Public speaking is an example of a social phobia, and is the most commonly reported

social fear.
Unfortunately, fear of public speaking can adversely impact upon ones career,
personal life and academic achievements. For example, sufferers may avoid careers
which would entail public speaking or decline promotions which would involve giving
lectures or presentations. Social anxiety sufferers may also experience a great deal
of distress if required to give a speech at their 21st birthday, wedding etc. University
students may choose their courses or subjects so as to avoid having to give
presentations.
A Few Tips on Public Speaking For Social Phobia sufferers

Remember that it is normal to experience some degree of anxiety when

engaging in public speaking and that a certain amount of arousal actually
facilitates performance.
Rehearse your speech or presentation.. Should you be concerned about your
mannerisms, eye contact and so forth, practice giving your speech in front of
a mirror or get someone to videotape your performance.
Should you be worried that your anxiety will lead to your mind going blank,
write down the key points of your talk on palm cards and take them with you,
so you will have something to trigger your memory.
Dont panic and dont get argumentative or defensive if someone in the
audience asks you a question you cant answer, or makes a critical comment.
This situation can be handled smoothly and with minimum disruption to your
presentation if you pay the person a genuine compliment.

When someone is attacking what you have presented, tell yourself that it may be
that they are insecure and jealous that you are in the spotlight getting the attention
that they crave and
1. Make sure you praise them.
This will flatter him and hopefully take the wind out of his sails (Burns,1999).
For example, if someone has asked you a difficult question say, "Thats an excellent
question. Thank you for asking it." If you cant answer it then say, " Ill have to look
into that and get back to you." Likewise,if someone has made a critical comment
thank him for drawing the point to your attention. Refraining from getting defensive
and argumentative will help you to come across well to the audience as a friendly
person who is open to feedback.
2. Find Some Point of Agreement With Your Challenger
Agree with the person on some level Again you have to resist your gut instinct to
get defensive and argumentative. Finding some point of agreement, however small,

with your challenger, helps you appear to be an open minded person to the audience.
(Burns,1999).
Try to anticipate the tricky questions or critical comments that people may make
about your presentation and prepare appropriate responses; remembering to
compliment the person for their question/comment and to find some point of
agreement with them, no matter no minor (Burns,1999).
Remember that public speaking is only one aspect of your: job, personal or
university life. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, so. if public speaking is
difficult for you, rest assured that you have other areas where you are talented,. You
cant be good at everything so dont place unreasonable expectations of perfection
on yourself.. You probably wouldnt expect your best friend to be perfect so how
about being you own best friend and giving yourself a break.
Public speaking anxiety may be best tackled via group therapy as you have the
opportunity to practice with a supportive audience.

Thinking back over the last few years, what presenter(s) stand out most in
your mind?
This question may not be as benign as it may appear. Stop reading for a second.
Take your hand off your mouse and think about the question for a moment. . .
Sadly, most people can count on just a few fingers the presenters that were truly
memorable. When you think about it, thats a pretty lousy state of affairs. Not
because so many presenters are really that bad, I think it has more to do with that
many presenters not being memorably good. The majority seem to fall into some
ubiquitous neutral grey mist where they become part of the hoard of average
presenters presenting average-looking PowerPoint in an average kind of way. Before
you throw yourself off of a bridge, I want to let you know there is hope for us all.
Hope that comes in the form of paying attention to just a couple of important
principles.
Over the years my psychologist buddy, Dr. Scott Lee, has been a great resource for
me to help understand what moves us from the average to the memorable. Its not
that down deep we didnt have some sort of an idea, its just that he spent a lot of
years in school and the equivalent of a moderate sized mortgage to give those things
an actual name. I want to give you five ideas for being more memorable for the long
haul.
Participation.
Its the difference between us watching a football game and being handed the
football and sent off to the field to run the next play. Audiences are perfectly willing
to be spectators if we allow them to be but deep down in their hearts they really

want to be participants. They desperately want presenters to take a breath and ask
them what they think. They want to be enticed to share their collective experiences
with the group to become a part of the presentation experience, not be simply an
observer. But it entails giving up something most presenters are reluctant to
relinquish, even for a moment. Control.
Participation can be as simple as asking the audience to share their personal stories
on a theme. It can also take the form of props. In one seminar, I wanted to get the
point across of how hard it was for audiences to juggle all the points presenters want
to throw at them. To illustrate, I began to hit beach balls into the audience and
asked them to keep them up in the air. Frankly, I didnt count on the chaos created
as water glasses got knocked over but the point seemed to stick. Two years later, I
had someone tell me that he remembered the exercise but more importantly,
remembered the point I was making. What are you willing to risk to get your
audiences involved? How creative can you be to make a point stick?
Vaccination.
I often see good presentation messages get undone because of some underlying
understanding that some audience members share. Maybe it was a promise that
was not kept by the presenter in the past, the product launch that was late or a
project implementation that was flawed. Audiences dont forget these things quickly
and occasionally a presenter will stumble into this dangerous minefield. Whether
through ignorance or arrogance, the result is often the same. The presenter thinks
the presentation went reasonably well until they get to the Q&A and are bludgeoned
by a number of audience members. Even fellow audience members who were
unaware of the past, are discounting an otherwise solid message. The answer lies in
being aware and vaccinating our audiences early on to an underlying issue.
Have you seen the commercial on TV that starts out like this, How can a bottle of
diet pills be worth $139.95? Honest, thats the very first thing they say! The
reason is that they know if they can get that obstacle on the table from the outset,
they have 55 more seconds to make their case. If they played out that little detail at
the end, they would never sell a single bottle.
For presenters, it requires an element of humility. Last year I stood here at this
event and told you we would roll out a product that would change your world.
Frankly, we missed our target, but Im here today to tell you why it was well worth
the wait. Defuse major issues early on so you can be heard. It takes courage but
you will be memorable for all the right reasons.
Attribution.
Audiences are not typically a very homogenous group. They come with different
expectations, titles and views of the world. They also come with different ways of
filtering our messages. (Its a wonder sometimes that we get anything through to
them.) Attribution is a way of giving a diverse audience a single, collective identity.
Everyone of them would like to believe they are with others who are like-minded.
And when they find this common ground, it will deepen the level of engagement with
your message.

