Creating the Winning Presentation

If you are serious about improving your presentation skills, record yourself on video and replay it with someone else in the room. Carmine Gallo shared in his book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs that watching yourself on TV, especially a wide screen will probably not be a pleasant experience but it is essential for improving your presentation. Recording your presentation and playing it back for objective friends and colleagues are a critical way to receive honest feedback. To have effective communication, what the other person hears (verbal message) and sees (nonverbal message) must match. In a recent study, 93 percent of individuals were influenced by non verbal message vs. only 7 percent by verbal messages. As you watch the video, pay close attention to your nonverbal messages:

• Eye Contact: Commit most of your presentation to memory to avoid reading your notes. Your slides should act as your cue. Public speaking expert Andrew Carnegie observed that notes destroy the intimacy between the speaker and the audience and make the speaker appear less powerful and confident. Notes can still be used but keep them unobtrusive and simple.

• Body Language: Is your body language strong, confident, and commanding? Are your arms crossed or open? Are you keeping your hands out of your pockets? Are all your gestures natural? Remember that body language and verbal delivery account for the majority of the impression you leave your listeners.

• Filler words: Are you using “um” “ah” and “you know” to fill the spaces between thoughts? Just as text should not fill every inch of the slide, your words should not fill every pause between sentences. Awareness is 90 percent of the solution.

• Vocal Delivery: Vary the volume and inflection of your voice to keep the attention of the audience riveted on your words. Raise and lower your volume at different points in your presentation. Varying the speed will keep it from sounding monotone. Speed up at certain points and then slow down. Pause for impact. There is nothing more dramatic then a well placed pause. Do not sound rushed, let the presentation breathe.

• Energy: Do you appear vibrant, enthusiastic, and genuinely thrilled to be sharing your story with the audience? We all enjoy being around people with energy. They inspire us. They are stimulating, fun, and uplifting. An energetic person has passion in his voice, a bounce in his step, and a smile on his face. Energy makes a person likable, and likeability is a key ingredient in persuasive communication. Many business professionals underestimate the energy level required to generate enthusiasm among their listeners. Practice leaving your comfort zone. In the playback of your tape, ask yourself and your observer “Where was I on the energy scale?” Next time, breakout of your comfort zone by raising your voice, using broader gestures, and a big smile on your face. Get to the point that you feel slightly awkward and uncomfortable.

Relentless preparation is the single best way to overcome stage fright: know what you are going to say, when you are going to say it, and how you are going to say it. Too many people focus inward during their presentation. Instead go from “me” to “we” by shifting the focus to what your message means to your audience. Golfer Vijay Singh hits thousands of balls a day to prepare for a tournament. Olympic gold-medal winner Michael Phelps swims fifty miles a week to prepare for a competition, and Steve Jobs spends hours of grueling practice before a keynote presentation. Superstar performers in all fields leave nothing to chance. If you want to thrill any audience, start practicing! Check out Carmine Gallo’s his new release, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs for other great ideas about creating your award winning presentation.