Part 1: Assessing your skills I. Evaluate yourself 1.

Avoider: - He escapes from having to get in front of public - He seeks careers that do not involve making presentations 2. Resister: - He has a fear of speaking in public - He doesnt avoid speaking as a part of job - But he doesnt encourage it - When he speaks he does that with pain and reluctance 3. Accepter: - He will give presentations as part of the job but doesnt seek these opportunities - When he gives a presentation he feels he did a good job - He thinks that he is persuasive and he enjoys speaking in public once in a while 4. Seeker: - He looks for opportunities to speak in public - He understands that anxiety can fuel enthusiasm - He works on his communications skills and self-confidence II. Dealing with anxiety Anxiety is natural; it occurs every time were under stress. It will normally occur during a presentation. Symptoms of anxiety: nervous stomach, sweating, tremors in hands and legs, accelerated breathing and increased heart rate. Almost everyone experiences some stress before presentations. The trick is to make your excess energy work for you. >> Stress can be the fuel for more enthusiastic and dynamic presentation. III. Tips for reducing anxiety 5. Organize: - Lack of organization is one of the major causes of anxiety. - Knowing that your thoughts are well organized will give you more confidence. 6. Visualize: - Imagine walking into a room delivering your presentation with enthusiasm, fielding questions with confidence, leaving the room knowing you did a great job. - Mentally rehearse this sequence with all the details of your particular situation 7. Practice: - You should practice standing up, as if an audience were in front of you - At least 2 dress rehearsal are recommended - If possible, have someone critique the first one, or have it videotaped - In corporate any changes you feel are required before your final practice session 8. Breathe: - When your muscles tighten and you feel nervous, you may not be breathing deeply enough. - Sit up erect but relaxed, and inhale deeply a number of times.

9. Focus on relaxing: - Instead of thinking about the tension, focus on relaxing. - As you breathe, tell yourself on the inhale, I am and on the exhale, relaxed. - Try to clear your mind of everything except the repetition of the I am relaxed statement. - >> continue this exercise for several minutes. 10. Release tension: - As tension increases and your muscles tighten, nervous energy can get locked into the limbs - It is a good idea to try to release some of this tension by doing some isometric exercise - Starting with your toes and calf muscles, tighten your muscles up through your body finally making a fist (toes, thighs, stomach, calf-muscles) - Immediately release all of the tension and take a deep breath - Repeat this exercise until you feel the tensions start to drain away. 11. Move: - Release tension by allowing your muscles to flex - Practice releasing your arms if youre locking them in one position - Dont gesture too much if it is natural - Moving with your feet can release tension - You should be able to take a few steps either side-to-side or toward the audience - >> This movement will help release tension and never fail to draw the audience into the presentation 12. Make eye contact with the audience - Give your presentation to one person at a time - Relate with your audience as individuals - Look in the peoples eyes as you speak - Connect with them - Make it personal and personable - >> the eye contact should help you relax because you become less isolated from the audience, and learn to react to their interest in you Part 2: Planning your presentation IV. Personal appearance Avoid excess; keep patterns, accessories, and colors simple In a presentation, who is in the audience will determine how you should dress

For women: 1. Clothes should fit well, not too tight Longer sleeves are recommended to maintain a business-like appearance 2. Colors should not exceed 3; find the best 3 colors that work well with your complexion and hair color Find good fabrics and make sure they dont make noise when you move Avoid very bright red, oranges, blacks and whites since these colors are hasher and tend to draw attentions away from the face 3. Avoid jewelry that sparkles, dangles or makes noise