Heres what that may look like. I appreciate the fact that you have taken time out
of your busy day today. I know you had other choices for workshops but I sense
that you all have a keen understanding of the stakes related to your presentations
today. Youre aware that your capacity to advance in your company can often hinge
on the skills you have to communicate well in your organization. I suspect this is
why most of you are here today.
Whether that was their motivation or not, heads begin to nod and we see a common
identity begin to emerge. By allowing them some participation time in the
beginning, many will validate for themselves and others in the room the attributes
youve just given to them. Yea, our company has been losing some major
opportunities but we were the best company for the job. We need to do something
differently. And the stories would go on.
Visualization.
Youve heard some people say that they are visual thinkers. What they mean is that
words alone just dont convey meaningful messages. They are big picture thinkers
and need a bigger context for understanding your solution or idea. If this were
Scott, he may have them sit back in their chairs and close their eyes for a 5-minute
visualization experience. Ive seen him do this masterfully where he had an
audience of 300 visualize the perfect presentation day. It was a powerful experience
and for many, the first time they had ever seen themselves as more than marginal
presenters.
In your typical business presentation, having your audience close their eyes could be
the kiss of death, but the principle is sound. Heres what it might look like for one
company.
Before we start todays presentation, imagine calling a customer service number
and there was no press this or press that instructions. A real human being
greeted you pleasantly and asked you about the problems you were having. After
you finished your explanation, you didnt get passed off a half dozen times but they
stayed on the line as they brought other people on to help resolve your issue while
troubleshooting resources showed up in your email. Thats the kind of world our
software solution creates.
We dont go far enough in helping our audiences see past the present. We stay too
much in the land of what is and too little time helping them see what could be.
Repetition.
Maybe youve heard that for people to remember a message, they need to hear it 8
to 12 times. Psychologists now are telling us that may not be true. They reference a
study where 600 undergraduate students participated in a study where they were
asked to draw the face of a penny. Over a lifetime, they had probably seen one
hundreds of thousands of times but less than 5% could draw the basic elements in
their correct locations. They surmise that repetitions alone are pointless. (Husbands,
how many times have your wives said, Ive told him a thousand times that) The

key is in how those messages are encoded for later retrieval. That is the magic of
how we are remembered.
Just data
Shallowest learning and recall potential. Near zero recall.
Data + meaning of data
Improved slightly but still stored in left brain, short-term memory typically
Data + meaning + sensory hook
Smell, touch or seeing enhances (props, video, tactile, physical interaction)
Learning now also encoded on right side of the brain improving message retention
significantly.
Data + meaning + sensory + emotion
Integrating all of the above plus adding an element that connects with the emotion
(ie. personal meaningful story)
Now, message retention is maximized and recall easily accommodated.
The right kind of repetition during our presentations is a way of creating a welltrodden path to the information so the way is remembered later on. For example, if
there are three major topics in your 60-minute presentation, you may want to do a
brief summary of key points at the end of each section. (Psychologists call this over
learning) Dont wait until the very end, the path will already be growing cold. If
there was a graphical image that related to those points, place the very same image
next to the line of summary text. This gives your audience a sensory hook that is the
equivalent of a road sign that points the way back. Underscore previously made
points (adding meaning). Conclude your presentation and summarize with the same
point and with the same images and close with a story to tie in the emotional
component.
If your challenge is that there are too many points to frequently summarize
I think you already know the answer to that problem.
The world doesnt need any more average presenters. Our audiences are simply too
busy and their time too valuable. I started with a question and Ill conclude with one.
Are we memorable or forgettable? Can we afford the effort, planning and
creativity to be exceptional?
The truth is we cant afford not to be exceptional these days. So, what are you doing
to be different?
All three examples are true. All put the presenter on the spot. All inconvenienced the audience. All were
avoidable. In this article, I hope to help you outsmart the sprites by examining the extensive preparations show
biz professionals practice. In fact the acronym for those preparations is P.R.E.P.A.R.E. We will discuss each of the
steps in the acronym sequentially, beginning with Plan.

