Newbie presenters often go down the same road when it comes to their first delivery.
Treading a well-worn, but flawed, path.
If you’re about to do your first presentation. If you’re a bit worried about it. You need to read this…
Here are 3 things you believed about presentations that simply aren’t true.
Forgetting your lines spells disaster
It is important that you practice your presentation.
It is important that you are confident to talk about your presentation topic.
But, if you forget some lines it’s not the end of the world.
INSTANT ACCESS! FREE PRESENTATION SKILLS BLUEPRINT
Often when you are trying hard to remember the exact words in every line of your presentation you end up sounding robotic and boring.
Instead of focusing on line-by-line memorization, see how you can memorize your whole speech here.
Mistakes are unacceptable
Rubbish!
People make mistakes all the time. That’s what makes us human.
Mistakes can actually help you connect with the audience better.
If you make a mistake that’s obvious just make a self-deprecating joke out of it or apologize and move on.
Slides are essential
Slides are not only not essential in a presentation they are often distracting and downright un-necessary.
Slides can be useful in a presentation but only if they are prepared correctly.
If you decide to use slides in your presentation, they are most effective when they are created after you know what you are going to say. When they are created at this point they are more likely to act as a support for you rather than the main event. Why I build my slides last.
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These are great points for any presenter. I often teach speakers to know the message they want to present, points they want to make, and the time they have to make it. I advise to think of their slides as note cards and not the presentation itself. This will help them to speak with a flow that’s authentic to them. A presentation is as much about the speaker, as his or her message.
I think it was in Carmine Gallo’s book where he mentioned the 3 types of presentation that happens: 1) the one that you deliver, 2) the one you WISH you delivered and 3) the one the audience experiences. Fortunately for you, the audience often doesn’t know any better so just roll with the punches! Nice post!
Great post! I like the points made that “Forgetting lines spells disaster.” I had an interview once where I had to give a presentation. They wanted the presentation to go a specific length of time and I was going to be judged on how long it went AND how well I presented. I memorized every word in the entire presentation so well that I could wouldn’t forget a single point.
When I was done, I felt I had given a great presentation. When I later asked for feedback, I was told that the presentation was pretty good, but I had it so memorized that they felt I was talking to robots and not interacting with them.
Lesson learned: know your presentation very well, but more importantly, interact with your audience so they learn from the presentation and feel like the presentation is being given to them.