Throughout school and my professional career, I’ve given a metric butt-ton of speeches and presentations. Some casual and low-key to 3 or 4 people. Some scientific presentations to a room full of PhD’s. Some in front of 200+ strangers while wearing an extremely tight wetsuit. I wouldn’t call myself a presentation “expert” by any means. Nonetheless, here are a few public speaking tricks and tips I’ve picked up to avoid Fruit of the Loom brownies.
Tell A Story
Legit. You are the J.R.R. Tolkien of this presentation. People often overlook this but it’s key. Good presentations, like good stories, have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Don’t just sit there spewing out random facts like a damn verbiage volcano. Set the scene and give them the big scope, highlight the key points and go into detail, charts and graphs and charts and graphs and some PICTURES (please don’t just word vomit all over a Powerpoint slide… it’s the woooooorst) and then wrap it up with some ‘key-takeaways’, ‘proposed next steps’ and other office-life buzz words that are sure to bring your boss from six to midnight. ![]()
LEARN Your Story aka Do Some Damn Prep Work
Unless you're a bird, you probably shouldn't wing it. Know what the fudge you’re going to say BEFORE you give your presentation. Make flash cards. Type up outlines. Do whatever you have to do to avoid reading verbatim from a script or slides. No one likes an orator who sounds like a robot literally reading word for word off the monitor. Ron Burgundy over here... Familiarize yourself with the information you're about to present as much as possible. I always find myself googling terms or words or techniques I come across that I’m unfamiliar with. And don’t put anything in your presentation that you wouldn’t feel comfortable answering in-depth questions about. Someone is bound to grill you when you seem unsure. Like sharks circling a wounded walrus… waiting… hoping… OMNOMNOMNOMNOM.
Dress To Impress
PRO TIP!!!! If you want to feel empowered and confident, make sure you look good. It starts with YOU! If I know I’m about to blow the minds of scientists and research technicians with some siqqqqqq Western Blot images and killer chromatography data… I’m going to dress the part. Pick an outfit that’s classy, and something you know you look good in. You’ll feel that much more confident while delivering your presentation. I would avoid the Batman mask unless it's Halloween. Realistic example for me: Nice pair of gray or blue slacks, some clean-ass tan Cole Haans with belt to match, a nice slim-fit button up shirt from Le Republique de Banane, a minimalistic watch from MVMT, and a fresh haircut a la Julien Edelman. BOOM! You’re feeling damn confident now aren’t you, you sexy bitch. If you’re in the situation like I am at the aquarium and don’t have control over your outfit (i.e. I’m wearing a NEAQ wetsuit standing in 55-degree water) at least make sure you brush your teeth and maybe do your hair. Facial hair too dudes… trim that chin bush. I like to make a joke about wearing a wetsuit during my penguin presentations which always lightens the mood. Something like “You’ll see I’m wearing this nice thick wetsuit, which isn’t as easy to get into after binge watching ‘Breaking Bad’ and slaying an entire Hawaiian pizza”.
Tortoise And The Hare
Pace pace pace. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Go slow. Articulate. Project your voice. BREATHE. I’ll even pre-plan a few pauses in my speech. They'll give me a chance to gather my thoughts AND give the audience a chance to digest everything. And here’s a trick if you ever get stuck… just say “Before I move on, does anyone else have any questions?” A solid 80% of the time no actually one does or they're too shy to ask, so you can pretend you’re looking around to see raised hands when the inside of your brain is like “OH SHIT WHAT”S NEXT?!?!” ![]()
Eye-Eye Captain
Eye contact is important. It’s the sign of someone who is focused and paying the utmost attention to you. But GAHD DAMN is it AWKWARD! Especially when you hit like the 5+ second mark of solid eye contact. It’s like the Millenium Falcon getting sucked into the Death Star via tractor beam. Nothing you can do once you’re caught in the vortex. Here’s a way to maintain the illusion of eye contact while simultaneously not making eye contact. Straight David Blaine shit. Ready for this?!?! Stare at people’s foreheads. Mind blown or what?! If you stare at their eyebrows/forehead, it looks like you’re beaming right into their eyes… but you’re NOT. And the farther away you are the better. Closer up in like interviews and stuff you’re kind of screwed… But in auditoriums, meeting rooms, 150,000 gallon pools filled with salt-water and flightless birds, you’re golden.
“I Don’t Know” Is An Acceptable Answer
You’re going to do your prep work. You’ll know the answer to 99% of the questions thrown at you. But once in a blue moon you’ll be asked a question that would confuse Einstein. Real life example: *Victor giving penguin presentation* Does anyone have any questions? Yes, I do. Go ahead. Do people eat penguins? Well honestly I don’t know. You might want to ask one of the staff on exhibit if they know the answer to that. Now people eating penguins is a sensitive subject… and I honestly had no idea what the answer was. Even if I did know I probably wouldn’t answer since I’m sure someone would get offended and sue me. I’m sure there’s a random tribe somewhere that eats penguins. Key takeaway: It’s OK to say ‘I don’t know’ if you truly don’t know. All the better if you can point them in the right direction of someone who might know the answer. It's preferable to flat-out lying and a) getting called out by someone or b) starting with one lie that leads to a cascade/web of lies that comes back to bite you in the ass two months down the road during your mid-year performance review when your boss references some ‘facts’ you mentioned during your presentation…Not that that’s happened to me or anything.
Step Away From The Podium
It’s OK you can do it. There you go… Theeeeree you go. Now the other hand. Nice! See? Not so bad. Unless you’re the President of the United States or some other useless government agent there’s no need for you to be glued to a podium or stuck to your desk while presenting information. Get up and walk around a bit. I’m not saying parkour across the meeting table, but take a few steps every so often… and leave the podium behind. No hiding behind it. By being up and out in the open and moving around, you’ll project confidence and energy that the crowd will pick up on. “Hey look at me I’m out the open and totally vulnerable! But I give ZERO shits!” They’ll dig that. Plus, it allows you to convey yourself through gestures and motion clearly, resulting in a more dynamic presentation. Do a cartwheel at the end, I don’t care.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2016
Categories
|