Plan
The Plan is the most critical part of any performance but the least noticed by the audience. To gain insight into
the length Hollywood goes when planning a movie, consider the current movie phenomenon The Lord of the
Rings. The extended DVD version of The Fellowship of the Ring features hours of material showcasing the years
of planning that went into that production including concept development, scripting, storyboarding, scenic
selection, character development, music creation and actor casting. All these details added to the success of the
film. Any one of them handled poorly could have ruined it.
Presentations, although not as involved, still require planning. That planning often starts with a concept that is
developed into a script. I realize that some presenters prefer an outline. Outlines do offer spontaneity. But what
they lack is specificity. A show biz production contains a myriad of details not readily apparent in an outline. The
very act of scripting places a discipline on the performance that cannot be obtained in any other way.
For an example where the stakes can literally be life or death, consider the legal profession. Lawyers script their
opening and closing arguments, witnesses script their testimony, and judges script the explanations of their
rulings. They plan what they will say in the courtroom so that it will be factually correct and logically thought
through.
Scripting forces you to determine exactly what you mean, how what you mean connects with what youve already
said, and how what you will say leads inevitably to a grand finale where every detail of the performance connects.
So therefore, the first step in foiling the sprites is to capture it all on paper.
Rehearse
In entertainment you can spot the true professionals. They Rehearse so much that they look unrehearsed. They
flow. Flow occurs when you know something so completely that concentration is no longer required (much like
our daily commutes: weve rehearsed that drive for months).
Constant, repetitious, mind-numbing rehearsal beyond endurance is the price performers pay to achieve flow.
They examine the script line by line to plot the logistics of the performance. They determine where the props
should be placed, how each item and person will get from point A to point B and correct disconnects in the
script. These run-throughs, although tedious and time consuming, eliminate many of the flaws that attract
sprites. As a result the performer becomes one with the presentation.
Explore
With practice and repetition behind you and flow in front of you, the sprites must seek another opening. They
look for the unexpected. Accordingly, you should take time to Explore all the potential unplanned challenges.
Some people accuse me of being an Eeyore on this subject because I over-think potential calamities.
It is true that I spend a great deal of time exploring what could go wrong. I ask myself a number of questions:
What technology issues could pop up?
What questions might the audience ask?
What would a heckler say?
Are there any electrical wires to trip over?
What health problems could someone in the audience have during presentation?
I explore these potential dangers not because I am a pessimist, but because the more emergencies I envision,
the less likely the sprites are to surprise me.
Protect
Once you have identified a potential challenge, you should Protect yourself from it by devising a solution. You

should then protect yourself again by devising a solution for the solution. You should ask yourself, Whats the
backup plan? Then ask yourself, Whats the backup plan for the backup plan? Finally, ask yourself, Whats the
backup plan for the backup backup plan?
For example, consider technology issues and ask yourself, What if the laptop crashed? Then determine to bring
backup overhead slides just in case. Next ask yourself, What if the overhead projector light bulb blows? Then
resolve to bring an extra light bulb with you. Finally ask yourself, What if that light doesnt work? Then learn to
present without your slides just in case.
Heres an example from my own experience. In My Training With A Beat presentation, I demonstrate the various
uses for music in learning environments. Without music there can be no presentation. I have protected my clients
(and myself) by integrating the music into the PowerPoint presentation. I then travel with the music on a backup
CD-ROM and a back-up audiocassette. As an extra precaution, I have recorded the music onto a VHS tape so
that, even if all the usual audio channels are unavailable to me, I can play the music on a TV. On the remote
chance that all these mediums should become demagnetized, I also carry several emergency musical CDs.
Accept
In improv training, comedians are taught to welcome the unexpected, to treat sprite surprises as gifts. These
gifts lead to new discoveries. I will never forget the time, as a magician performing the linking rings (eight rings
link and unlink at will), a mike stand got in the way. Much to my surprise, the sprites linked a ring to the mike
stand! Even more surprising was the audience reaction. They applauded! That bit immediately became a part of
my act.
It is an axiom among magicians that the magician has greater power because the audience never knows what is
coming. Chances are that when something unexpected happens, the audience will, as they did with my link to the
mike stand, regard the occurrence as planned. This fact gives the performer a decided advantage. If you Accept
whatever happens as a gift, the audience will likely never know the sprites struck.
React
Accepting is not the same as compliance. Even when something unexpected occurs, you should still take charge.
React with an aura of confidence knowing that you are prepared. Ironically, the amount of preparation you have
engaged in will rebound to your advantage. Your client will be impressed by the amount of preparation you went
to the deliver for them. In this perverse sense you should welcome the sprites. Your reaction to their mischief will
only make you look more professional.
Enjoy
Youve planned, rehearsed, explored, protected, accepted and reacted. The final step is to simply Enjoy whatever
happens. You control the dynamic so relax and place your focus where it belongs, on your audience. This focus
will drive the sprites crazy.
A Show Biz Tradition
So, remember to P.R.E.P.A.R.E. And as a wish for luck (and in case the sprites are listening), break a leg!
.

