next or use an attention grabbing ending. Too often a good presentation can end on a
rather weak summary or come to a grinding halt rather than the more upbeat effect that can be created by
using headings such as
‘The next step’ or ‘Where do we go from here?’ or Action
Plan etc.)
Although watch out for those cliche expression like 'moving forward' or 'going forward' which are becoming a bit hackneyed nowadays.
Preparing your
'leit motif' your central theme
As the name implies, an effective presentation will have a theme or leit motif which runs throughout your
presentation which brings logic and cohesion to everything you say in the
presentation.
Now look at all
the material you have gathered together in your file and ask the question “What
points must I include in my presentation?”
When you have answered this question, you will have identified the main
points of your presentation. Be careful
not to cover too many main points, or you will leave your audience overloaded
with information which they will find it difficult to remember.
What will be the points Aung San Suu Kyi wishes to plant in British minds this afternoon?
Related links
Classic speech openings and closings used by Aung Sang Suu Kyihttp://fruitsofsuccesswithhugh.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/classic-speech-openings-and-closings.html
Tips to control nerves
at business presentations
Use of VOICE in Effective Business Presentations
Tips on resenting with PowerPoint in business
nice speech of Aung San Suu Kyi . Thanks for sharing this with us.
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