One
of my first jobs after graduate school was as an instructor at both a community
college and a private college. My course
load included teaching American History 102 (1865-present) on Monday, Wednesday
and Friday, 8:00-8:50 A.M. It was a
required course for most of the 35 students and history was not their
major. So my challenge was how to communicate
to the students while keeping them awake and interested.
That
experience taught me many lessons about effective presentation skills - lessons
I still use today in my own presentations and when I teach presentation
skills. And these same lessons can help
you become a more effective presenter:
SLIDES & VISUAL AIDS ARE OPTIONAL
Those
were low-tech days – just me and the chalkboard, and occasionally a few
pull-down maps hooked onto the chalkboard.
I learned that I was the presentation and that any visual aids were only
there to help, but not required. And no
visual aid could make up for a lack of preparation on my part.
Where
is it written that presentations must include slides? If the slides have
compelling, memorable visuals, then they can help the audience understand and remember
the information. Unfortunately, most slides
are endless lists of bullet points in small font; those kinds of slides
actually hinder the audience's understanding and even distract their attention
away from you.
STORIES CAPTURE ATTENTION
I
learned that it is possible to capture the attention of a potentially bored or
distracted audience – yes, even 35 teenagers and young adults in a required
class at 8 AM on a Friday morning. In
order to make class interesting, I told stories that made the "boring
names and dates" come alive and helped them see the historical figures as
real people instead of presenting a tedious list of facts to be memorized.
Stories
work even in a business setting. Try
sharing a quick story of how a customer uses your product or how your new
software helped a specific department get work done faster.
ENERGY & ENTHUSIASM ARE CONTAGIOUS
I
had to be more energetic than the students and I didn't drink coffee! It helped that I loved my subject and loved
teaching - and most students responded positively. Even if they didn't come to love the subject
like I did, they could at least appreciate and respect my enthusiasm for
it.
Are
you excited about your topic? Are you energetic? While it's not always possible
to love the topic you are presenting, your energy and enthusiasm will help
engage your audience.
GET THE AUDIENCE INVOLVED
In
order to keep the students engaged and interested, I asked questions, walked up
and down the aisles, had them work together in pairs and small groups and
encouraged their questions.
Try
using some of these techniques with your audience. You can also ask them for examples, give them
an exercise to work on individually or ask for a volunteer to come forward and
help you with a demonstration.
RESPECT THE AUDIENCE
I
realized on the first day that I had to earn the respect of the students. They didn't care about my credentials. It wasn't
about me; it was about them and how I could help meet their learning
needs. I learned not to talk down to my
audience or to insult them. I learned
not to lie if I didn't know the answer – but to admit it and find the answer
for them before the next class. I met
them at their level, showed interest in their lives and didn't pretend to know
a lot about their world or their music.
You can show your respect for your
audience by taking the time to prepare and by not speaking for longer than
expected. You can also make it clear why
your message is relevant to them.
THESE LESSONS ARE TRANSFERABLE
The
greatest compliment I received from students was that after taking my class,
they realized history was interesting, relevant and even fun. And some who thought they were
"stupid" at history realized they were not stupid and that they could
understand and "do" history.
I
transferred those early lessons to my current career, where I work with corporate
professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners and enable them to realize
that they're not "stupid" at presentation skills – and with practice,
they can learn to be more effective presenters.
The
next time you have to present, whatever your topic or environment, try these
lessons to keep your audience engaged and involved.