5 Fail-Safe Tips When You Forget or Get Flustered During a Presentation

Some goofs turn out to be funnylater, at least to the audience. Before a gathering of gregarious
sales reps, I was trying to make the point that business communications are much less formal
now than in past decades. For example, I elaborated, when you are introduced to someone,
you rarely respond, How do you do? Instead, you say something like, Hello or Nice to meet
you. Continuing this line of reasoning, I asked the group, And when was the last time your
family dressed formally to sit down at the dinner table together? Our family doesnt dress for
dinner. One rep raised his hand and asked excitedly, May we come?
The audience roared with laughter; leaving me dumbfounded until someone in the front row
pointed out to me what Id said versus what Id meant. Needlessly to say, after turning ten shades
of red, I forgot where I was going with the next point.
Just wait until its your turn. If you havent yet experienced your point of embarrassment or
memory lapse, you will. When it happens, consider these fail-safe ways to regain your memory
and retain your poise.
Tip #1: Build a Mnemonic Device to Help You Recall Chunks
Memory experts tell us that our brains can hold only about seven chunks of information at once.
For this reason, trying to remember 18 key points, six anecdotes, and three charts of data can be
setting yourself up for disasterunless you devise a better system of recall. Teachers have
understood the value of mnemonic devices for ages. For example, piano teachers teach the
scales EGBDF as every good boy does fine. Think of almost any discipline, and you will find
technical concepts conveyed in models, mnemonics, and metaphors meant for easy recall.
Create the same for yourself as a prevention tool.
Tip #2: Jump Ahead to a Key Anecdote that Serves as a Springboard
Stories stick better than an elaborationeven with the storyteller. In telling the story, you often will
recall the point you typically make with the story by the time you get to the end of the story. And
with that key point, the whole section of content will return to the forefront of your mind.
Tip #3: Fiddle with Fodder
Your fodder can be anything that fills a 10-second gap to provide you with thinking time to collect
your thoughts. You may decide to take off or put on your eyeglasses so that you can verify
something. You may pause to take out your pen and jot a note while you regain your memory.
You may stop speaking while you suddenly decide to move the flipchart back out of your walking
space or erase a whiteboard of irrelevant information and then turn back again to face the group.
You might stop to ask the group about the temperaturewhether it is too warm or cooland then
ask someone in the back to adjust the thermostat.
Any of these breaks allow you 10 to 15 secondsoften all the time you need to recover your
thoughts and continue. And often after such a movement it seems perfectly natural to ask the
group, Now where was I? and they will help you out.

Tip #4: Change Locations in the Room

A location change to a speaker is like paragraphing to a writer. So it will seem quite natural to
your audience that you would pause reflectively and stroll to another spot in the room to move to
your next point. In the time it takes you to get there, you likely will have recovered from your
memory lapse.
Tip #5: Code Your Visuals to Cue You
Use key words or subtitles to group sections of your visuals to keep you oriented by reminding
you of the bigger context for an individual slide. When you are projecting from a laptop, a subtle
color bar or icon in the corner or across the side or bottom will cue you about which segment of
the presentation your visual belongs to. This highlighted color or icon, then, should trigger a
complete chunk of information to the forefront of your mind. When you go out on a tangent with a
detail and cannot find your way back, all you need to do is glance at the blue triangle to remind
you that you are tracking the marketing goals for the second quarter. The orange triangle signals
you that you are into third-quarter goals.

Your Voice: The Most Powerful Personal Tool In Making

Presentations
By Marlena Reigh
,Voice Image Specialist and Owner of Radiant
Communications
You have impressive visuals, the latest technology - you look great and your topic is hot,
but have you invested time and energy in the most important of all personal tools -your
voice?
I know you have seen it. A presenter has all the "bells and whistles," something goes
wrong and the presentation falls apart. Did you know that if that happened to you, you
could use your voice skills to save the day? That is how powerful the voice is.
Why is the voice so important?
How can we use our voices to make a greater impact in our presentations?
What are some ways to enhance our voice image in presentations?
What voice facts are important to know?
First of all be aware that:

A presentation is an event that we see, hear and feel. And what we hear, the
presenter's voice, not only enhances all visuals, but brings the entire presentation
to the feeling level: the level where listeners make the decision to believe and buy
into your message.
Just having a pleasant sounding voice is not enough. Using personality, or
character in the voice through variety in dynamics can turn an ordinary

presentation extraordinary and will grab and keep the attention of listeners from
beginning to end.
The body entrains, or physically reacts to the voice. The body responds not to the
words, but the sound quality and musicality of the voice. If your voice is dull,
lifeless or boring, listener's bodies will entrain with dull, lifeless, and boring body
responses. Within seconds they are mentally checked out.

Ways of making a dynamic vocal impact:

Always-always warm up your voice before speaking. Practice your presentation

out loud and connect with your voice energy, an energy that involves your whole
body. Humming, singing in the shower, along with physical stretches ten to fifteen
minutes each day at least a week before presentation day is ideal. Take time to
feel the energy radiate to the tips of your fingers and toes.
Learn to use your voice as your instrument. The most interesting and dynamic
speakers use their voices as instruments. As in a piece of music, variety in speed,
volume and range is essential in charming the listeners so that they are engaged in
the presentation. Speed adds energy, volume adds emotional intensity, and range
adds color and the human quality (see detailed article "6 Keys To A More
Dynamic Speaking Voice" at http://www.myvoicespeakssuccess.com/).
When preparing let your voice reflect the energy state you want to exude, for your
presentation. Ask: " What do I need to do to make a dynamic and interesting
presentation with my voice? What do I want them to feel?" Practice with that
energy. Find an object or thought that will immediately put you in that energy
state.

Tips on improving your voice for presentation personality:

Talk to yourself. It may sound strange, but this will keep your voice, body and
mind connected in a physical sense.
Create a daily and presentation day warm-up routine.
Experiment: You have your voice with you all the time and there are hundreds of
opportunities each day both professionally and personally to use it differently.
What kinds of voice personalities are in your repertoire? Tap into those various
situations where you use variety in your voice and identify how your body
entrains to them.
Rather than guiding your voice by the sound, guide your voice by how it feels.
Think of yourself as an athlete in training. Be mentally, physically and vocally in
shape.

Important voice facts for presenters:

Better speakers change volume levels more frequently.

The situation and/or topic influences volume range.

The nature of the material will determine the speed.

Audiences differentiate professional from non-professional speakers by the

length and variety of pauses.

Spend more time talking quickly.