Earrings, brooches and bracelets that distract wll annoy the audience, and draw attention away from your presentation 4. Makeup should be simple and compliment the wearer - Overdone makeup can become the focus of negative and unwanted attention - Makeup that is well done can control oily areas of the face that might reflect light, enhance natural features, and help you look more relaxed 5. Hair should add to a positive overall impression of your appearance - Hair styles should not be the dominant feature of the face For men: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Suits should be well tailored Clothes that are checkered, brightly colored will not reflect well on your image Dark blues, grays, and black in single or double breasted classic styles are the safest bet Depending on the audience, a sport and well matched trousers may do Mens suit coats are designed to be buttoned You should button your jacket in a presentation Shirts should fit well and the color should not be too bright Ties can be used to compliment the color of your eyes and face No traditional red ties. It causes the audiences eyes to focus on the tie and not on you Subtler colors are the best Shoes should be appropriate, comfortable and well shined. Make sure the shocks match and that they cover any bare legs when you sit down Hair frames the face. It should be well groomed Beards should be well groomed too Mustaches should be trimmed above the lip line

Glasses for both men and women Wear glasses only if you need them, to read visuals or see the audience >> because glasses reflect light in the room, and the audience will not be able to see you Avoid tinted lenses >> since this will increase the audiences difficulty in seeing your eyes

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Eight steps to preparing your presentation While planning a presentation, ask why, not what Ask yourself why you are giving a presentation >> The answer will help you plan your presentation Dont start writing what you expect to say Ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your presentation

Step 1: analyzing your audience - Put yourself in the shoes of the people who will be listening to your presentation - Consider: 1. Needs:

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You must know what the audience need, not what you thought they needed Attitude: How do they feel about the topic? Negative or positive? Or mixed? Your presentation may generate strong feeling in either direction Knowledge level: Be Careful not to use technical language, abbreviations, acronyms that people in the audience may not understand 4. Environment : - Consider the room and general environment where youll be speaking - Is there anything going on with the audience that light effect your presentation? psychological environment might be affected by recent good/bad news 5. Demographic information - Age, gender, race, religion, culture and language - Language and culture present the greatest challenge - Understand any cultural differences of your international audience - Understand the language level of your audience - Some members may not be native speakers - Find out if you need an interpreter before the presentation Step 2: develop position, action, benefit Position: a sentence that tells the audience where you stand, what you personally think about the topic It is your stance, your opinion, you thesis, your belief on the issue It must be stated clearly and succinctly It is important to put this information at the start

Action: a statement of what youd like to your audience to do or to believe, or to understand The action you ask them to take should be specific and done within a specific time frame

Benefit: this tells the audience whats in it for them if they do what you ask Step 3: brainstorm main ideas Using post-its, note cards or anything similar, brainstorm some possible main ideas for your presentation Write one idea on each note/post-it Let the ideas flow; dont edit Generate as many ideas as possible Once you have a large number of ideas, begin eliminating some Try to end up with between 2 and 5 main ideas This is a typical number for one presentation If you have more than 5 ideas, you should reduce them by making some of them subpoints

Step 4: state the subpoints

Once you have the main points, it is time to develop supporting ideas These can be: facts, data, references, stories and analogies or other forms of evidence that support your main ideas Using the info you gathered, build a logical flow in your presentation Try different arrangements to see what will work best Always keep in mind: your position, action, benefit and audience

Step 5: develop introductions and conclusions Use three-sentence position, action and benefit statement. More formal introductions and conclusion are called for sometimes Keep in mind, position, action, benefit must immediately follow the formal introductory device

Formal openers and closers 1. 2. 3. Anecdote: an anecdote is a short story used to help illustrate a point. It is sometimes humorous but not always Humor: humor is a great way to break the ice Beware, humor must be linked to the speaker, topic, audience or the occasion Be conservative with your use of humor Involving question: you ask an open-ended question but beware, someone might yell the wrong answer or crack a joke at your expense - Or you can ask for a show of hands 4. Rhetorical question: a question with an obvious answer - This device is an excellent way to get the audiences attention 5. Shocking statement: shocking statements help capture your audiences attention 6. Quotation: quotations should be limited to a sentence or 2 - The source of the quotation should be given - Its ok to read a quotation - Avoid memorizing all but the simplest or well-known ones - You may paraphrase a famous quote A final word about introductions and conclusions The position, action, benefit must be clearly restated in the close of the presentation Introductions and conclusions put the head and tail of the body of your presentation If theyre missing or not fully developed, you dont have a complete presentation

