Presentation Guidelines

        Many presentations fail because the presenter forgets the basic communication principles.

         It is rare for people to recall accurately what they have heard after a presentation. Having carried out over 100 recall workshop exercises in many countries I found recall is generally very poor.

         Try to make your message memorable by keeping it clear, simple and timely.

A Handful of Tips to help improve your next talk

*Use many senses

         The more senses you can use the greater the chances that people will remember your message.

         People learn much more from seeing than from hearing so back up your talk with simple effective visual aids and give a handout when you finish.

         Your audience will be lucky to remember 20% of what they hear. But they often remember 80% of what they see. That’s why you should consider using some form of visual aids.

         Many visual aids cannot be seen by all because the screen or the seating may be badly placed.  There may be too much light on the screen from the sun on the windows.

         Often the words or figures are too small, or a bad colour combination has been used so they are hard to read.

          Many men are colour-blind so take care of the colours you use. Use strong basic colours when using visual aids.

         Some topics may suit the use of additional senses, for example, if you were talking about cheese, wine or food you could add smell and taste to your sense list.    

* People must hear

         Check out the age of your audience. As people age, they suffer from hearing loss. Some younger people have impaired hearing after listening to loud music. 

         Project your voice so the people in the back row can hear you and make sure there is a good sound system if you have a large audience.

         Always check the room and the equipment to be used well before making a presentation. Make sure your aids are compatible with the ones you will be using. It’s wise to have a backup plan in case you have trouble.

* Chat don’t read

         We don’t talk in sentences and paragraphs – we talk in groups of words so chat with your audience.

         Don’t read a written text to them unless it is in the spoken format. It can be boring and many people start thinking of other things and fail to hear your message. 

* Timing is critical

         Don’t clutter your message with non-essential information.

         Keep within your allotted time. If you go over your time you are stealing someone else’s time.

         To be remembered, make no more than three main points and tell them three times.

         Tell your audience what you are going to tell them, make your case, and then tell them what you have told them in your summary.

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

“Nothing replaces preparation.”

SOURCE: For more on this topic see:  “Persuasive Ways” first published by Moss Associates Ltd, New Zealand and in Chinese by Shanghai People’s Publishing House and “Secrets of Persuasion” by Cengage Learning Asia. (Available as an e-book from Amazon.com.) Also available as “Getting Your Ideas Across” from Kogan Page, U.K and a  Hungarian translation published by Bagolyvar Konyvkiado, Budapest.