How you use your range will determine your feelings on the subject and
influences audience response

Dealing With Presentation Disasters

By Marya Holcombe, Strategic Communications
Most presentation disasters are not fatal; they can be
resolved comfortably if you

Keep smiling
Know exactly what you want the decision maker to do (your main point)

What do you do if...

The decision maker is forced to leave before you have gotten to your key
points.
If you follow the old rule "Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em, tell 'em, tell 'em
what you told 'em," you won't get caught this way. Always mention your main point
and major supporting points within the first few minutes of any presentation. If you
are using visuals, you always have a visual that has the main point and the key
points. If, however, you have made the fatal error of trying to save the "zinger" for
last, and the decision maker must leave, ask for a moment to summarize. (Anyone
will give you a moment if you ask with a smile.) State in one sentence the one point
you want the decision maker to remember and, if you have a chance, the two
concepts that best support that point.
You arrive and are told the decision maker can't attend.
Even if the decision maker can't make it, someone in the room will be responsible for
reporting to him or her. Ask yourself, "what, in one sentence, do I want the reporter
to say?" (What do I want the decision maker to do?). (It will not be, "He told us
about ...." It will be a message, "we should use _____ because it is within our
budget and meets our engineering requirements" for example) Then be sure you
state that sentence, as you want it repeated, at the beginning and at the end of your
presentation.
You find you have 15 minutes instead of the 45 you planned on.

Talking fast won't work. Decide quickly what percentage of 15 minutes each part of
your presentation should take. Keep your eye on your watch and limit yourself to the
key concept in each portion. Next time, be prepared. Think about what you'll leave
out if your time is halved, if you are given 5 minutes.
Someone asks a question about an issue you plan to discuss in detail later.
Answer the question briefly, and say you plan to go into detail later. If the person
asking the question is the decision maker, ask if the short answer is sufficient for
now. Do not ask people to wait until you reach the point at which you originally
planned to cover the material. If you do, everyone will focus on the unanswered
question instead of listening. And, in a meeting setting, do not ask people to hold
their questions until the end. Making that request suggests you are not confident
enough to deal with interruptions.
You lose your train of thought mid-sentence.
Smile, say "excuse me" and start again. Keep in mind that everyone in the room has
lost track of an idea at least once. People want you to succeed and are sympathetic.
Keep smiling.
You plan to work through a handout page by page; people are moving ahead
at their own pace.
The risk in giving people printed material is that they will read it at their own pace. If
at all possible, don't provide handouts until after the presentation is over. If you must
walk through a printed booklet, tell people what it contains and give them a rough
idea of where different parts are located before you begin. If possible, hold your copy
up as an easel and point to parts of charts or graphs. People are also more likely to
stay with you if you occasionally say, "And you can see on page ___ that..." If the
decision maker insists on moving ahead quickly, you'll do best to pick up the pace,
perhaps skip pages, and, if necessary, focus on the pages that are important to her.
(If you are going to hand out materials, don't try to bury anything at the end like
cost or fees. If people don't find what they want at the beginning, they go
immediately to the end.)
You are competing for a deal and realize that the decision maker has
confused you with the competition (he is taking notes on a page with the
competition's name on the top).
Use the name of your firm as often as you can. Say, for example, "As we at _____
believe," and try not to focus on what he is writing.
You expect to speak to 3 people and arrive to find 20.
If you were planning to work from one set of handouts, forget it. Ask for a flipchart
and pens; decide quickly how much you can rough sketch as you talk (key points, if
nothing else). Stand; it is easier to maintain control. Remember that you are the
expert. Keep smiling.
You walk into the decision maker's office and are offered a seat in a deep
sofa.
This is the moment to develop a bad back; ask for a hard chair. It is virtually

impossible to sound confident and in control from a cushion 6 inches off the floor.
Your throat dries out.
Do what the theater folk do. Roll a tiny piece of paper into a small ball and place it
between your gum and your facial tissue in the back of your mouth. It will stimulate
the flow of saliva just like the wad of cotton the dentist uses. Try this in private first,
however, so you are sure you are comfortable.
Several people start a side conversation while you are speaking.
In the following order: Ask if there are questions. Ask if you can do anything to
clarify. If they will not stop and you are standing, continue your presentation but try
to move nearer to them. Lower your voice or pause. Hope that someone else will
stop them. When all else fails, try to acknowledge that things are out of control and
ask the group whether a new meeting should be scheduled.
You drop your notes on the floor.
Make a joke about your clumsiness, pick them up and take a few moments to put
them in order. (Now is the time to be grateful you have numbered them.)

Secrets of A Dynamic Presenter

By Anne Miller, President, Chiron Associates
Here are ten tips guaranteed to give you winning delivery skills.
At home
1. Prepare and practice. No professional worth his/her salt, from Michael Jordan to
Madonna, ever went before a group without careful preparation and practice.
2. Stay positive! See yourself being successful. Think of the value your listeners will
gain from your ideas.
3. Keep your perspective. Remember, no one ever died of a presentation!
On Your Way to the Presentation
4. Review your opening line several times. Even if you ultimately change the
wording, remember that your audience does not know what you prepared.
5. You can't avoid the adrenaline rush you get before a presentation. It's normal, like
the feelings before a competitive sports event. Instead, manage them. Breathe in
deeply and exhale slowly 2-3 times. Hum to warm your vocal cords. Yawn a big
disgusting yawn to open up any tense muscles in your throat. Raise your arms above
your head, break in the elbows and shake your hands to loosen up. (These last two
to be done only in the nearest restroom or empty elevator.)

