The fear of Presentations

In our working life, there will be a time when you take steps to climb the ladder of success ourselves where presentations will be a necessity in your day to day, even interviews for jobs can have a presentation included. It is something people struggle with and sometimes don’t come to terms either, but it is part of our working requirement if we desire that promotion, even Schools have this as part of their curriculum which is fantastic. How you deliver it will deem whether it is accepted or forgotten, using key points and techniques will help to make that transition beneficial.

It can be as short as 7 seconds for audiences to think “Do I like you or not” and 30 seconds to think “Do I listen to you or not”. Before you get to the point where this becomes reality the necessity of “Preparation, Preparation, Preparation” and “Practice, Practice, Practice has a major role.

Bad Experience - When I first stepped into a role where presentations were necessary, I learned a very valuable lesson, the agenda was a 5-day Kaizen with the final day being a presentation on the information captured. The presentation was to all directors and senior management (Customer and Company). Unfortunately, I did not get that practice beforehand, I was very nervous, but practice would have given me a little confidence. (In the automotive industry timeline is very short and there was an unfortunate situation that stopped the presentation practices beforehand.)

Time of reckoning, I went through my presentation on efficiency and improvement points, there was a lot of mathematics involved, the second slide was very busy (inexperience) and I lost my way, that dryness of the mouth, difficulty to swallow and the hardship of speech hit home like an Exocet missile, the adrenaline was racing, my mind was going through turmoil, the feeling was I had let the team and company down on the day. That night I hardly slept, reliving the nightmare I had unintentionally created and to top it off what progressed the next day was questions regarding my role and if I was right for that role. The gauntlet was thrown down, pass the Institute of Management Services qualification, if not you will be returned to a workshop role. My manager at the time was open and honest, it was a pressure sale back in 1997. Fortunately the culture and help is better focused on training and support nowadays.

Presentations are not a straightforward step, there are many aspects to consider, the audience, the content, knowledge in the room etc. The below are points to consider helping nail that presentation on the day.

Shil Shanghavi – Founder of Chatterbox, public speaking specialist taught me ways to control my nerves, it starts with this – before the start deep breaths, slow the heart rate down, slow your speech will allow the correct thoughts and responses from your brain to come to say the right things, otherwise the words come out wrong, term “engaged the mouth before the brain” which is so true in numerous ways. Other techniques covered and found over time.

• Always think of the audience, who is in the room at the time can have so much pull if the content is in line with their organisational goals.
• Paint the picture of how it is in the present state and then the “New bliss”
• Structure your presentation like a story – Not I am Bob and I will tell you about fishing – instead “The oldest fishhook ever found dates back to 42,000 years ago”
• Bullet points are easy reminders but try and keep them to 6 points per slide.
• There are various techniques to improve your presentations, practising is essential, they say 21 times to break a habit, ways you can do this by yourself first to get that confidence.
• Standing in front of a mirror
• iPhone have the selfie mode
• Family member
• Projector mode gives the option to show presenter mode where you can make notes in the presentation that are shown on the screen projecting from but not the screen projected too.
• Practice giving your speech to a cat, if the cat stays for the duration you know there is spice in your presentation.

Paula Smith, a Certified Speaking Professional and presentation expert for over 30 years, says she still sees presenters who lack preparation and hope for the best. Here is a snapshot of what Paula deems as the 7 Deadly presentation sins

1. Don’t start off boring - “Having a strong opening and closing are your power points.”
2. Don’t be different for the sake of it - “Difference needs to be authentic rather than difference for the sake of a tactic. It’s got to have purpose as well.”
3. Don’t rely on a template - “Don’t tie yourself into doing the same thing every single presentation. It helps you as a guide only.”
4. Don’t forget the art of (controlled) conversation - “Also, never finish with a Q&A. Instead, have question time embedded within your presentation.”
5. Don’t overdo it with the slides - “slides can be very effective as visual stimuli to keep people engaged – so while use them sparingly.”
6. Don’t forget the point of presenting in the first place - “Will that be slides? Will that be writing on a flip chart? Will that just be sharing engaging stories? Will it be audience participation?”
7. Don’t forget to follow up - “Try going back a week or even six months later and asking whether people are doing things differently.”

We cover presentation techniques in our “The Edge” leadership program, we start with open conversation in session one where the group of 10-16 people, speak of memorable points in their life that stay evident, these can be very sincere and heartfelt.

The second session we touch on short presentation covering best ways to start, the structure, the persuasive story pattern and how to practice.

The third is back to public speaking amongst the team

The fourth is more in-depth version of the second session. Better focused

The fifth session is reinforcing the criteria ready for session 6 where everyone will do a presentation to an audience of the same levels as my original and unfortunate situation that still holds a strong point in my life.

My admiration for both Shil and Paula is very high, so helpful, as with all the people I have gotten acquainted with to be part of that teaching/learning within industry, my role in SIRF and this opportunity to meet and engage with people in Australia of that high calibre is why I enjoy this role so much, the learning and the sharing epitomises everything about SIRF and its desire to support Australian Industrial needs.

Chris Bush

WA State Manager