Hello class,
Today we discussed elements of public speaking / effective communication and then had a chance to present to the class and get feedback. Please provide a brief blurb on other elements of giving powerful speeches that was not given in class. It can be related to physical stature (i.e. stance and hand gestures) to slide writing, to tactical / content tips and tricks.
See you Thursday!
It was really useful to learn important tips regarding public speaking in order to make an extraordinary presentation. I think the most important things we can’t afford to ignore them is to know our speech and its background, and to practice a lot to be prepared. About the speech I think it’s important to try to connect with the audience (i.e. If they could be your potential customers try to make them feel the customers pains you state so they will celebrate your solution). Also its important to keep the speech simple and with clear and powerful statements, avoiding ambiguities. About the formal aspects is extremely important to manage body language, voice volume and also use the correct dressing code.
I really liked the suggestion of not having everyone necessarily narrate the presentation. Professor Darwin gave an example of a team member being referenced as an expert within the field by the main presenter so that both the quality of the presentation is not diminished. For example, one could refer to another fellow team member to provide more insight into a particular aspect of the BM such as breakeven financial point and the “expert” could come in, be very passionate, and tell the audience his/her findings. This is a method we might use in our presentation!
One other important element of an effective presentation is to have only the thing we are currently talking about on our slide. Presenters should control the flow of information so that their audience is on the same page as them. We should all strive to plan our presentations so that the information we reference (in either bullet points, graphics, etc.) are shown one at a time. This will help not only making the powerpoint look more clean, but also having the audience stay engaged in the presentation without being tempted to read ahead.
I thought this class was very practical ,not just for our final presentation but also for developing communication skills .I really liked when he mentioned the importance of being natural and connecting emotionally with ours listeners. It is essential to have a dynamic and interesting presentation. What I learned about public speaking is that you have to stand up and try to make eye contact with all your public and do not just look at one side of the room.Even if you are nervous you have to avoid touching your face or your ring however you should move your hands in order to better explain yourself. Body language is really important in public speaking.
One portion of a group presentation that is oftentimes overlooked is the interaction between group members. The most obvious aspect of this involves transitions. For example, you could transition from your own portion to a teammate’s by saying, “And now, Joe will discuss pricing strategies.” In addition, it is very important to look engaged while your teammates are speaking. When your teammates look disinterested or distracted, it detracts from the impact of your presentation. If the audience sees that the people who worked on the project aren’t even interested, then why should they pay attention? At the very least, teammates can nod when one person makes a particularly good point.
One of the things I’ve learned from my previous experience is that the majority of the presentation shouldn’t be focused on the materials itself. The majority of the presentation should be focused on the presenter, that is, you need to be interesting and get the audience motivated! My idea is that to start off, you could tell a story about what is the pain point of the existing products/services, and then go ahead introduce what your product could solve. And in the very end, go back and conclusion the prevention again by the story. A great story could be very impressive and empathetic. To make it a great story, you could start with your personal struggle story, your story with others and etc. But keep in mind that the story should be limited only to half a minutes, since usually the presentation is only about 5-10 minutes.
I agree with keeping the presentation flow interesting with an embedded narrative. It keeps the audience engaged and proves to be more memorable than a strict lecture-style presentation. Additionally, it feels more natural to tell a story than to recite points, putting the presenter more at ease as well. If done correctly (without seeming long-winded), the combination of story and strategy content will effectively project power, passion, and purpose in our team’s presentation. Definitely something to work on for the future!
Previous experiences have also taught me the importance of drawing connections between your group’s presentation and the presentations of other groups that have gone before you. This keeps all audience members – even those who have already presented – engaged in your content. An example would look like this: “We just learned that the Wipro team is creating a large ecosystem for smart city developers on its digital platform. Our Coca-Cola group is also seeking to create a smarter ecosystem, but we are zooming in and taking a look inside the company.” There are always opportunities to draw connections between presentations to keep content relevant an engaging for all. This also reinforces the idea that innovation can be inspired by other industries and their challenges.
I have been attending to a couple of Toastmaster classes before doing a presentation in front of 1500 attendees and the King of spain and some ministers presenting the first smart wifi thermostat in Europe (Nest version) and it helped me.
You can see the presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ_DzquyHEI
What I learned after the presentation was:
1-The light from the spotlights will be going straight in your eyes so you won’t see the public and you won’t be able to make direct eye contact. Before the presentation be aware of this and imagine the audience and the scenario while you practise.
2-It is really intimidating and the best is to look at an imaginary line in the back
3-People make noises and there is a huge echo so don’t try to be affected by this by knowing very well your material.
4- If the video or something doesn’t work don’t apologize, just continue.
Hope this helps!
Chantal
That presentation was pretty cool! I’ve heard tons and tons of great things about Toastmasters. I think point number 4 is pretty critical. There have been many times that I’ve seen presenters stumble and hesitate when their presentation wasn’t working. Instead of just continuing with their presentation and delivering their pitch, they spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to fix it, taking away from the actual presentation time.
