give a great presentation
In my role as Chief Digital Technologist at Rackspace, not only do I get to own the digital point of view, but I it is my job to speak at events and conferences. I am very lucky that Rackspace have invested in training for me and encourage my personal development. I used to find public speaking quite a nerve-racking experience. I still get nerves, which is natural, but with practice I have learned to control them. One of the primary things that helped me overcome this, was knowing my material and believing in the story. In order to make sure the delivery is professional and message is interesting I have developed a process for building a great presentation. By doing it in a methodical way I can save time and be more efficient. In this article I’ll take you through how I move from idea to slides, with some useful tips along the way.
What not to do
It sounds like an obvious piece of advice but when I’m building a great presentation I always imagine what it would be like in the audience. Is this something I would want to hear someone talk about? I think back on the best presentations I have seen and remember what made them so compelling. I have had the misfortune of sitting through some awful, boring or unengaging talks. I also use this experience to think about what I should avoid. Nothing turns me off a subject more than someone with a deck of slides full of words, which they then proceed to read out. The minute you present a slide covered in words, your audience is going to read it and that means they won’t be listening to you. It is not easy to do a great presentation without any visual aids, so I propose your slides should be mainly images. Use clear pictures to tell your story and to prompt you on what to say (acting as a reminder). This technique takes practice to master, but by doing so you will immediately gain more attention and your audience will be forced to listen to what you are saying.
Building the Deck
I’m assuming you have a message for your great presentation and have already worked out the theme of what you are trying to say. (If you need some guidance then check this article out). The first thing I do is create the outline. I use a document editor (usually Microsoft Word) to make a numbered list. Each number corresponds to a slide. My great presentation usually consists of images only, if I have to use words then I may present a quote or limited bullets. Each point you make corresponds to a slide, and each slide has an image. This means you could be speaking for a minute or so for each point, which can make for a quite a large deck of slides. Bear in mind that you’ll be going through these quite quickly, so when you start practicing it should flow as you make each point. Depending on the event you are presenting at you may need to use licenced images (particularly if you are sharing), the good news is there are plenty of sites that offer them as free to use. In a more informal setting Google images is a great place to look. I always aim for something in high definition so it is clear.
Practice makes perfect
When you have your deck of images and know your outline, the hard work can really start. Refining the outline, making changes to the order and testing the flow is vital. Knowing the content will make you more credible. Remembering the order and visual cues is quite important, particularly as you deliver the key messages. You will often find this means you should have several milestones in your head. Being able to time a slide change as you reveal an essential point will ensure you look even more polished and it will ensure memorable impact. There is a fine line between knowing your content and being over-rehearsed, so beware of sounding too scripted. You still want to sound natural. How much practice is too much, will depend on the subject and your experience.
Public speaking is not for everyone, it can take a lifetime to master or if you are lucky, it can come naturally. It is a great skill to have and one that will certainly enhance your personal brand. I have always had to work at it but have found that developing this process made it less challenging. Do you have a method for delivering the perfect presentation or conquering nerves? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below.
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