During the Presentation

6. Focus on your listener(s) getting your message rather than on what you look like
or how you feel. Sincerity, conviction and enthusiasm will automatically follow.
7. Think "conversation," rather than "presentation."
8. Do not try to look at everybody in a group at the same time. You'll get a
headache, become even more nervous and start to babble. Better to look at and talk
to one person at a time for about the length of a phrase or sentence or until you
pause to breathe. Then, do the same with the next person, and the next.
9. Pause for emphasis after key thoughts or numbers. BREATHE (generally a good
idea).
10. Pepper your information with examples, stories and analogies. The audience
loves them and they make you come alive in the voice, in your body language and in
your expression.
Last, but not least, enjoy the meeting

Are You Aware of What You Wear? A Subtle Yet Powerful

Presentation Tool
By Dawn E. Waldrop
Audiences connect with presenters with whom they feel most comfortable. But where
does this comfort come from? It comes from the energy you give off.
As humans we get different energies from our attire, which affects our communication.
Just as you feel the difference when you wear certain clothing, so does your audience.
What creates these subtle yet powerful differences? An authentic image empowers you to
be your best.
Think about those days when you get dressed and feel great in your clothes. You feel
confident, and people interact with you in a positive manner. Some people refer to these
days as wearing a "lucky outfit." When you feel most comfortable in your clothes you are
at your presentation best.
Now think about those days when you put on an article of clothing or accessory and only
feel okay. You feel uncomfortable or out of sync. The truth is, you don't present well
when you're uncomfortable. Your audience can sense your discomfort and they react
accordingly.
As you speak your audience is studying every detail about you. When your attire and
accessories enhance your appearance the human eye goes directly to the face. That is

exactly where you the presenter want them. Even if one item does not enhance you,
that is what the audience remembers instead of your message.
Here are the Six S's of subtle, yet powerful, ways to guarantee that your attire is working
for you and not against you.
Sleeves

In every presentation situation wear long sleeves. Long sleeves communicate

respect, authority and a higher level of professionalism. Observe how people
interact with you when you wear short sleeves and then on days when you wear
long sleeves. The difference is subtle yet powerful.
Surroundings
Don't be a wallflower. Call the facility and ask what color is the wall behind you where
you will be speaking. Then make sure the color you choose to wear stands out and
does not blend. If the walls are beige, do not wear beige.
Skirts
Women beware, the higher the stage, the shorter your skirt or dress will appear. The
best length is mid-knee for short or medium height women. Tall women opt for
hemline a couple of inches below the mid-knee.
Shoes
Your most important accessories are your shoes, yet people pay little attention to
them. Make sure shoe color is the same color or a darker color than hemline of your
pants or skirt. The audience eyes will remain on your feet when shoes are lighter
than your hemline.
Style
Pay attention to how your clothes fit. Have them tailored to fit your unique body
structure. Everyone is born with one arm and leg longer than the other. Without
tailoring your audience will notice if your sleeves do not fit properly.
Silk Ties
100% silk is the best tie for a man. Men beware your ties come in varying lengths for
different height men. Make sure the tip of the tie hits the middle of the belt buckle.
As a presenter, be aware that your attire does not shout distraction. This silent power
speaks loud and clear. It is important to learn what does work best for you in color,
style, texture and pattern. Then develop your attire around the industry you speak to
and position level of the audience. This attire needs to project who you are. For

example, if you present to businesses that deal with people on a personal level, such
as finance, accounting, insurance, banking or real estate, then your attire will be
more conservative compared to that of interior design or advertising.
Your presentation image is based on perception. Perception is reality. By avoiding
clothing distractions and wearing attire that complement you and your professional
credentials, you will ensure your audience remembers your message and not what
you wore

MAP Your Way to Effective Presentations

By Michael Grepo
One of the biggest fears that I think anyone has is to get in front of a group and give
a less than perfect presentation. Introverts like myself feel especially vulnerable in
such situations. To help myself (and others), Ive come up with an easy-to-remember
way to cover the steps needed to prepare effective presentations: MAP.
The first and most important thing is the Message:
You must have it clearly in your head what the message is that you want to give to
your audience. This applies whether your audience is one person, ten people, fifty, or
more. You cant expect your intended audience to come to your conclusion if you
arent clear on it yourself. Ask yourself what do you want your prospects to take
away with them after you are done? It should be easy to see why this is the first
thing to think about: How else can you come up with a logical, well thought-out
presentation unless the ultimate message is clear in your head?
The next step is to develop your Action Plan:
Once you have figured out your message, you should think about how you want to
convey what you have to say to your audience. Some factors to consider include:

How much time will you have? Will you have 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour,
or more?
Where are you going to make this presentation? Will it be around a table, in
front of a classroom, a large auditorium, or some other setting?
How much time do you have to prepare for your presentation? Do you have a
day, a week, or a month to develop your presentation?
What tools would help you make your presentation most effective, given your
time and environmental considerations? Should you use handouts, a slide
presentation, other visual aids, or even other presenters to assist you?
How well do you know the information that you will present? How much
research must be done?
Who will be your audience? Will it be just your immediate supervisor, a group
of students learning something new, or a room full of experts?

How complication or elaborate does your presentation need to be? Is the path
to your ultimate message or conclusion relatively straightforward, or do you
need to weave a storyline together, presenting a fair amount of information
and analysis?

