Oral Presentation Skills
By Jack Cohen with Dave Jensen
It's on every job description that's ever been written by a biotechnology company: "Candidate must have excellent oral and written communication skills." And its true enough. We all know the value of being able to communicate with our colleagues on a project team, or the positive results of a well-written proposal. Despite the value of excellent one-on-one communication skills in achieving performance effectiveness, however, the value of presentation skills is oftentimes overlooked. This may be because many technical people view oral presentation skills as less important, as they fall into the category of "sales skills."
It isn't only the sales people in a company who do the selling. As we practice our professions, whether that includes technical, regulatory, or budgetary responsibilities, we are faced with the need to present our ideas clearly and persuasively. It is sometimes in diverse settings, and to a variety of audiences. And it is a continual process.
Speaking before an audience offers a great opportunity to convey your thoughts; to teach, to convince, to enlighten. The skills required here are basically the same regardless of whether you are delivering a research paper to several hundred scientists at a national meeting, or presenting your proposed budget to a small group of senior executives. Oral presentation skills are one of the best "career enhancers" that you can add to your collection of marketable qualities. Because of this, we'd like to offer you a collection of ideas on how to improve your personal presentation style and effectiveness in front of a group.
The Concepts Behind Your Talk
Ask yourself why you've been invited to speak, or, if not by invitation, why are you there? What is the purpose of your presentation, and what is the point you wish to make? Your entire presentation should support your answers to this question. Are you there to be factual or persuasive? Is your audience expecting data, concepts, or personal reminiscence?
Before preparing your talk, there are three things that you must know inside and out: yourself, your subject and your audience. Knowing yourself is beyond the scope of this article. Knowing your subject is a given -- speak only if you know what you're taking about. Knowing your audience is a bit more difficult, and your presentation must be constructed to fit them. Discussing a technical subject will be different for an audience of your colleagues than it would be for an audience of potential investors. But like anything else, quality in a presentation is a business of meeting the needs of your customer.
Here are some additional questions to ask yourself while you are conceptualizing your presentation:
1) Do you have a goal for this presentation other than to educate your audience? Oftentimes, there are career reasons why a good presentation presented at the right time and place can be of value. What would you consider to be the most positive outcome? Is there any way to slant your presentation to have more possibilities in this direction?
2) What past experiences of the participants are likely to affect the way that they perceive and respond to your presentation? Will you be speaking to people who are on the development side of a problem about a basic research question? There will be one area of common concern for your audience about your subject. Do you know what it is?
3) Is the audience sufficiently interested, and does it need the information enough, to make this presentation worth their time and yours? Only speak, of course, if you have something to say -- a point of view, something that your audience wants or needs to hear.
When Speaking
One of the common mistakes that technical people make when presenting is that they "deliver a speech." Instead, talk to people and respect your audience -- don't speak down to them from the podium. Speak to them. Nothing bores an audience faster than the presenter who avoids any and all eye contact with them by simply reading words from a prepared speech. As soon as you start to read a paper, the connection between you and the audience is broken. You'll find your audience wondering why they didn't ask you to mail them the talk and save the time and expense of making the trip.
Stick with concepts, and keep main points clear and unencumbered by distracting detail. Remember that many fine points, fascinating to you, can be boring to your audience. Nuances that are clear to you may be meaningless to people new to the subject. Be selective in your presentation; you don't have to tell the audience everything that you know about a subject. And speak with passion. This comes easier to some people than to others, but if you don't care about a subject, neither will your audience. Passion is the number one quality that separates "speeches" from the convincing and informative presentations that audiences remember.
Speak from knowledge, authority and conviction. Your position, at the center of attention, gives you an authority that works for you. Speak with confidence and make no excuses. You know a lot more about your subject than your audience does. If this isn't true, rethink your decision to give this presentation!
Here are some other tips to consider:
1) Use your own natural speech patterns. Watch the rhythm of your voice, and avoid monotones.
2) Be conversational. Sound like you're interested in what you're saying and in what the audience is hearing.
3) It's a small world, and getting smaller. Your audience will undoubtedly include people for whom English is not a completely familiar language. Speak slowly, or at a measured pace, and don't use slang or "in-group" jargon.
4) Look around before you start and see who is sitting there. Be sensitive to the personal feelings of a varied audience. Crude jokes, sexist jokes and disparaging ethnic comments should be handled in presentations in the same way that you handle them in everyday life--they have no place.
5) Don't use clichés. They may be comfortable, but all too often a point made in cliché sounds like someone else talking.
6) Avoid meaningless words. Does anyone know what "if you will" really means? Don't use words that do not convey realistic communication. Does "quite candidly" mean that everything said up till now has been less than truthful?
7) Avoid humming between words. Constant "ums" cause all of your comments to blend together, and can sound like a device to avoid interruption.
8) At the end, don't just let the talk die; your message will die with it. Close in some logical way, summarizing your key points or putting your message into some group context. Or segue into the next presentation, which guarantees you a new friend, the next speaker.
Timing - An Important Part of Preparation
The first technique to work on is timing, and this requires lots of preparation. There are few things more disconcerting to a speaker than to be halfway through a presentation, with the main points and the great phrases up ahead, and then to hear the moderator say "one minute to wrap it up." Rehearse your presentation well beforehand, especially to check your timing. And leave time for questions.
Consider rehearsing the night before, timer set, so that when you give a talk for which you've been allotted 40 minutes, you can relax knowing that this is a 30-35 minute talk. For some people, doing a test run before a friend is useful, as a check on clarity and delivery. But don't over-rehearse . . . If you memorize the talk it may sound as if you've done this many times before.