Here’s a good TED ‘talk’ that somewhat describes this problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_6SfMZxoLc
In terms of public speaking and communicating in general (whether it’s to 1 person or a large group) it’s important to watch your tone of voice. You do not want to sound like you are lecturing to them or ‘talking down’ to them. I personally prefer a more friendly and conversational tone. You want to treat people as your equal and when it comes to business presentations it’s smart to present it as if you are sharing interesting facts or you are trying to convince someone that your idea is the best. Body language is also often overlooked. It keeps people focused when you use gestures and hand movements (as long as you don’t overdo it) and you should never ever cross your arms or put your hands in your pockets because it comes off as uninterested and disengaged.
I found yesterday’s class useful because it was helpful to hear tips on presenting from someone who speaks in front of a class at least twice each week. A tip that adds to your point on watching your tone, some people like to speak too conversationally and often end their sentences with an upward inflection in their voice. This can make the speaker sound informal and unsure of what they are presenting, as if they might be asking instead of stating. Personally, it’s a problem that I’ve had to deal with when I speak too quickly and I usually try to make sure I speak slowly and really articulate everything I’m saying.
It is important to keep the powerpoint slides simple to compliment your main points. Too much on the slides will distract the audience from your message. The slides should compliment the main points but not control the presentation. One way to keep the eyes on you is to manage your body language. We should be in tune with what your body is conveying to the audience. Some body language tips when giving a presentation include:
1) Expand your body – try not to cross your arms or legs
2) Smile when appropriate – genuine smiling is contagious and puts the audience members at ease
3) Stand up straight and own the room with confidence
4) Choose where you stand wisely so the audience can see you
5) Vary and project your voice
6) Use hand gestures to emphasize key points
In my business communications class I learned that an effective PowerPoint presentation has minimal words. This is important because if there is too much information listed on the slide then the audience becomes more captivated by what is written than what is said. Slide format/presentation also goes hand-in-hand with the flow of a speaker’s verbal presentation. If the slides are not presented in an optimal order than the audience will have trouble understanding the speaker’s argument and key points.
Another helpful tip is to organize content with the AIDA structure. AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. I believe the last two elements – attention and action – are the most important because they will be what the audience remembers most. The introduction must immediately grab the audience’s attention or else the listener will not be engaged with the rest of the speech. Ending with a strong action statement is necessary because the audience will vividly remember this detail.
Good thing that professor Darwin went over this early on. I really learned alot from the class. One of the things that mentioned that was really on point for me was on the impact of the things I say. Often times I know what I want to say, with or without script. However, when it comes to delivering what I say, it gets really difficult and sometimes I tend to forget the main points I have prepared. Lack of preparation inhibits impact and interest among audience. For the coming presentation, I have learned that I need to construct statements that are intriguing and impactful so that audience can find the information presented meaningful and helpful for them.
Yesterday’s class was extremely helpful. While I think we sometimes assume presenting will figure itself out with just a little bit of practice before hand, it can many a time make or break a presentation no matter how great the content is. For our team, this is something we definitely need to work on, most of all regarding team dynamics. This is something Professor Darwin touched on in class and mentioned is a large part of the grading rubric. I’d like to explore this topic a bit more. I think individually everyone, as the professor said, brings something unique to their group and can contribute presentation wise in some way. But most of all, I think team SYNERGY is the focus and should be the focus in relation to script writing as well as in attributing parts of the presentation to each person. The Fujitsu team definitely needs to work on this as I think all the teams do, but if we all try to hone in on creating synergy between each member and the content being presented, we can all successfully present our ideas.
Know your audience!
Everyone has mentioned wonderful tips for presenting. One missed was to know your audience. If you know who you are presenting to, do your research. Figure out who they are and what is relevant to them. You can personalize your pitch to make it more appealing. The first time I saw how impactful this was when my ex had an important luncheon with some of the top VC’s in the bay. He researched them and was able to add references to relevant topics that engaged the individuals he was meeting with. He came home that day with numerous VC’s interested in investing in his startups. He was prepared and it payed off. The same goes for our pitches. Even if we do not have specific names, we should take the time to think about what the judges interest may be. What would be relevant for a successful business person probably somewhere in their 40’s.
I think one thing really important is to explain your idea in the easiest way for people to understand. Since we’ve been working on the project for so long and know everything clearly, we might forget that our audience might not be familiar with what we are talking. We need to make sure that what we present is easy for all kinds of audience to understand and follow. Some useful ways include giving real-life examples when we explain complicated ideas or concept, asking questions to engage audience in your thinking process.
This is the best advice I’ve found on the art of pitching, “pitch-craft”
“When you present to a board, to potential investors, they ask themselves some questions about your new project:
Is there a problem?
Do I like the solution—is it free, instant and certain, or at least close enough to be interesting?
Are you the one to take this problem on and create this solution?
Is the way you’re doing it the way I would do it?
And, is it urgent, or can I wait?
Note that the order of the questions matters a lot. If you bring me a solution for a problem I haven’t been sold on, you lose. And if your solution is risky and difficult, I’m almost certainly going to work hard to begin diminishing the problem in my mind, because no one finds it easy to walk around with a difficult problem.”