Making a presentation strikes fear into many hearts. It ranks alongside going to the dentist or being put into a cage with a hungry lion or two. Wherever it sits on the fear scale for you this guide is designed to get you through it, if not to the point of actually enjoying it. It is for anyone who needs to give presentations, or who wishes to undertake public speaking in their personal or professional life. It will show you: How to research, prepare and structure a presentation How to use scripts, visual aids and prompts How to handle questions - even the awkward ones How to use your voice and body language Author: Brian Lomas Brian is a Business Consultant and trainer based on the south coast of England. He is visiting lecturer at the Southampton University School of Management. Brian has presented to audiences in excess of a thousand, faced the friendly and the not so friendly, been asked the questions he wanted and the questions he didn't.... Review This is one of those books that become an essential addition to any professional library. It is easy to use being concise enough to read from cover to cover, yet sufficiently detailed enough to simply dip in to. As its subject matter covers one of the most difficult activities to undertake it handles the approach well and gives sufficient guidance to provide confidence and assurance. I particularly like the boxes containing key statements and the easy to read and digest summaries - ideal for the busy person. Alan Beckett Step One Review This book is clear, reader friendly and full of helpful hints for both novices and the more experienced presenter. However long you have been presenting, there are always ways to improve your technique and impact. I refer to my copy often and have found the summary sections and the highlighted hints invaluable as a checklist during preparation for my next presentation. Helene Glasspool, University of Southampton

• how to approach the whole issue of giving presentations and break it down into manageable chunks • the importance of defining exactly what your presentation should achieve • what you must research and prepare for in advance • how to manage information overload • different ways to structure a presentation • effective use of scripts, prompts, visual aids and handouts • handling questions – including the awkward ones! • how to present yourself – your voice, body language and appearance • the importance of self-belief.

 

So what must you include in the beginning? • a welcome, a greeting • an introduction of yourself. This is not your lifehistory! Keep it succinct and relevant to your primary aim – for example: ‘Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Brian Lomas and I am here, as the author of the easy step by step guide on making confident presentations, to …’ • outline your primary aim: what are you there to achieve? (You may not reveal all of your aim – you wouldn’t, for instance, say that one of your success criteria is to get wild applause at the end of your presentation!) To continue with our example: ‘… give you as many tips and hints as I can on preparing for a presentation to enable you to feel more confident in the future …’ • next, we need to manage their expectations on how long you are going to talk. Always give the maximum time – to finish early is acceptable, to overrun, unforgivable: ‘… over the next 20 minutes …’ • now, we need something that will encourage the audience to start listening. This ‘wake-up call’ states what they will gain from giving your presentation their full attention. It could be a positive wakeup or a negative one: ‘… and thereby ensure that you get what you want out of your presentations …’ (positive) or: ‘… and thus avoid those tears and tantrums you may well experience just before starting a presentation …’ (negative) • next, outline how you will be approaching the subject (your structure and your key points that you must communicate): ‘… I’ll describe these tools under six headings – namely the aim, content, audience, location, structure and visual aids.’ The beginning might also include: • domestic arrangements: your audience must be told the evacuation procedures; they should be told where the toilets are; break times; refreshment arrangements; smoking rules, and how messages for the audience will be dealt with • a request for your audience to turn off their mobile phones whenever possible • let the audience know when you would like to take questions. If you don’t do this, be prepared for questions at the most awkward of times! (See Chapter 8 for more on questions) • the information sources upon which your presentation is based • Background to the presentation: although not essential, it may be useful for the audience to know why the presentation is being made. If this cannot be done briefly, consider making it the first point in the middle part of the structure

 

