JHPIEGO TrainerNews™ |
Delivering Winning Presentations
(June 2003)
What makes a great presentation? Why is one presenter so good and another presenter just average? Here are some tips and hints to help you plan and deliver exciting and informative presentations.
Planning
- Gather information about your topic
- Consider your target audience
- Select a variety of presentation methods
- Develop your session handouts
- Prepare your presentation notes and media
- Plan with your co-presenter or moderator if appropriate
- Plan how to begin your presentation
Tips For Reducing Anxiety or "Stage Fright"
- Arrive at the presentation room early
- Check all of your media equipment
- Locate and check the lighting control
- Look over your notes one last time
- Ensure that you have water available
- Get to know your co-presenters and moderator
- Avoid eating a big meal before your presentation
- Go for a short walk
- Drink a little water
- Create a positive mental picture
- Check out the microphone
- Greet participants as they enter the room
Those First Critical Moments
- Look your participants in the eyes, pause and then welcome them
- Share your objectives
- Determine what your participants expect by asking questions
- Never apologize
- Be optimistic
- Display some excitement and enthusiasm about your topic.
Effective Verbal Communication Techniques
- Project your voice
- Repeat all participant comments, questions and answers
- Maintain an appropriate pace
- Pause for emphasis at important points and emphasize key words
- Avoid use of fillers
- Enunciate clearly and distinctly
- Use participant and co-presenter names as often as possible
- Use familiar terms and expressions but don't repeat too often
- Make smooth transitions
- Use lots of examples
- Accept ideas and suggestions from participants
- Display a positive use of humor. Everyone enjoys some laughter during a presentation.
Effective Nonverbal Communication Techniques
- Maintain eye contact with your participants
- Maintain positive facial expressions
- Gesture with our hands and arms
- Do not engage in one-on-one communication
- Keep your mouth in good working order
- Maintain good posture
- Move about the room with energy to redirect participants' focus
- Follow your notes
- Do not read your notes (or visuals) - discuss the points
- Refer to your handouts
Effective Questioning Techniques
- Be sure to ask both simple and more challenging questions
- Target the question to a specific participant (if appropriate) by using that individual's name before asking the question.
- State the question, pause and then direct the question to a specific participant.
- The key is to avoid a pattern.
- Use participant names.
- Repeat a participant's correct response.
- Provide positive reinforcement for responses.
- When a response is partially correct, reward the correct portion and then improve the incorrect portion or redirect the question.
- When a response is incorrect, make a noncritical response and restate or redirect the question.
- When participants ask questions, you have two basic options: 1) answer the question, or 2) respond with another question.
A Few Questioning Cautions
- When unable to answer a question, you should acknowledge it and admit to not knowing the answer.
- When participants ask questions that will guide the presentation away from the topic, you must decide whether answering the question and allowing the ensuing discussion will be valuable.
- *How to Summarize Your Presentation
- Ask the participants for questions
- Use a transparency, slide or flip chart
- Be brief but powerful
- Remind participants to fill out their evaluation form (if used)
- Thank the participants for attending the session
- Tell participants you will be available for a few minutes
Tips for Serving as a Session Moderator or Chair
Presenting does not always mean being the presenter. Here are some useful tips for the Session Moderator or Chair.
- Welcome the audience
- Provide an overview/introduction to the session
- Keep the introduction of the moderator/chair very brief
- Introduce each speaker
- Manage the entire process
- Explain how you plan on running the session
- Do not try to paraphrase each presenter's statements
- Have a set of questions ready to kick off the post-presentation discussion
- Advise members of the audience to keep questions brief and to the point
- Advise presenters to keep answers brief
- Keep track of time
- Facilitate the question-and-answer period
- Provide a summary of the session
- Thank the speaker and audience
For more information about effective presentation skills, contact Rick Sullivan at repro@jhpiego.net.