Working with Perceptions

Others’ perceptions and desired impression

Others’ perceptions of you can be useful. Do you agree with them, however? Do they accurately reflect your authentic self? Are you making the impression that you want to be making? Ensure that you are representing yourself accurately and authentically, using your newfound skills to create your desired impression.

Important note: you are more likely to make a better first impression than you think you do. Most of us are our own worst critics and this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy so examine your own perceptions in light of those of others.

Finding your Personal Style

Important to make it your own

Judy Garland: ‘Rather be a 1^st rate version of yourself than a 2^nd rate version of someone else’

Discover your own style. Use your own personality traits. Find your public speaking strengths – they will be different to someone else’s. Your unique personality will yield your unique style. There is no single best way – the best you will be is if you use the way you naturally communicate as is in line with your personality and translate it into your public speaking. Think back to Module 1 (Developing your awareness). What you find appealing in someone else’s performance may well be because it is close to your natural style at its best. No need to copy someone else but use who you naturally are and what appeals to you to establish your own style.

Engaging your Audience

Holding the reigns of the audience vs. facing the firing squad

How do you maintain focus even when you make mistakes, or you lose the audience? You will explore this practically with your facilitator.

The Working Session vs. the Performance

The working session

Focus: learning my techniques through application

The performance

Focus: being alive in the moment & communicating my message with the help of my techniques

Reading the audience

This is a vital part of presenting/public speaking. If you are able to read your audience, you will be in a better position to give them what they need. Each member of your audience comes to your speech/presentation with specific needs, desires and expectations. Being able to give your audience members what they need, want and, preferably, more than they expected, will dramatically increase your chances of success of your presentation/speech.

In order for you to read your audience, you need to be aware of their body language. Normally, the feedback that you get from your audience will be non-verbal. You may only know that someone is losing interest or that she is particularly interested in what you are saying by the way he or she reacts physically.

Visual Aids

Working with visual aids

Visual aids play an important support role in today’s visual age. However, visual aids should only be a support. Many people depend too heavily on their visual aids to communicate their message – you are the presenter; your visual aids are not – they cannot do your job for you.

Designing slide decks

You may want to create 2 slide decks – a reading deck, which you can send to the audience after the presentation, and a presentation deck. The reading deck will have far more information on each slide than the presenting deck, which needs to be succinct and easily accessible as support material for your live presentation.

The principle to bear in mind when designing a presentation slide deck is that your slides are only support material – they are there to add a visual dimension to your presentation or provide the visual representation of some information that may be wordy to describe, not to drive your presentation – that is up to you as the presenter.

Create a focused and clear presentation deck to assist you in making you message more impactful.

Less is more

• Ensure that the slides remain clear and uncluttered
• Allow for plenty of breathing space on your slides. Empty space is essential for your slides to draw the audience’s focus to your point
• Use a clear, simple font that is large enough for your audience to read
• Make the slide deck visually appealing
• Company branding – aside from the opening and closing slides, keep it discreet on every other slide

Diagrams, graphs, images and/or video

• Simplify diagrams and/or graphs to their essential forms – let them reflect only key information. No unnecessary information
• A single image may be all that is needed to create a visual dimension to your point. Only use more than one image on a single slide if they are stylistically similar, essential and complement one another without cluttering the slide
• If using video clips or animation, ensure that there is a specific point that it illustrates and that it is used rarely

If using points

• Slides can create commentary on your point. Ensure they don’t show exactly what you are speaking – that can disengage your audience
• Use only short points / heading. No full sentences – they encourage your audience to read the slide instead of engaging with you
• Limit the number of points on a slide. 3 – 5 points per slide

Presenting with your slides

Engage the audience yourself – don’t expect the slides to do it for you

Ensure that the focus stays with you

• Stand to the left of your slides (from the audience’s perspective). Your audience reads from left to right so it will be natural for them to return their attention to you if you re to the left of the slide they have just been viewing
• Pull focus when you want their attention back

Ensure that you speak to the audience not to the slides

• Draw your audience’s attention to the slides when necessary, however turn back to the audience to speak
• Employ open body language and eye contact to hold the audience’s attention
• Use vocal and physical techniques to engage your audience