Once you answer these questions, you will be well on your way to having an Action
Plan that defines your strategy for creating your presentation. Now you can plan out
the process you will use to create your presentation, e.g., research, meetings, story
outline, draft and review, how you might want to use presentation tools such
Microsoft PowerPoint to help convey information and tell the story.
In you Action Plan, you should include the time you will need to practice giving your
presentation. Why practice?

Timing, to know how long your presentation will run

Familiarity, to be acquainted with the material in the order you are going to
discuss it
Efficiency, so you dont read it and you are able to focus more on the
audience and the moment

Rehearing is especially important if you are not creating the presentation by yourself.
To be an effective presenter, you should be very familiar with the material and how it
should be communicated to your audience. Practicing is the only way to become
comfortable with the content and flow of your presentation. And the confidence that
you feel from really knowing what it is youre going to say and how you are going to
say it will be evident to your audience.
Finally, you should have a Punch line:
Come up with a distinctive way for your audience to remember what it is you are
trying to tell them. You dont have to have a true punch line or witty saying. You
can help your audience create an image in their head. You can create an acronym
(e.g., MAP). You can even restate your major point or message in a way that is
different or surprising. Your goal is to give your audience something that hooks them
or gives them something they relate to, so that they easily remember the point of
what you said after you conclude your presentation.

So, make sure to MAP your presentations to help ensure you have successful ones:

Message
Action Plan
Punch line

First Steps First

By Gail Zack Anderson, President of Applause, Inc.
First the good newsyou have been asked to give a presentation. Now the bad news
where do you begin? If you are like most people, youll immediately begin to think
about what you are going to say, what your visuals will look like, or what you can use
for a powerful opening. This strategy can take a lot of time and lead to major
frustration, unless you take the time to first create solid content. Heres how:
1. Be sure you can answer these questions: Who is your audience? What is
the purpose of the presentation? What does your audience want (or not want)
to hear? How can you make your message appealing or acceptable to them?
What do you want them to do, think, feel, or remember at the end of your
presentation? If you cannot answer these questions, keep thinking,
talk to a colleague, or do research until you know the answers.
2. Develop and write down a one-sentence message that captures the
idea you want to express, in a way the audience can relate to. You will use
this sentence as a theme in your presentation, and you should state it at the
beginning and the end of your presentation. Here is an example of such a
message: Todays presentation will show you the innovative ideas our
department has developed, and how you might be able to use them to
improve productivity in your department.
3. Brainstorm to determine key topics you will discuss. For example, in the
presentation above, key topics might include what those ideas were, how they
were implemented, costs or risks associated with them, and the benefits your
department has derived. Be sure that each main idea or topic relates
directly to your main message.
4. Now you are ready to create that snappy opening! In it, talk about your
audiences concerns, and how what you have to say might benefit them. Then
link your opening to your main message. Keep your opening short, to the
point, and make sure it reinforces your main message.
5. Devote some time for a dress rehearsal, preferably in the actual
presentation room if possible. Gather a small audience who can ask pertinent
questions and give you feedback. Practicing with your visual aids helps reduce
the need to look at or read from your visuals.

The Golden Triangle: Presenter, Audience and Slides

By Rick Altman
We have seen it countless times before, but this latest one was particularly poignant.
The intelligent presenter, with something important to say, who got lost in her slides.

She started out beautifully, introducing herself and her ideas, standing before a welldesigned title slide. She knew what she wanted to say and she said ita surprisingly
complete strategy for delivering a good presentation.
She should have stuck to that strategy, because as soon as her first bullet slide
appeared, things began to go south. She found herself no longer saying what she
wanted to say; she was saying what the slide wanted her to say. Soon, it was as if
she was speaking to the slide, and soon after that, it was clear to everyone in the
room: She had lost her connection with the audience.
During her introduction, she was not paying attention to the screen behind her,
concentrating only on her ideas and the people listening to them. But as the bullet
slides appeared, her priorities shifted. She stopped paying attention to the audience.
She became a drone. She stopped connecting with her audience, and instead only
connected with her slides. That, dear readers, is a recipe for failure.
The theme for this month is on presentation content, not delivery, so why are we
talking about this? Because, really, there is no way to separate the two. How you
prepare your content has a profound impact on how you deliver it, and thinking first
about how you want to deliver your talk influences your preparation.
Triangulating
In an ideal circumstance, you create a triangle of interdependence between yourself,
your audience, and your slides. Without your slides, your ideas are not as effective;
without you, your slides lack context; and without your audience, well, your
presentation is pointless. And the sides of this triangle are not equal: you will be
forgiven for paying more attention to your audience than your slides, but you
deserve no such forgiveness if you do the opposite.
And again, these are not wholly presentation issuesyou need to address them
when you build your content. Lets look at two of the classic errors that PowerPoint
presenters make:
Obnoxious animations: This one is obvious, and alarmingly easy to fix during
content creation: Remove all local animation from your bullets, head to the master
slide, and apply a fade or a wipe.
There is no action that would be more crucial to audience rapport than this. Think
about it. You want your audience to have the sense that you know what you are
talking about and that you know what is important and what is not. You could argue
that the most important first impression to make is that you understand what is
important and relevant and what is not. So what does it say about you if your bullets
feature frivolous animation? It says that you cant identify what is truly important
about an idea. And if you give that impression, thank your hosts and leave now
youre done.

