Infinite Ideas - Presentations: Simple Ideas for Painless Public Speaking

Presentations

Simple ideas for painless public speaking

Infinite Ideas

Copyright information

Copyright Infinite Ideas 2012

First published in 1997 by David Grant Publishing; revised and updated edition published 2012 by

Infinite Ideas Limited
36 St Giles
Oxford
OX1 3LD
United Kingdom
www.infideas.com

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of small passages for the purposes of criticism or review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the publisher. Requests to the publisher should be addressed to the Permissions Department, Infinite Ideas Limited, 36 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LD, UK, or faxed to +44 (0) 1865 514777.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9781908474292

Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Welcome

About Presentations!

Can you learn to wow your audience and give an effective presentation simply by reading and learning from this short book? The answer is a resounding Yes.

The only bit of waffle in the book

This book has been written for people with neither the time nor patience to trawl through acres of jargon and management speak. Many people would have you believe that giving a first-class presentation is incredibly difficult or that its something best left to the experts. In fact making a persuasive presentation is all about technique skills that you can learn to develop quickly and easily.

This book recognizes that time is precious and is founded on the belief that you can learn all you really need to know quickly and without fuss. The aim is to distil the essential, practical advice you can use straight away.

What do we mean by presentation?

In this book, the term presentation is used to describe any situation in which you have to talk to other people and get some kind of message across. This extends from surviving a job interview or convincing your bank manager that your request for an interest-free 50,000 overdraft is entirely reasonable, to standing up in front of an entire organization to explain your plans for expansion and world domination.

Is this book for you?

Presentations is packed full of useful and practical guidance for those who quiver at the very thought of standing up in front of others. You may have an excellent product or service to offer, or an exciting proposal to make, but can you sell it? How many times do you kick yourself for not making the best case for your ideas?

This book is for you if you find that:

• you hate even the thought of giving a presentation;
• when you do give a presentation, you are often tongue-tied, dry-mouthed and nervous;
• your audience (whether its one person or a hall-full) seems to be bored, or their attention wanders;
• you cant seem to get on with the equipment the projector, your lap top or you memory stick always seem to go wrong, ruining your presentation;
• you are ashamed of your visuals;
• you are competent but you want to be better.

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, this quick, no-bull guide to making persuasive presentations is just what you need. Read on!

How to use this book

The message in this book is: Its OK to skim. You dont have to read it all at once, or follow every tip to the letter. Presentations has been written to dip into so feel free to flick through to find the help you most need. It is a collection of hands on tips that will help you tackle your presentations in the way that suits you best and which gives you maximum impact.

You will find that there are graphic features used throughout the book.

You?

This means something to think about it sets the scene and identifies the problems by prompting you to think about situations which will instantly feel familiar.

Act!

With the problem diagnosed, these features give you an action plan this will help you to get your own ideas in order.

Tips

This feature appears at the end of each chapter. It is a checklist which condenses all of the advice given throughout the chapter. Similar features appear within chapters which are overflowing with tips!

As you read through the book, you will come across lots of practical advice on how to make those perfect presentations. If youre really pushed for time, you can always flick to the tips feature at the ends of chapters these are also a useful reminder when you come back to look at this book in the future.

Good luck!

1. Planning the perfect presentation

Whats in this chapter for you

• What makes a presentation persuasive
• The secrets in the planning
• Knowing what you want to say
• Understanding your audience
• How to plan a persuasive presentation

Ive often come out of a business presentation thinking that I knew nothing more than when I started.

Ken Jones, sales manager

I often have to give presentations to colleagues I hate doing it. I get tongue-tied, sweaty and sound terrible. Even if the idea Im presenting is a great one, I somehow manage to make it sound really boring.

Jack Harvey, technical support assistant

You?

How many times has your presentation been less than persuasive? What was it that let you down?

What makes a presentation persuasive

Many people really dread having to make presentations. Its the same with interviews an interview is another kind of presentation, but the product is you. Do you always put across your idea or product, or yourself, in the best way? Think about it for a moment. Can you see where, if anywhere, you go wrong?

The commonest reason for poor presentations, in my experience, is poor planning. Most people I see dont have a clue about what they are trying to achieve apart from just getting to the end of the session.

Ken Jones

Any presentation should have a clear objective in mind. Here are some examples.

• To deliver a clear message about the product, service, person and so on.
• To impart important information to the audience.
• To overcome false impressions or prejudices.
• To enthuse the audience so that they continue to support you.
• To encourage the audience to work with you, and not against you.
• To persuade people to find out more about your product or service.
• To persuade people to buy your product or service.
• To enhance your career.

Persuasion is not just about encouraging people to buy or place an order. It is about getting people to see things from your point of view. This means that before you can persuade anyone about anything, you have to be able to persuade yourself. You will never make a persuasive presentation unless you:

• believe in the product or service;
• respect your audience;
• get a kick out of making a successful presentation in other words, care about getting it right; and
• respect yourself.

Act!

Before you even begin planning your presentation, make sure that you really do believe in what you are doing. If not, ask someone else to do it, drop the idea all together, or work harder at convincing yourself.

The secrets in the planning

You wont make a persuasive presenter unless youve done the planning. Even if its just a few minutes before a meeting, planning what you are going to do is essential.