Newsletter 022
The Symphony Way: Effective Communication by Our Talent Development Department vol. 2
The last time we wrote, Valentina laid out a general view on effective communication thus encompassing a fairly large number of sub-topics. Today, she is narrowing down the focus on presentation skills and covering the topic of why a solid preparation makes it for effective delivery and how to better both of them.
A presentation can be a demo session, team presentation, workshop, a Flow session, meetup, or any other form of public speaking. These situations can be challenging since you need to find the best way to deliver your message, answer to a specific need of your audience, prepare visually appealing slides, keep the attention and motivate the audience, but also mind your tone and body language; and all that while staying within the agreed time frame.
This can be quite overwhelming and, for some, nerve-wracking; but with good preparation, delivering a presentation is empowering as you get to showcase your expertise, present your work, and share your knowledge.
Preparation
Keep it simple, focused, and relevant
You will present better if you have prepared effectively.
Write out your speech and rehearse it, or merely write an outline and key point s— whatever works for you and makes you feel confident.
- Be clear about the message that you want to convey, and how best to convey it to your audience. Frame your topic in a way that will be useful and bring value. Start strong to grab their attention and connect with their needs.
- Avoid covering too much material so that you don’t overwhelm your audience — keep it simple and focus on the main points that you want to make. Make sure to repeat the core ideas throughout your presentation and explicitly point out the takeaways that will bring value to the audience.
Work on your presentation skills
- Observe others to find tactics you can use. Find a role model, someone who delivers engaging presentations, and ask them for advice; or visit the TED Talks Youtube channel for examples of great presentations.
- Start preparing on time and practice staying within the planned time frame.
- Practice delivering the presentation in front of someone else, maybe a colleague, someone you trust and feel comfortable with. They can provide feedback that you can use to improve your delivery.
Delivery
Master your non-verbal communication
Beyond your message and the visual aspect of the presentation, your presence as a speaker, body language, volume, and how you engage the audience has a huge impact on whether they will pay attention and understand your ideas.
- Make eye contact with your audience, present with confident body language, smile, and speak clearly.
- Varying the speed at which you talk and emphasizing changes in pitch and tone help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.
- We tend to talk more quickly when feeling nervous, which can make it difficult for others to understand, so focus on moving and speaking at a steady pace.
Engage the audience
- Be authentic and enthusiastic and show your passion for the topic. Imagine that you’re talking to your friend to appear natural and comfortable.
- Adjust your approach to the situation. Some presentations will require a more formal approach, while at other times you’ll be able to add some humor. If applicable, share personal stories, show your struggles to inspire and connect with the audience.
- Invite active participation when possible — simply ask questions, or invite them to share opinions by raising hands.
- If what you’re doing or saying is not working and you feel you’ve lost the audience, remember that you are in charge and that you should try to do something else. Read the room (or a Zoom call) and adjust your plan to boost engagement, by skipping through some slides, or starting a discussion when you notice everyone looks a bit absent or sleepy.
Relax, breathe, and enjoy
- Think positively and visualize a great outcome to boost your confidence and feel comfortable during the presentation. And don’t forget to smile :)
- If you are nervous, calm down and take several deep breaths. Count to three each time you inhale and exhale — slowing down your breath and becoming aware of it will help you relax before and while presenting.
- Continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation and bring a bottle of water on stage in case you need to refresh yourself.
Keep in mind that public speaking and presentation skills are something you can develop, and the best way to do so is through experience; so don’t run away from opportunities to give your skills a challenge. Practice your presentations in advance, ask for feedback, and reflect on how it went, and you can always come back to these tips for ideas on how to make your presentations more powerful.
Next week, we will shift the focus towards group facilitation and discussion and dive into details on how to maximize discussions, meetings, or any other situation where we are part of or heading a team of people.
Until next time,
Take care!
