Improve your presentation physiology

We have all sat through presentations where we have disengaged from the presentation.  Looking around a room at wall art or scribbling on a notepad.  Was this your fault or an issue with the presenter?  

So often we see presenters showing signs of nerves whilst presenting. Looking down at their feet rather than the audience in front of them.

Well at The Presenters Handbook we aim to improve the physiology of presenters. The question is do some of the areas mentioned in this video ring true?

If you need support in improving your own physiology whilst presenting, contact us at The Presenter's Handbook. Visit our website and whilst there answer a few questions to get instant feedback on your presentation ability.

Preparing for a presentation

With an estimated 30 million slides being created every day, there is a lot of presenting going on out there: To help you make sure that yours ‘hit the spot’ in terms of engaging your audience and getting your key points and concepts across as effective as possible. We nice people at The Presenter’s Handbook have compiled the top 5 aspects of preparing for a presentation.

 

1. Start early because it always takes longer than you think.
2. To focus your mind, write one clear sentence describing the presentation and its importance.
3. Collect material which may relate to the topic. Audiences love to receive information they didn’t know.
4. Design your presentation to be a story that follows a logical sequence.
5. Stick to the story: If a slide doesn’t fit, lose it!

For further tips on preparing for a presentation contact The Presenter's Handbook via our website.  

In addition find out how good a presenter you are by taking our online questionnaire.  

Reluctance to change

The reluctance to change for the better, never fails to surprise ‘The Presenter’s Handbook’ team. It appears at times as if the term ‘Professional Development’ needs to come with a health warning. 

A case in point came from a business lunch recently attended, supported by the local chamber of commerce. A salesman from a sponsoring company was given the opportunity to address the 30 diners for between 5-10 minutes.  Seeing many presentations of this type, it was obvious from body language that the presenter was nervous from the outset.  As is natural in these circumstances a count started, listening for repeated words. These repeated words are one of the audible expression of presenter nerves.   

During the brief presentation the presenter mentioned the phrase ‘OK’ over 20 times. Over that short period of time this was the lasting memory of the presentation. It diluted the corporate message.

After the presentation an email arrived from the same presenter offering product support and thanks for attending the meal. 

As ‘The Presenter’s Handbook’ had spoken to the presenter prior to the meal, we offered the presenter some free support,  as we had new equipment to trial.  A win win situation – A presenter gets to improve their presenting skills, and we improve our product offering. The presenter though shied away from this opportunity.

This got us thinking – Why is professional development such a reluctant force?

This reluctance to change is inbred it seems. Many theories highlight this point. As humans we are bred to survive, accepting a sign a weakness is not in our nature.

Professional development does not have to be an admission of weakness though. It should be seen as a position of strength, wanting to progress and improve your standing. If you embrace professional development whilst others are standing still, who will be lower down the food chain? It certainly will not be those who embrace continual professional development.

The question is are you ready to embrace change in yourself or your organisation?

Collaboration - A dynamic presenter.

Collaboration is a key factor to improving your presentation skills.

Consider last months sales presentations or last months company presentations.  How well did they go? What measures did you apply with regard to feedback?  Was getting the order sufficient? How did the audience react during your presentation? Were you script perfect? Were all the questions answered with positive language or support?

All too often the answer to these questions are unknown. It is estimated that in the region of 30 million PowerPoint presentations are created each day.  With other online presentation solutions available, this figure will grow. But so will the number of presenters applying no measurable analysis for their own professional development.

Collaboration - the act of working together with one or more people in order to achieve ....

Having a colleague tell you that a presentation went well is not a sufficient level of feedback for a serious business executive. They may have a vested interested in telling you it went well. Not willing to annoy a senior colleague would be a classic example. Also they may be wishing to improve their own standing within an organisation at your expense. Consider this. Is it the same colleague commenting on this presentation that viewed your previous presentations?  If not how can they offer any form a measureability? 

For those striving to improve and develop presentation techniques, new tehnology for the corporate environment is available.  Viewing your own presentation will highlight small negative factors that can be rapidly eradicated from your presentations. 

 Video analysis - A key component

For instance did your colleague tell you or have access to the following:

You said "Uhm" - 12 times during a question session.

The audience body language changed significantly when a specific point was mentioned.

You were static for 6mins 20sec of your 10 minute presentation.

A measured level of improvement contained within your history of presentation analysis.

Allow electronic comments to be added remotely by your mentor.

This detail of analysis allows you the presenter to become a more dynamic presenter. 

We all know that first impressions are important and these should not be underestimated. During a presentation though, it can be the idiosyncracy of the presenter that leaves a lasting impression.

