By Aleksandra Tsytsyn, Neuroscience Student at Washington State University Vancouver
From telegraph.co.uk
It is time. You are summoned up to the stage. You clutch your notecards within your sweaty palms as you slowly make your way up. You turn towards the sea of faces, and all you can do is stand there in the moment of horror.
Ever felt that way? Well guess what, presentations don’t have to be so scary! In fact you can present about something you are passionate about and have a good time doing it. A few simple tricks in getting started with the presentation, organizing your talk, and perfecting delivery will make you a more confident and effective presenter.
Whether you are presenting for thirty seconds, or three hours it all comes down to what you want to say. As a presenter, you are given an opportunity to have a voice and teach people about something. What is it that you want people to know? If people leave your presentation remembering just one thing, what do you want that one thing to be? Clearly address your take-home message, and make that the sole topic of the presentation. Next clearly outline your supporting arguments. Although they are important, arguments are only there to boost the main message, not to stand alone. Once you have the main message and supporting arguments, you can dive in and shape your presentation.
A presentation should have the shape of a funnel. In the introduction start with the big picture; give the background information that would put the topic into perspective. Then zoom in to the main message with the supporting arguments. This gives listeners a road map so they know where you’ll be taking them. During your introduction, you have the chance to get people’s attention by introducing yourself or the topic in a fascinating way. Be creative! Getting your audience’s attention makes sure they’re on this ride with you, and haven’t been left behind. Moving further into the presentation, arrange the supporting arguments for your topic in a logical way in which ideas build upon each other. Think of a cake. In your presentation, you want to build a cake for your audience layering one supporting argument after another. In conclusion, use a concluding phrase to let your audience know that you’re wrapping up. Briefly summarize the arguments you’ve presented and restate your message.
You’ve gotten the wheels rollin’, organized the talk, and now the big day. Delivery is huge. In fact, it really wouldn’t be a presentation without delivery. However, there’s no need for sweaty palms sticking to notecards. Dressing professionally will make the presentation polished, make for a great first impression, and will give you more confidence. Getting up in front of an audience changes your point of view, literally, and really makes you forget why you’re up there. In order to ease into your talk as well as bring more impact to your introduction, memorize the first line of your presentation. This allows you to solely focus on eye contact, your body movements and voice to really drive your message home. It’s also a good idea to do the same for your last sentence, to end equally strong. However, memorizing your whole talk is not a good idea. If you start stumbling with your sentences or ideas, having a memorized script somewhere in your brain will only make it more difficult to adjust and move on. Also, knowing your ideas but not memorizing lines will allow you to interact more with the audience, and really reel them in.
After spending so much time focusing on what and how you are presenting, don’t forget why you’re presenting. It is your chance to teach people something important in a memorable way. But above all else, don’t forget to breathe and relax.