At one of my Bold Presentation Skills workshops, a successful career coach asked, "How do I give a presentation on a topic that I know a lot about? I could talk about it for hours, but I only have 45 minutes."
It's a great question. Here are 7 techniques to use when you are an expert in the topic:
1. Find
out exactly how much you will be given to present. (And be prepared to finish a few minutes
early if needed - recognize that your time may be reduced due to factors
outside of your control, such as another speaker going over the time, change in
schedule, etc.)
2. Think
about what the audience needs to know rather than everything that you could
tell them (thanks to master consultant Alan Weiss https://alanweiss.com/ for this reminder). And find out how
much they already know about your topic.
3. Focus
on only one message within your time limit.
Providing too much information will overwhelm and may confuse the
audience.
4. Make
sure everything you say, including examples, data and stories, relates to the
message.
5. Save
extra material to answer questions or use it as supplemental material such as a
handout or follow-up article for the audience.
6. Recognize
that although the information is familiar to you, it may be new for some people
in the audience, so go through it slowly and clearly enough so they can absorb
it, rather than expecting them to "drink from a fire hose."
7. Somewhere
near the start of your presentation, set the audience's expectations about your
message, the level of detail you will provide (introductory, intermediate,
advanced, etc.), how long you will speak and whether or not/when you will take
questions. And all of this should match
whatever has been sent out in the promotional materials or description for your
presentation.
The
next time you have to present on a subject that you’re an expert in, refer to
these 7 tips so you communicate your expertise without overwhelming the
audience.
(C) Gilda Bonanno