EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONS-THE FIRST & THE

Despite India’s growing rate of employment, some workers continue to have difficulty
obtaining or maintaining employment. According to researchers, one of the primary
reasons is that they lack soft skills. Soft skills, as defined in scholarly literature, are
non-technical skills, abilities, and traits required to function in a specific employment
environment. Soft skills are necessary to work effectively as a member of a team, to
learn or acquire the technical skills necessary to perform a task, to inspire the
confidence of supervisors and management, and to understand and adapt to the cultural norms of the workplace.
Studies reveal that a majority of entry-level jobs required these types of social and
interpersonal skills, and in one study, more than 85 percent of employers ranked soft
skills among their most important hiring criteria. National inventories consistently find
that employers list skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, and problemsolving along with personal qualities such as self-esteem and motivation as critical for workforce productivity.
We are all experienced at communicating through speech. We do it every day of our
lives. But when faced with a formal situation we tend to shy away. Whether it be
speaking to a room full of staff, prospective clients, your club’s AGM, at the Labour
Court or at an in-house training course - many of us freeze up, fumble with our notes
and visual aids.
From the Training perspective, one of the major stumbling blocks faced by the Lifestyle
Management/Behavioral Skills/Soft Skills Trainers are imparting Transferrable Skills in
the area of Presentation Skills-both theory(minimal) and practice(maximal & Hands-
On).
Being a confident and competent presenter is more and more a necessity in today’s
highly pressurized business world. People simply don’t have the time to sit and listen to halting and poorly presented material, whilst good presenters open doors for themselves and their organisations.
First impressions are made by your eye communications, posture, gestures, facial
expressions, dress and appearance, voice and your use of body language or lack of it.
Everybody has the appropriate behavioural skills to create the right presentation, but
unfortunately some of us have never been told what they are or how to use them.
Whether this be in business or our personal lives is immaterial, the failure to create the
right impression impacts on both. It is vitally important, therefore, that we know how to
present ourselves and our material. To be successful we must be able to create the right impression on our listeners and use our visual aids or props to the maximum effect to ensure the right outcome for ourselves and our organisations.

1. KNOW YOUR SUBJECT MATTER
While this first point may seem obvious, it is very important that you research
every nuance of your subject. Read reports and look up information about the
subject with the specific purpose of writing a presentation script. When
examined in this light, new ideas and alternative ways of thinking often develop.
The ability to present a subject with confidence directly affects your audience's
impressions and will help keep their attention.
This is especially important when giving a design presentation or proposal since
you are in effect selling" your ideas to the audience. This applies whether the
audience is a potential client or your own board of directors.
2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
A small amount of research into the makeup of your audience will reap large
benefits on presentation day.
If you were traveling about speaking on behalf of a new construction project you
would tailor vastly different presentations to an audience of engineers and a city
council. You should also have a couple of other versions for local community
activist groups. (depending on whether they're for or against the project)
Before you 're-purpose' your Teamsters speech for use, make the obvious
adjustments and then carefully review your content from the 'philosophical'
viewpoint of your audience. (related to Know Your Limits Below)
If a small amount of research will help you,
imagine what a moderate amount will do!
3. KNOW YOURSELF (and your limits)
We all must push our limits and willingly bite off more than we may be
comfortable swallowing on occasion -- this is how we learn and grow. Knowing
a few of your limits, however, might avert disaster, or at least embarrassment.
Intimately related to Know Your Audience above, your 'limits' are just where you
may or may not tread, depending on the makeup of your audience and your
relationship with them.
Just because the Mormons laughed when Whoopee Goldberg said or did
something doesn't mean you can pull it off. The Christians might think it
amusing while the Hindus call it blasphemy. In fact, one stands certain the mere
mention of specific 'denominations' here will generate angry E-mails/responses.
(See also, the Devil is in the Details later on)
George Carlin, Tom Peters, Billy Graham, Al Sharpton and a host of others can
get away with and even receive praise and applause for saying or doing things
that would get you or me tarred, feathered, sued or booed by their respective
audiences.
4. DEVELOP A THEME
All presentations, regardless of their complexity, are designed with a single
purpose. Whether that purpose is to sell, educate, or for pure entertainment, state
that purpose to yourself at the beginning of the development process. Keep this
purpose in mind always.
5. PREPARE YOUR SCRIPT
The script does not necessarily have to be a work of literary excellence. For
some, simple notes on 3 x 5 file cards are sufficient. Other presenters and
presentations require a carefully composed, professionally developed script. The
exact form of the script depends on the formality of the presentation, the make
up of the audience and who will be presenting it. Any presentation script,
regardless of complexity is like any other business correspondence. It should
consist of the same four basic parts, an opening, body, summary and closing.
o THE OPENING
The opening of the presentation sets the stage for what is to follow.
Participants are introduced and the purpose of the presentation is stated.
You should also present a VERY BRIEF summary or outline of the
points to be covered. This helps keep your audience oriented properly
within the framework of your script.
o BODY
This is the part of the script in which the bulk of the subject matter is
presented. The body of a long presentation should be separated into
smaller, easily assimilated modules. Each module or sub-section should
make a single point or convey one idea. These sub-sections should each
have their own simple opening, body and summary.
o SUMMARY
This portion should be very brief and simple. Here is your chance to
reinforce the central theme and purpose of your presentation. Briefly
emphasize the key points and main ideas of your script in this section.
There is an old axiom that says ... "Tell them what you are going to tell them,
tell them, and then tell them what you told them." This pretty well sums it up.
