Commit just one of these sins and you will have less chance of getting the results you want when you present. Avoid these at all costs!
1. Reading your slides
If you have so much text on your slides and you don't know your presentation well enough to speak naturally, you may be tempted to read your slides to your audience. First of all, if your slides are full of text, your audience has to make a decision - read your slides or listen to you. They will almost always choose the first option. And, they can read much faster than you can speak so they will be waiting for you to catch up and will be wondering why you didn't just send them your slides instead of delivering a value-added presentation.
2. Not doing your homework on your audience
If you don't take the time to find out who your audience is and what they want from your presentation, it is clear to the audience in the first five minutes. Doing an audience analysis is a crucial step in your preparation process.
3. Not knowing what your core message is and being able to communicate it
You should know exactly what you want your audience to remember about your presentation and be able to communicate this in a simple and succinct way. When your presentation is finished what should your audience remember?
4. Putting too much non-essential information in your presentation
Every piece of information you include should be directly related to your core message. If it's not important for your audience to know this information, leave it out or you will lose your audience's attention! Keep asking yourself, 'Does my audience really need to know this? Is it important for them?'
5. Not grabbing your audience's attention from the very beginning
If you are tempted to start your presentation with some bland facts about yourself or your company or if you start right in with information without giving your audience a reason to listen, you will lose your audience before you even get started. Remember the structure of an opening: an attention-getting statement or question, the objective of your presentation and then an outline. Make it easy for your audience to pay attention!
6. Not knowing your subject well enough before you speak
If you are giving a presentation, you should really know what you're talking about! Once you have structured your presentation, practice it enough so that you need only an outline to remember your main points and the examples/stories that you've included to make it real for your audience.
7. Not having any enthusiasm for your topic
If you're not enthusiastic about your topic, it's impossible for your audience to have any enthusiasm for it. Show your audience how important this information is for them to know and keep their interest by your own enthusiasm!
© 2009 Jeanne Trojan. All rights reserved