About the author x Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 How to use this guide 2 What you will learn from this guide 3 1 Different types of message 5 Is a presentation the right medium? 7 Defining the primary aim 8 What am I seeking to achieve? 9 Why is this presentation being made? 9 How would I recognise success? 10 Why are you the presenter? 13 Stay focused 13 In summary 14 2 Do you need to know it all? 15 Sourcing information 16 Collating data 17 Choosing the information to include 18 Too little time? 20 In summary 21 3 Your audience 23 The basic information needed 24 Your audience – your invite 24 Your audience – invited by others 25 Attitudes of the audience 25 Invitations that work 26 Audience knowledge level 27 Stereotyping your audience 28 Building a rapport 30 Special needs 31 In summary 32 4 Location, location, location! 35 Choosing the location 36 Special needs 37 Room layout 38 Directions are always useful 39 Plan a welcome 39 Timings at the location 40 Refreshments 41 First thoughts – visual aids 41 Setting your ‘stage’ 42 Health and safety 43 In summary 44 5 The audience don’t always listen 47 Structure and signposts 47 Basic rules of structure 48 The beginning 49 The middle 52 Progressive theme 53 Narrative theme 53 Analytical theme 54 Persuasive theme 55 Picture-painting theme 56 The ending 56 Whet the appetite or give them a feast? 58 In summary 58 6 To script or not to script? 61 The script 63 Prompts to be wary of 63 Recommended prompts 64 Avoid losing your way 66 Handouts 67 Distribution of handouts 68 In summary 69 7 Choose your visuals 71 Controlling visual aids 72 Visual aids – the equipment 72 Setting up your equipment 74 Using the equipment 75 Pre-developed visuals 76 Free-flowing visuals 77 Format of visuals 78 Keeping the audience on the point 80 3D visuals 81 A box of tricks 82 And if there are no visuals … 82 In summary 83 8 Asking your audience to participate 85 Types of participation 85 Taking questions 86 Answering questions – basic rules 87 Answering questions – hints and tips 88 Closing question time 90 Humour 90 Political correctness 91 Handling hecklers 92 In summary 93 9 You are a visual aid 95 Make an entrance 95 Your appearance 96 Being heard 97 Microphones 98 Silence is power 99 Sit or stand? 99 Walk the talk 101 If I itch, do I scratch? 103 Irritating habits you never knew you had 104 Eye contact 104 Smiling can be good 105 Rehearsing it as one set piece 105 In summary 106 10 Believe it 109 Believe in your message 109 Believe in your audience 110 Believe in yourself 111 Nerves are a good thing 112 Believe to be believed 112 Conclusion 114 Prepare, prepare and then prepare 114 Rehearse, rehearse and then rehearse 115 Learn for the future 116

This is one of those books that become an essential addition to any professional library. It is easy to use being concise enough to read from cover to cover, yet sufficiently detailed enough to simply dip in to. As its subject matter covers one of the most difficult activities to undertake it handles the approach well and gives sufficient guidance to provide confidence and assurance. I particularly like the boxes containing key statements and the easy to read and digest summaries - ideal for the busy person.

 

This book is clear, reader friendly and full of helpful hints for both novices and the more experienced presenter. However long you have been presenting, there are always ways to improve your technique and impact. I refer to my copy often and have found the summary sections and the highlighted hints invaluable as a checklist during preparation for my next presentation.

 

Brian Lomas is a business consultant and trainer based on the south coast of England. He is a visiting lecturer at the Southampton University School of Management and has written the Easy Step by Step Guide, Stress and Time Management, also published by Rowmark.

His first experience of public speaking was as a 5-year old sitting on his father’s knee and talking into a megaphone. What did he say? Four words: ‘Vote for my daddy.’

Although his dad didn’t get elected to the House of Commons on that occasion, neither Lomas gave up their public speaking. Lomas the Elder did become a Member of Parliament and Brian watched, listened, practiced and learnt during a business career on both sides of the Atlantic.

And has he learnt? Well, his dad thought so and he didn’t offer praise easily. On his parents golden wedding anniversary (when Brian was somewhat older than five), his dad took him to one side after he had made his speech and said: ‘Well, Brian, how did I do?’

During his career, Brian has presented to audiences in excess of a thousand, faced the friendly (and the not-so-friendly), been asked the questions he wanted and the questions he didn’t want. And when asked: ‘Are you nervous when presenting?’, Brian answered, ‘Absolutely! In fact, the more laid-back I might feel, the more dangerous it is. Nerves make for a good presentation – the trick is to appear and speak confidently. And that trick – along with many others – is what this book is all about.’

 

Easy Step by Step Guide to Giving Confident Presentations by Brian Lomas
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