Make sure that you show up at least 10 minutes early. See that your projector is there, that the bulb works (and a spare bulb along with it), and that the screen can be lowered. And, one last time in the morning, look in the mirror. The remains of a blueberry muffin in your teeth, or a pair of mismatched socks, guarantees that your intended message will sink into the carpet.
Your Visual Aids
Carefully consider 35mm slides vs. 8 1/2 x 11 transparencies, for each of them has their place. Slides look better, and can be run during your talk by remote control. However, transparencies can be altered and substituted for in a matter of minutes, using an ordinary copy machine. And, you can speak with the room lights on.
This last point is an important one; it makes note taking easier for the audience, and you remain visible. Whatever you use, learn how to use the equipment, or find a knowledgeable operator before you begin. Many meetings are beginning to insist on 35mm slides for their speakers, which makes their video taping easier. That's a shame . . . for in smaller groups with less than 50 in the audience, overheads work great.
Whatever you prefer, don't use mixed media. Your audience does not enjoy seeing you in confusion, jumping from one to the other or calling for different projectors. Inevitably, the sequence doesn't work as planned, and the distracting corrections needed destroy your presentation. If you use handouts, distribute them as you begin to speak. Your audience will appreciate being relieved of the need to take notes. Be sure, however, that your handout is identical to your visuals, and in the same order. You don't need the distraction of hearing pages shuffling throughout your talk.
No transparency should be too small to read easily. If you have to say "I know you can't read thus, but" or "I know this is hard to understand," your type is too small or your transparency is too crowded or complex. A visual aid should be clear and immediately comprehensible, and should stand on its own..
In general, don't have too many transparencies, preview all of them, and make sure that all of your main points are on the transparencies. People will remember best what they both hear and see. Here are some additional thoughts about the subject of your chosen media:
1) Beware of too much glitz and color. A presentation is not the time to show off your new graphics software, unless it adds meaning or clarity to the content of your presentation. Many prefer black on white for clarity. And we've all seen, or not seen, a blue on blue presentation or something similar -- beautiful but unreadable.
2) One common practice, of people covering portions of transparencies and moving the cover paper down as they talk. Speakers love this; audiences hate it. First of all, they are distracted by wondering what you're hiding, and laughing as you keep bending over to pick up the cover sheets, which inevitably fall off the projector onto the floor. A better approach is to use a series of transparencies, the first showing your first point, the second showing your first and second points, and so on.
3) Absolutely no typos. Ever. A well-known consultant on Total Quality Management gave a presentation to our industry discussing the necessity of embracing TQM in today's business world and selling his approach to its implementation. The typos in his slides were few, but glaring, and the reactions of his audience expressed their skepticism of his convictions. He made no sales that day. The medium and the message cannot be in conflict.
Our Message
Like any other activity, keep your goal in mind. Remember why you are giving a presentation, what you want to convey, and what you want your audience to recall. Keep your visuals clear, your time focused, and check a mirror before you enter the room. Have the self-confidence that comes from adequate preparation. Then, give a great talk and you'll see possibilities for your career that you hadn't even expected!
Authors Notes:
Jack Cohen and Dave Jensen had some additional thoughts after completing this article:
On "Making It Interesting" . . .
Coin a memorable phrase, or use novel wording or an interesting means of expression--people will remember what you've said. Once, in discussing the status of a project before a group of my peers, whose belief in its value covered an enormous range, I proposed the value of "constructive skepticism" as an operating philosophy. I know that I sold my message that day, because that phrase was repeated back to me many times over the next year. The memorable wording kept my message alive. - Jack Cohen
Watch the joke-telling. Once, I gave a contrived joke -- one of those "here's what happened on my way to the meeting" -- and fell flat on my face. Some people just have a hard time being funny! I've had wonderful success, however, with repeating some of the humorous things that I've seen on real-life resumes. I've found that humor works best when it ties nicely into your subject material. Can you find anything interesting and potentially humorous in your day-to-day work or family life that might be integrated into your talk? - Dave Jensen
On "Don't Undercut Your Message" . . .
When I hear a speaker belittle his talk, or his preparation of it, I wonder why he's here, and why I've taken the time to attend. How many times have you heard a speaker say things like "I wrote this on the plane, I hope it's OK," or "I know this is a boring topic, but bear with me"? I've heard these comments many times, and my reactions invariably are to question how important this talk is if it didn't warrant careful preparation, and wonder how interesting it's going to be if the speaker herself finds it boring. Never undercut your message, yourself, or your reason for being there. Why tell people that you aren't good at presentations, or that being on the stage is a terror? If these are true, they'll know soon enough. Never imply that the occasion is a burden, and that "we have to get this over with." Don't apologize. Give the very best talk you can, and your audience will appreciate your efforts.
Here's a real-life example of undercutting your message. In a talk on the advantages of electronic information management in industry -- necessitated by the need to keep from drowning in paper -- the speaker handed out six packages of information to each person. These arrived in six manila envelopes, packaged in one larger manila envelope, distributed to each person. The audience of 300 was astounded at the clear waste of paper, in 2,100 envelopes, and felt cheated by the empty message -- all because the speaker was too intent on using a cute way of presenting his information. - Jack Cohen
Authors:
Jack Cohen, Ph.D., VP Quality and Compliance
Scios Nova Inc.
2450 Bayshore Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
Dave Jensen
500 Foothills South, Suite 2
Sedona, AZ 86336
To reach Search Masters International, contact
career@searchmastersinternational.com
(630) 663-9140
Contact the author for reprint permission:
david_g_jensen@yahoo.com