Step 6: formulate the main idea, preview/review sentence Preview and review the main points in your presentation This should immediately follow and precede respectively the opening and closing of your presentation This can be accomplished very easily by using a main idea preview sentences and a main idea review sentence

Deliver your presentation in the following sequence: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Introduction: ( position, action, benefit ) Preview sentence ( tell them what youre going to tell them ) Main ideas ( tell them ) Review sentence ( tell them what you told them ) Conclusion ( restate: position, action, benefit )

Step 7: develop slides or other visual aids You need to decide when and where to use visual aids It is important that you determine how they will fit into your plan You can illustrate a point with a graph or a similar visual

Step 8: develop handouts You can decide what handouts (if any) would add to your presentation

Three major uses of handouts: 1. Reinforce important information 2. Summarize action items for the audience to follow up on 3. Supply supporting data you dont want cluttering your visual aids Once decided on the handouts, it is time to decide when to hand them out There are 3 alternatives 1. 2. 3. Before the presentation: Have the handouts in place when the audience enters the room This will allow them to read it before your begin speaking You can explain the handout before actually starting the presentation During the presentation Handouts during a presentation must be disbursed quickly; must be relevant to the point Otherwise they will be a distraction, not an aid At the end of the presentation During the presentation, you can inform the audience that they will receive handouts covering such and such points at the end of the presentation This allows them to avoid taking unnecessary notes If the handouts are going to disturb the audience, dont use them during the presentation, leave them until the end

Part 6: delivering your presentation with energy and composure I. Engaging your audience Communicate your enthusiasm to the audience if you want them to be enthusiastic about the ideas you present You should appear composed and confident in your demeanor

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Seek a natural, conversational style Relate to the people in the audience in a direct and personable manner Putting energy to work Movement: Get near the audience as much as possible It is engaging and the audience feel closer to the speaker You should stay within 4 to 6 feet of the front row When you move look at a person in the direction you are going An occasional step towards the audience for emphasis Stay close, direct, involved with your audience Keep your body facing the audience as much as possible Dont speak unless you have eye contact with an audience member Gestures Learn to gesture in front of an audience as you would if you were having an animated conversation with a friend Between gestures, simply relax your hands to your sides Do not: o Keep hands in your pockets o Keep hands handcuffed behind your back o Keep your arms crossed o Put hands in a fig leaf position o Wring your hands nervously Facial expressions: Use them! Voice: Breathe frequently and deeply to fuel your voice Vary your pitch, volume and pacing If you have a volume problem, ask someone who will give you a straight answer Ask them if you can be heard from the back, or if youre speaking too loudly Too soft? Monotone voices are caused by anxiety As the speaker tightens up, the muscles in the chest and throat becomes less flexible and air flow is restricted As a result, The voice loses its natural animation and a monotone results Relax and release tension Upper and lower body movements are vital Too loud?

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A too loud voice is usually caused by a slight hearing loss Consult a doctor or ask a friend to help you know whether your voice is too loud Maintain composure 1. Posture: Keep your posture erect but relaxed

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Stand straight but not stiff Your weight should be evenly distributed 2. Eye contact: Speak to one person at a time when you present Find out what the audience is comfortable with if you are presenting in a culture outside your own Eye contact opens the channel of communication between people, It helps establish and build rapport It involves the audience in the presentation and make it more personable 3. Pace: Our conversational rate of speech is about 125 words per minute An increased rate of speech is not a problem if your articulation is good When you trip over words, it is an indication that youre speaking too fast Listen to yourself to say the last words of a sentence Pause where the period would be, and then proceed to the next sentence 4. Pausing Pausing can be effective It allows important points to sink in Dont be afraid to allow periods of silence The audience needs time to digest what you are saying Use this time to take a breath and relax Use a pause to fill those spaces that you might otherwise fill with annoying sounds A moment of silence will a lot be less distracting than these annoying verbal tics Learn to listen to yourself; stay aware of what you are saying and how you are saying it Question-and-answer techniques