Giving a personal presentation

When you give a presentation, it is important to remember the whole package, and that means how you present yourself as well as how you present the material.

It is not good to spend hours and hours preparing a wonderful presentation and neglect the effect of your own appearance.

Whether you like it or not, people make judgements about you based on your appearance.

The Importance of Expectations

When you stand up to give a presentation, the audience already has certain expectations about how you will behave, and what you will say.

These expectations may be based on the event, the marketing, their knowledge of you, or their previous experience more generally.

Expectations may also be based on societal norms, such as business people are expected to wear suits.

You don’t have to match people’s expectations, of course, but you do need to be aware that, if you don’t, they are going to have to spend time processing that difference. This mismatch will take some of their concentration away from your message.

You also need to be aware that people can only take so much discomfort.

A mismatch between expectations and reality can even lead to a situation called cognitive dissonance, where individuals come into contact with something — whether idea, person, or belief — that causes them to question their own internal beliefs and values.

This can be very uncomfortable, and the normal reaction is to try to avoid it. In a presentation situation, that's going to mean either leaving or just not listening, neither of which is ideal.

This is particularly important if you want to say something that your audience will find difficult to hear.

Aspects of Personal Presentation

Your personal presentation includes:

·          Clothes;

·         Accessories, which in this context means anything that you’re carrying or wearing, including your notes, although it also includes luggage, bags, phones, jewellery, watches, and scarves;

·         Body language; and

·         Voice.

Your clothes are probably the most obvious aspect of personal presentation.
In deciding what to wear, there are several things to consider:

What does the audience expect?

It’s not actually as simple as ‘wear a business suit’, because this may not always be appropriate.

It does depend what your audience is expecting. On some occasions, or in some industries, smart casual may be much more appropriate. If you’re not sure, ask the organisers about the dress code. You can also ask someone who has been to the event before, or have a look online.

If it’s a regular event, there will almost certainly be photographs of previous occasions and you can see what other people have worn.

Within the audience’s expectations, what will make you feel comfortable?

You will present best if you are fairly relaxed, so you need to find a balance between the audience’s expectations, and feeling comfortable.

For example, you may have a particular suit that you think makes you look good. For women, it’s also worth thinking about shoes: you’re going to have to stand for the duration of the session, so make sure that you can do that.

If you’re not used to heels, don’t wear them.

Your accessories should be consistent with your clothes.

That doesn’t mean that your bag needs to be the same colour as your jacket.  However, if you’re wearing a suit, your notes should be in a briefcase or smart bag, and you’re not carrying a backpack or plastic carrier bag. Again, it’s about not distracting your audience from your message.

Likewise, your notes should be part of your thinking. Producing a dog-eared sheaf of paper is not going to help you project a good image. Papers tend to flap about, whereas cue cards can be held on your hand, which is why it is worth considering using cue cards, or even memorising most of what you’re going to say and using your visual aids as cues.

5 Tips for Giving Really Amazing Presentations

Some people live for making presentations; others consider it their worse nightmare.  It could be five  people in a boardroom or 500 in the audience, but if you are the presenter the spotlight is on you. You'll either be the hero or the goat.

No need to panic. Here are five ways to help make your presentation astounding and enjoy the opportunity to bask in the limelight.

1. Give it Focus

No one is impressed by a presentation that rambles. Rambling happens when the speaker is both self-indulgent and unorganized. Your purpose and prose must be specifically directed to interests of your listeners or they will mentally shut you down. Even if you hit upon a topic of interest, you will lose them quickly if they can't follow the logic of your ideas. Outline the structure of your presentation in a way that people can follow easily. Research your audience to make sure the topic is truly of interest. Promoting the benefits of beef at a vegetarian conference will likely empty your venue no matter how strong your passion for steak.

2. Tell Compelling Stories

There must be a reason you are presenting to these people. Most likely you want them to take action of some kind. Maybe you want them to write you a check, get involved in an activity, or to make something happen in their own lives. They won't likely take action just because you tell them to do so. You need to connect with them emotionally and inspire them to change behavior. Stories do more for emotional connection than any other speech technique. The more personal and authentic, the more powerful the response you'll receive. Learn how to construct stories that excite, motivate and compel people to action. Most importantly, make sure your stories have humor and Aha! moments to make them memorable.

3. Give an Entertaining Performance

Not every presenter has to be an actor or comedian, but no one wants to listen to someone drone on in dull monotone. There are powerful dynamics in movement and vocal inflections that will help your listeners feel your passion and energy.  Give them an awesome experience. Take the time to create a script and memorize it so you own the material. You don't have to know it word for word but you should be able to clearly articulate the key points without your notes. Then you need to rehearse... a lot. As painful as it might be, watch yourself on video and work to remove Uhhs, Umms and physical tics so you appear polished and comfortable. Find a friend with a performance background to coach you so your diction is clear, you project emotion, and you connect with your eyes. Make your audience knows they are worth your effort.

4. Use Media Only to Enhance

PowerPoint, visuals and video are powerful presentation tools when used correctly. But they can be disastrous distractions when misused. They should never replace you as the provider of expertise. Don't ever let your audience feel they would have been better off if you had just emailed them the deck. Keep your PowerPoint to a few words and never read from the screen in the presentation. Ask yourself if a slide or video is truly necessary before adding anything. Visuals are good for making an emotional connection only if they are relevant and required, otherwise best to just leave the projector off and focus more on your storytelling and performance skills.

5. Create a Worthy Leave-Behind

So you just delivered the best presentation ever. Now your audience heads off to the next speaker, to lunch or back to their desks.  People are busy and no matter how much you impressed them they will turn their attentions elsewhere. Give them something to remember you by. Professional speakers will give them a book or at least a couple of chapters. It might be as simple as a small flyer or premium item. Whatever it is, make sure it's relevant to your compelling story and reminds them of the action they should take. Be clever and appropriate so people will appreciate your thoughtfulness as well as your ideas.