Month: March 2019

The most important part of your next presentation…

- Joel Heffner

When you make a presentation planning is extremely important. So is practice. Many would say that slide creation is also critical. Few ever mention the really important part of any presentation…the handout.

Regardless of how good a speaker you are, the audience is forgetting what you are saying as you are saying it. Most of what you say is lost by the time the audience has left the room.

The best way to help the members of the audience remember what you have said is the handout you provide. If they really want to remember what your important points were they can consult with your handout.

Your handout can be on paper, a booklet, or something that they can get online later. Providing a handout is the best way to be remembered later on. Handouts help them remember you.

Incidentally, PowerPoint and Keynote are excellent tools in making handouts. They are MUCH easier to use than Microsoft Word if your handout contains photos, charts, etc.

Sometimes, your best presentation can be your worst…

- Joel Heffner

It was a very hot day.

The room was not air conditioned.

The audience was made up of very important people.

My team consisted of four speakers. Each of us was given about 20 minutes to speak. I deliberately went last. As the other speakers were speaking I was looking at the audience. Some were on the verge of failing off their chairs because they were dozing off. Some were looking at their watches. None were paying much attention to the speakers. And then it was my turn to speak.

A colleague was switching PowerPoint files when I told him to shut the projector off.

I started by telling them that I was going to summarize what I was going to say in two minutes or less and provide a handout with the details. Everyone perked up. I spoke. I stopped. I gave out the handout.

Several people told me that mine was the best presentation of the day.

Sometimes, you have to adjust your presentation to the day. Sometimes, your worst presentation (according to the speaking gods) can turn out to be your best presentation.

PowerPoint can help you overcome your fear of Public Speaking…

- Joel Heffner

One way, probably the easiest way, to overcome your fear of public speaking is to use PowerPoint.

Important Note: First you must really know how to use PowerPoint and be comfortable with it.
 

A key element that causes fear of public speaking is that the speaker is afraid of forgetting to say something. If you use notes, you may not want to look down or forget your place. If you read your speech, the audience will probably not pay attention carefully. Here’s where PowerPoint comes in.
You can use PowerPoint to remind you of what to say. I don’t mean reading off your slides! Your images or keywords on the screen should be enough to remind you of what you wanted to say. As you go from slide to slide all you have to do is glance up at the screen and be reminded of what you need to say.

Using PowerPoint is simple and can be very effective.

Remember

  1. You must be comfortable using PowerPoint.
  2. You don’t want to read from the screen.
  3. You should practice your speech enough to know what you want to say…without memorizing it. 
  4. Let the slides remind you of what you want to say.

10 Tips for Your First (or Next) Presentation

- Joel Heffner

It’s not easy to get up and speak in public. Here are 10 basic tips that may help overcome the fear of speaking in public:

1. Be nervous. The trick is to use your nerves in a positive way. Everybody gets nervous…even actors and politicians who speak for a living.

2. As the Boy Scouts say, “Be Prepared.”

3. Arrive early.

4. Speak to some people in the audience. When you get up to speak, you should think about talking to them.

5. Use props instead of notes…if possible. Looking down at notes is distracting. It is also a problem if you loose your place. Having props lined up in the order you need them will remind you of what you want to say.

6. If you need to use PowerPoint, make sure you are familiar with it and the equipment that will be used when you speak. Practice.

7. If you use PowerPoint, don’t read what is on the slide. However, you can use it to remind you of what you want to say.

8. If you forget to say something, only you will know it.

9. Do not try to memorize your speech. Trying to memorize a speech and then forgetting it in the middle can be devistating.

10. The audience wants you to be successful. Nobody comes to listen to a speaker saying, “I hope he bombs.” If you have something worth saying, the audience will appreciate it.

Making Your First Presentation Is Like Going On Your First Date

- Joel Heffner

There’s too much talk about the fear of public speaking. It’s not that bad. It can be best compared to a first date.

You get nervous. You’re afraid of what the date (audience) will think of you. You want to make a good impression. What do you do?

You try to find out about the person (or the audience). The more you know the better your date (presentation) will be.

You prepare what you want to say…especially in the first minute so you don’t appear tongue tied. Think about things you want to say…a few important things is all you need. Dates and audiences really don’t want you to fail. It makes them uncomfortable. They want you to succeed.

Dress nicely. Dates and audiences make quick judgements on your appearance. If you look bad, they assume that they are in for a long evening (presentation).

Get there on time…early if possible.

Take a deep breath.

Ring the bell…start talking.

The chances are you will forget some of the things you wanted to mention. The good part is that your date (members of the audience) don’t know what you had in mind to say. Unless you tell them, they’ll never know.

The chances are your date (presentation) will be at least fine. If you get another opportunity for a date (presentation), it will be that much easier.

No kidding. Speaking is as easy as your first date.

3 Reasons to use your own photos when you speak…

- Joel Heffner

I hate to see questions on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn asking for the best places to buy photos for a presentation. The obvious, at least to me, answer is to look through your own photos. Here are 3 reasons:

  1. You should be the expert at what you are talking about. If you can find photos online, maybe you are not the one who should be speaking about a topic. I guess I can speak about vacationing in Rome…even though I’ve never been there…just by getting a bunch of photos that others have taken! I don’t do that. I only speak about topics I really know about based upon first hand experience.
  2. It’s also silly to project an image that others may have seen before. Smiling faces around a office table look phony and usually silly. How many meeting have you ever attended where everybody is good looking, smiling, and seem to be intense…at the same time?
  3. Assuming you are not a professional photographer, the audience does not expect perfect pictures. They come to hear you, not necessarily admire your photographic skill.

Take pictures whenever you can, you never know when you can use them for an upcoming speech.
Incidentally, I took the photo of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden several years ago. I was in the perfect place at the perfect time. So when I speak about garden photography I know that nobody has has this shot exactly the way I got it. It isn’t the best photo ever taken at the BBG, but it’s pretty good. 🙂

They asked you to speak…now what?

- Joel Heffner

If you are asked to speak at a club, organization, or conference you should say YES. Speaking is not something to be afraid of doing. It’s fun! Here are 10 tips to help you.

Make sure you know the basics. How much time will you have? How big is the audience? Exactly what is the topic you will speak about? What is the room like – rows of chairs, round tables, etc.?

 Jot down notes about your topic. Put as much as you have on paper. Eliminate everything that isn’t on topic!

 What stories can you tell that illustrate your main points? People like stories much more than they like facts!

 If you are familiar with using PowerPoint consider using it. Slides with the fewest number of words are best. Never read what is written on the slide to the audience. If you are not familiar with it, this is NOT the time to learn. You want to be comfortable when you speak, you don’t want to be concerned with your tech. [Lincoln didn’t have PowerPoint for the Gettysburg Address. He did very well.]

 Plan what you want to say. Write it out if you like…but don’t even consider reading it or trying to memorize it. Practice your talk. The more you practice the more comfortable you will be.

 Good news! If you forget to say something…ONLY YOU WILL KNOW. Don’t worry about it.

 Prepare a handout to give out AFTER you finish that summarizes your main points. Don’t give out your PowerPoint slides. Without you describing the slide, they shouldn’t make any sense. If it does, they audience didn’t need you to speak. 

Arrive early. Test the microphone if there is one.

 Remember…the audience wants you to do a good job. Nobody wants to see a speaker fail. They are on your side. Smile…and go out and speak!