In the history of PowerPoint, nobody has ever been offended by bullets that wipe or
fade, at medium speed or faster. You cannot go wrong with them.
Reciting your slides: If bad animation is the most inhibitive to connecting with your
audience, this one is a close second. This creates any or all of the following
impressions: 1) You did not prepare; 2) You are incapable of communicating an
original thought; and 3) You have doubts that your audience members are smart
enough to be able to read the slide on their own.
These are not exactly the things you meant to convey when you found yourself
reciting each bullet, word for word, in front of a room full of people. But the problem
is that its quite hard to avoid it. When something appears on screen, its all-too-easy
to treat it like a script. Your mission as you prepare your bullet points is to make it
practically impossible to do that.
Lets say that you are creating a presentation on this very topic. Here are the points
you want to make:
Bullets are at their best when they

Give the audience more substance than if they are just listening to you
Help guide the audience through your topics
Show them the logical progression of your ideas

If you display this verbose slide and then read it aloud, you do nothing to engender
confidence with your audience. And you will sound like a drone. So instead, create
bullets that do not compel you to commit droneage. What if you displayed this
instead:
The three reasons to use bullets:

1+1=3
I need a map and I need it now!
Breadcrumbs are an audiences best friend

These bullets are imaginative, effectively vague, and coy. Moreover, they will not
compel you to recite them word for word, although if you did, it wouldnt be as bad
as with the verbose slide, because you would obviously elaborate about each point.
With the coy bullets, you have no choice but to turn to the audience and state your
case.
And when youre done stating your case, then you can replace the coy slide with the
verbose one (using a nice fade, of course!), so that you give them the visual of your
idea. In fact, how bad would it be if, before displaying the verbose slide, you recited
it word for word? Not too bad, actuallyreciting bullets before they appear is not
nearly as bad as doing it afterward. You tell your audience that you have given

thought to an effective way to present the idea, you dont drone, and you dont risk
insult to their intelligence.
Everyone knows that it is not wise to recite bullets aloud, but not as many realize
that its hard not to. Its worth the extra effort to create bullets that dont turn you
into a drone.
Dont Overstage
One of the decisions that presentation builders regularly face is whether to display
their elements one at a time or all at once. No article can evaluate for you the
various constraints and factors of preparing a presentation, but in general, a
presenters life is made much easier by slides whose elements appear automatically
as opposed to each by its own mouse click.
Three potentially hazardous things arise when you set your elements to appear On
Click instead of After Previous:
1. You do not provide context for the bullets, showing your audience only the
trees, not the forest.
2. You risk losing the context yourself. You might have to refer to your notes in a
situation where you otherwise wouldnt have to.
3. You might forget which element is the last one on the slide and advance to
the next one, thinking that there was one more element left. Not disastrous,
but not exactly polished, either.
The other problem with staging bullets and other elements one by one is that it is
very tempting to employ the Dim on Next Click command. Lets make this really
simple: DONT DO THAT!
Ninety-five out of 100 times that the Dim option is used, it is used because the
creator thought that it would be cool or because he just learned about it. It is
incredibly rare to see it used when there is a good reason for it. But heres a good
reason not to: it is one more time when you could insult your audience.
Dimming bullets as you go could imply to your audience members that you dont
trust them to keep pace with the material or to be able to follow the logic in your
thread. Do they have Attention Deficit Disorder? Are they not capable of following
your ideas without your resorting to grade-school measures? Is it not a bit like the
little ball that bounces above the words on Sesame Street? How would your audience
members react if they were to feel as if you were treating them like Sesame Street
viewers?
Bullets dont warrant this type of complication. Just throw them out there and then
talk about them. Life is too short to fret about how you display them, and when you
realize that fact, you communicate it. When you communicate it, you tell your

audience that (here we go again) you know what is important and what is not. Thats
a good thing.
If you find yourself in a situation where you truly need to stage elements on click, do
yourself a favor and stash an inconspicuous object at the end of the animation order.
Make it a thin rule along the bottom or side of the slide, or maybe one right below
the title. Set it to Appear automatically after the last element. Nobody will notice it
(and if they do, big deal), but it tells you when youre done with the elements, so
you can proceed to the next slide gracefully instead of accidentally. Here is an
example (http://www.altman.com/bullets.ppt)
The Fabulous B Key
Whats the most valuable key on a presenters keyboard? The one that blanks the
screen. Pressing B turns a screen black (usually the better choice) and W turns it
white. It is the simplest way to direct an audiences attention away from an obsolete
slide and toward you.
If your thoughts and ideas have outpaced the content of the current slide, you risk a
disconnect with your audience if you leave that slide up too long. The best practice is
to design a blank slide, with just the background and maybe your branding logo sunk
into the background with soft contrast. During content preparation, try to anticipate
the points in your talk where you want the audience to look only at you, not the
screen. Those would be the times to insert one of these blanks.
We know that its not always possible to predict that. General Q&A time is obvious;
other situations are not so obvious. And for those times, remember the B key, which
will toggle the screen both on and off. Many of the wireless remote slide advancers
offer a screen blanking button; we now consider that a requirement for a remote.
And by the way, those remotes help you connect with your audience, too, simply by
untethering you to the computer. If your slides include hyperlinks and other objects
that you need to click, you should look at the remotes that offer cursor movement
and mouse clicks.
So you tell us: are these issues relating to content creation or presentation delivery?
We think theyre both. We think that by addressing them as you build your slides,
you will build better slides. You will build slides that help you strengthen the most
important side of the triangle, the one between you and your audience.

This is one of over 40 topics that will be presented at this years PowerPoint Live
User Conference, October 10-13 in San Diego, CA. www.pptlive.com
Learn more about Rick Altman in our Contributors section.