Have you ever heard of imagining your audience naked to overcome your fear of introducing them? How about practicing in front of a mirror? Anyone who has tried any of those well-meaning tropes knows how useless they are. Deceiving ourselves that we can assuage fears by laughing at our audience, or that we can convince them of anything by feigning authenticity, is worse than a waste of time. It prevents us from using our greatest power as presenters: our true selves. Try to ignore the “worst advice” and replace it with powerful communication.
Worst advice:
Memorize your presentation
Now this sounds pretty reasonable on the surface. After all, much of our fear of introducing ourselves is wrapped up in our fear of looking foolish in front of others. Some of that comes from our fear of going blank when all eyes are on us. If we memorize our presentation, that won’t happen, right? Perhaps, but what will certainly happen is that we will be pulled out of the “moment” as we put all our energy and attention on remembering the least significant part of our presentation: the literal words. Suddenly we’re not focused on the immediate reaction we’re getting from the audience or making sure we connect with them. Instead, we’re focusing on making sure the words keep coming. That sets the bar too low: surviving the presentation to the end is not your goal. CONNECTING with your audience is.
Instead: know your presentation
Focus on the essence of what you are presenting – that is, your key messages. This is the most important thing for your audience to understand. If the worst happens and all your materials and notes disappear, how would you summarize what you came to say? Put those most important ideas up front and build your presentation around them. Your audience may not remember all the supporting details, but they should remember your key points. Worry less about repeating the exact words you intended and more about making sure you connect. If you see heads nodding, react. If you see puzzled looks, don’t just push your way. Stop and make sure you don’t get ahead of your audience just to fill the gap. Slow down and make sure you really see your audience and gauge their reactions. Remember, no one knows what you were supposed to say, so don’t let a pause or phrases other than the ones you planned put you off.
Use a lot of bullets
For whatever reason, many presenters think they can take a long, dry presentation and suddenly bring it to life if they can only add enough bullets to the screen. Have you ever sat down to watch one of those presentations where the bullets in no way indicate an abbreviated point? Heck, they might not even indicate a point! Here’s the thing: THE TEXT ON A SLIDE IS NOT A VISUAL AID. There is nothing in the text that makes it more understandable, or illustrative, than the spoken word, by itself.
Instead: put the visual back into the visual aid
Are there real pictures that would help illustrate your points? Can you bring relevant charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations to help your audience “see” your points? If you must use bullets, greatly reduce the words you use. Your audience didn’t come to read and they didn’t come to hear you read to them. (Hint: If you punctuate bulleted information, you’re using too many words.)
More is better
Have you ever sat down to listen to a presentation that is the product of many hands? More details, more slides, with the presenter chanting something like… “… and here you can see it again …” gold “This is just another example of …” Yes, you want to demonstrate your key points. Data helps you do that. However, information overload can quickly confuse your audience and mask your key points.
Instead: Pointed is powerful
Limit your backup points and secondary data to your “best things.” Ask yourself if a certain slide is necessary, why and what could be carried over to the handout. Remember, this is an ORAL presentation. That means presenters need to pay attention to higher messages, with enough information to provide strong support. Remember, you are the presentation, so stay center stage.
