LIFE IS A SERIES OF PRESENTATIONS
Eight Essential Presentation Practices

1. Involve Your Audience: Avoid boredom and get your audience to buy in to your message by getting them involved and engaged. Have them answer questions, raise their hands, write something down and, when possible, give verbal input with audience neighbors and even the whole group.

2. Prepare Your Audience: Remember, most audience members spend the first few minutes of the presentation sizing up the presenter and the message. Make sure you send the right invitation and reveal the objectives ahead of time so people know the benefits of the presentation. Use a good “Host Introduction” so the audience is primed to hear the message.

3. Research Your Presentation Arsenal: Building, Maintaining, and using a good Presentation Arsenal can save time and enhance your effectiveness. Mentally, you should have good stored quotes, stories, and examples you can use go reinforce your message. Also, organize material, outlines, statistics, and slides, both in printed form and electronically, for easy retrieval.

4. Explain “Why”: The single most powerful thing you can do to convince your audience of something is to provide a convincing reason why they should do what you suggest (or believe what you say).

5. State Management…Achieve Proper Mental States: The right mental state of the successful presenter ensures confidence and credibility to the audience. The right mental state for the audience ensures they are set up to really hear and receive your presentation.

6. Eliminate Unknowns and Turn Them Into Knowns: Want less anxiety and more confidence? Simply take things you don’t know and make them known. View the room before you present. Practice your talk out loud so you know what it sounds like. Test your equipment and your timing. Even gain feedback on your handouts beforehand so you know what to do or say at all times.

7. Know Your Audience: Before your presentation, research your audience, become familiar with their world, desires, motivations, and history.

8. Tailor Your Presentation Throughout: Seek feedback visually and verbally throughout your presentation and adjust accordingly so you hit the mark every time. Don’t wait until the end to say, “How did I do?”

Return to LIFE IS A SERIES OF PERFECT PRESENTATIONS