Working and collaborating with experienced professionals offering an indepth mentoring service, allows this idiosyncracy to be eliminated from presentations. The feedback offered is bespoke to your specific needs and importantly remains private between you and your mentor.

For further information contact The Presenter's Handbook.  Also find out how good a presenter you are by taking our online questionnaire. 

The perfect discovery for your company?

A Midlands training company has launched a high-tech solution to business leaders and sales executives who want to improve their presentation skills.

The equipment records and analyses presentations and sales pitches instantaneously and in more detail than ever before, and could put an end to the massive cost of business lost through poor presentations.

And using internet technology, the equipment is capable of allowing comment and analysis of a presentation by someone on the other side of the world.

 

Named Discovery, the equipment consists of two synchronised video iPod camera systems which film the presenter and the audience simultaneously. Using wireless infra-red tracking, the Discovery follows the presenter automatically, while instantly recording audience reaction.

The recordings can be viewed for later analysis which covers presentation delivery skills, voice tone, hand and head movements, audience reactions and any other features relevant to the presentation. The analysis tools can be customised for individual requirements.

Discovery has been launched by Lichfield-based company The Presenter’s Handbook. Joint managing directors Ian Callow and Phillip Adcock are experts in the field of presenter training, business communications and psychology.

Phillip Adcock said the Discovery equipment turned every presentation scenario – real or rehearsed – into an observatory which can be used to hone presentation skills.

He said, “As businessmen we have all sat through presentations which are truly awful, but very often the presenter doesn’t realise how bad their presentation is and hasn’t a clue how to improve. This equipment gives real-time analysis and has demonstrated startling results. A company only needs to analyse how much it costs to engage in a business presentation only to be unsuccessful in order to understand how valuable it can be. If the success rate only improves by 10 per cent I can add a small fortune to a company’s bottom line.”

“The equipment has a wide range of business applications, but the most obvious are as a training aid for presenter training, staff development or measurement of sales performance. The recorded material can be replayed and analysed on demand.”

The Discovery was originally developed by Iris Connect, based at the University of Sussex. It was originally envisaged as a tool for the education sector, helping teacher development. Now trainers at The Presenter’s Handbook have adapted it for business use.

Ian Callow and Phillip Adcock, as well as running the company, are joint authors of The Presenter’s Handbook, which was published last year as a guide for business communicators.

Take the decisive step

At the Presenter's Handbook we believe that everyone can improve their presentation ability.  The key is to accept that initial step and act upon it.  Are you ready to take the decisive step to presentation success?

The video outlines the important components that should be considered when developing presentation skills. All you need to decide is which component do you need support, to make you a PowerPresenter?

You can contact The Presenter's Handbook through the usual channels as outlined in the video.  Remember the book is just the starting point in your professional development.

Which one matches your need?

The Presenter's Handbook is so much more than a book.  It allows presenter's to develop core skills and techniques in presenting.

We are transforming perception and expectation of presenting. 

The first important step in presenting is understanding that none of us are perfect, it takes time to continuously improve presentation performance. As your first step in acknowledging that your presentation skills can be improved try the quick test on our website.  The average score is 8/15.  This proves many of us need to improve those presentation skills.

Once that important step is acknowledged, you can improve your presentation skills. The next step is deciding where the improvement would have a significant impact. A selection of courses are available covering physiology, psychology, performance, reflection and 2 courses designed specifically for the presentation.

If these courses do not match exactly, for example a sales team, then The Presenter's Handbook can offer a bespoke selection of courses.

Once the training is over, the process of improvement does not stop.  We offer remote analysis of presentations through secure servers.  This allows you to view your presentation and feedback from anywhere in the world. 

As we said constant improvement for professional development.

It all starts with you though, taking that first step of acknowledging improvement is possible.

Full chapter registration On line presenter test Full course out line Buy the book	Continual Professional Development State of the art video analysis Remote access for clients Worldwide access

  

To support mentoring The Presenter's Handbook have a selection of courses that address many of the issues experienced by presenter's.  

Which one matches your need?

Improve the physiology of presenting. Removing fears of presenting. Understanding body language. Understanding mood. Where to look and how to talk.	Improve the psychology of presenting. Creating positive anchors as latches. How memory influences an audience. Cognitive dissonance to build slides. Central fitness indicators.
Improve the performance of presenting. Key message and story. Addressing the audience. Dual encoding of talk and graphic Understanding the audience requirements.	Improve initial presentation skills. Consideration of bullets and graphics. Consideration of text and numbers. What constitutes a distraction? Interaction a key driver.
Improve the complete presentation. Orientation and freedom to move. Tactical pause in the presentation. Allowing questions. Understand the running order.	Importance of reflection on a presentation. Audience participation. Timing. Generation of feedback. The final thought.