Question and answer sessions often follow a final summary and are very
productive if managed properly. You should encourage questions from the
audience if time or format permits, but be prepared to answer them. If you do
not know the correct answer to a question, don't try to fake it. You should refer
the question to someone who can answer it correctly or make a note to yourself
to obtain the answer later. When you do, contact the person or persons who
asked it as soon as possible. This makes an excellent door opener for follow up
calls.
Old Speakers Trick: If you Don't want any questions, look the
audience over and ask if there are any questions. This puts
pressure on the audience and makes many of them choke, and
therefore, not respond.
o CLOSING
In a well structured closing, points raised during the question and answer
session (if any) are summarized and any handout material that was not
required during the presentation is distributed. Handout material which
emphasizes each key point or idea permits your audience to review the
subject and assures that your words will remain fresh in their minds.
Handout material should not be distributed before a presentation unless
it is critical to the theme since it invariably leads to audience
distraction.
6. SELECT THE PROPER VISUAL AIDS
With the script developed and the audience research completed, this decision
should be simple. A five minute presentation to a three person audience is
probably best made with handout material alone, or even simple flip charts.
Larger audiences might be effectively reached by using a few simple overhead
transparencies. (yes, they still have their purpose)
The 35mm Slide - R.I.P.
At a Management Graphics User group meeting around 1990, the MT of
DCT(Dale Carnegie Training, USA) gave the 35mm Color Slide about another
ten years or so maximum as a viable profit center for most graphics productions
companies.
The resolution, brightness and price of LCD Computer/Video projectors means
that home-brew laptop based video projector presentations are now the norm.
The design workstations of the 90's running suites of complex four and fivefigure
software on five and six-figure computers gave way to laptops with
PowerPoint and the free software that came with your three-figure digital
still/video camera.
To help justify the purchase of your projector, keep in mind, most of these
accept input from a TV, DVD or other video source. When not serving as a
presentation tool you can have a huge-screen TV, limited only by the size of the
wall onto which it's projected.
Major presentations at annual meetings, trade shows, sales conferences, and
presentations to stockholders or client proposals might still dictate an all out
effort with professionally produced special effects, video and all manner of glitz
and expense.
Good presentation visuals, however, do not have to be expensive. When
properly planned and produced, simple, well designed graphics add
professionalism and impact to virtually any show. The proper use of text images,
charts and graphs as well as the correct type of chart or graph to use in various
circumstances is the subject of another article in this series. I will, however,
touch on a few of the deadly design sins of presentation visuals a bit later.
7. PREPARE A STORY BOARD
A story board does not have to be complicated or time consuming to prepare. Its
main purpose is to give a general view of the presentation and communicate the
important items to the technicians and artists who are creating and assembling
the images.
You can make your story board using file cards and post- it notes, or opt for a
comprehensive color story board, prepared by professional designers. Changes
at the story board level are relatively inexpensive since no images have been
produced. During the story board phase you can rehearse the script and easily
rearrange, revise, delete from and add to your presentation. When your story
board reaches final form it becomes the finished draft for your presentation. This
is one of the most important design tools used to produce your graphics.
The final story board should consist of a sketch of each individual image, in
sufficient detail to convey its approximate finished appearance. If more detailed
instructions are needed to create an image than can be clearly conveyed on the
story board, individual layout sheets should be prepared. These sheets should
specify colors, formats, fonts and values for graphs and charts.
If specific artwork or photographs must be used in an image, they should be
clearly indicated on the story board or layout sheet for that image.
8. PRODUCE THE VISUALS
If the previous steps have been carefully followed, this can be the easiest part of
preparing your presentation.
With careful, timely planning, the only task remaining is mechanical process of
production. The complete and accurate planning that you have done to this point
assures a smooth production cycle without the need for unnecessary last minute
changes. This is true whether you use Magic Markers to prepare flip charts on a
newsprint pad or require a nine projector slide presentation with live video.
Today's computer graphics products permit you to make changes and alterations
that could not be accomplished using any other method of production. While last
minute changes are possible, avoiding them can still help cut the cost of your
presentation by eliminating revision and rush fees.
9. REHEARSE--REHEARSE--REHEARSE
Your final script and outline or story board permit you to rehearse your
presentation even before the visuals are completed. This assures that when your
final images are prepared and ready, you will be as well.
If you'd like to really test your mettle, drag out the camcorder and tape your
rehearsal. Just keep in mind, no one expects you to be Winston Churchill.
10. PRESENTATION DAY
On the day of the presentation, arrive and set up early. Have spare projector
bulbs and extra copies of the handout material close at hand.
You have your visuals, you are well rehearsed, the room is set up and the
participants are all prepared. Speak clearly and with authority. A little humor if
tastefully added can help break the tension of the moment. There should be no
surprises. Make certain that the audience questions have been addressed, and of
course, thank everyone for attending.
11. FOLLOW UP
Check back with the attendants and participants to assure that your presentation
goals were met. A questionnaire distributed at the end of your presentation can
be a source of critical information for follow up calls or future presentations.
Encourage the attendants to call or write with any questions that they did not get
answered during the presentation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY & RESOURCES:
1) NEIGHBOURHOOD NETWORKS- Personal Management Skills: Soft Skills
Training Curriculum. Instructor Manual. copyright NNPMS Inc, U.S.A.
2) MANAGEMENT TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT - AN EVALUATION
APPROACH-- Virmani, Prof.B.R. -- ISTD Publications, 1999.
3) BETWEEN YESTERDAY AND TOMORROWGautam,
Prof. Vinayshil – ISTD Publications, 1999.
COPYRIGHT: Satrajit Sanyal