Malcolm Kushner

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Successfully preparing a speech involves gathering and organizing your information and practicing your delivery. When you’re speaking in public, use visual aids to help get your message across to the audience, make sure your speaking location is prepared ahead of time, and get a handle on stage fright. A variety of helpful Web sites are available on public speaking.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

The key to a successful virtual presentation is the same as the key to a successful face-to-face presentation: preparation. Consider the following guidelines to ensure that you're ready for your virtual presentation. Knowing which nonvirtual rules apply Always remember that a virtual presentation is still a presentation. The following basic rules for making an effective presentation apply: Identify the purpose for the presentation. Make sure you know why you're presenting. No one wants to hear a presentation, virtual or otherwise, that has no real purpose. Identifying the purpose of your presentation is critical for knowing how to construct it and deliver it. Know your audience. Find out as much as possible about your audience. . Organize your presentation. Choose a pattern that suits your topic (for instance problem and solution; past, present, and future; theory and practice; or whatever works). Make sure that your audience can easily follow your message. . Write an introduction and conclusion. Just because a presentation is virtual doesn't mean it doesn't need an opening and a close. The introduction has to preview and lead into your talk. The conclusion has to wrap it up. Provide materials in advance. This allows audience members to become familiar with the proceedings beforehand and get more out of them. You can easily distribute materials via e-mail. Consider giving out the following: • Agenda: The audience wants to know what will happen and when.That's the purpose of an agenda. So provide one. An agenda makes it easier for audience members to keep track of the presentations. • Support material: Providing support materials such as presentation notes and outlines in advance also helps attendees get more out of your presentation. These can be sent easily and cheaply through e-mail. • PowerPoint slides: For presentations given on the Web, it may be smarter to distribute PowerPoint slides beforehand rather than using PowerPoint during your presentation. . • Contact information: A list of all audience members' names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses should be distributed so that they can reach one another in the event of a technical problem. Check the room(s). It's standard advice to check the room in advance of a presentation. You want to make sure that it meets your needs: Check to be sure that it has enough seats for the people participating in the meeting, that the room layout is conducive to discussion, and that the equipment you plan to use is in working order. In the case of a virtual presentation, you won't be able to visually inspect all the meeting rooms, but do check the one that you'll be presenting from. Considering unique factors Because of the differences between virtual presentations and face-to-face presentations, you need to consider the following special factors: Timing: Unlike an in-person presentation, a virtual presentation can span several time zones. You need to take this into consideration when scheduling the presentation. If possible, give the presentation during normal business hours for all audience members. Be aware of when audience members at various locations usually take breaks or eat meals. Try to plan a presentation time that is convenient for all of them. If you have a regularly scheduled virtual meeting (weekly, monthly, and so on) that includes people from several time zones, rotate the starting time. That way, no one has to get up early or stay up late every time. Technology: Make sure that all audience members have the equipment necessary to receive your presentation and that they know how to use it. Test the equipment beforehand. Then test it again. If the equipment doesn't work, your presentation doesn't work. Have a backup plan ready in case the equipment fails during your presentation. (Will you call everyone? E-mail everyone? Shout out the window?) If audience members are using a phone to connect with others, they need to make sure the line doesn't have the call-waiting feature or that call waiting is temporarily disengaged. Appearance: If you appear on screen via a Web or videoconference, then you should consider how your appearance will affect your message. Here are a few ways to improve your electronic appearance: • Wear a conservative outfit that doesn't draw attention away from your face. • Wear pastel colors rather than bright colors, because pastels broadcast better. • Avoid striped, checked, or patterned clothing. • Make sure your clothes contrast with your background colors. • Use a solid-color background. Remove objects from the background that may distract your audience, such as pictures, posters, and so on.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Problems can occur at any time during a presentation that involves an audience. Visual aids can get screwed up; loud sounds can interfere with the audience's understanding of your point; or you might just make a mistake in what you say — or how you say it — during your presentation. The time to think of a witty line to deal with a problem in your presentation is before the problem occurs, because more than likely, you'll be too nervous at that moment. Using humor shows your audience that you're not upset and that you're still in control. Staying on your toes at all times is important, because unfortunately, lots of problems can occur when you're giving a presentation. Visual-aid problems Those pesky slides, overheads, or writing tools never seem to work right when you want them to. Take a look at some annoying issues with visual aids and what you can say in response to operational hangups: A slide or overhead is projected upside down. • I'll get another one; this one must be defective. • It looks good no matter how you look at it. • For those of you sitting on your heads. Someone points out a spelling error on a slide. • As a famous author once said, "I never respected anyone who couldn't spell a word more than one way." You're writing on a flip chart, and the highlighter runs out of ink. • Obviously, I've come to the dry part of my presentation. Distracting noises Loud noises have a way of occurring just when you're in the middle of an important point. Take a look at some distracting noises and things you can say in response: Your microphone emits an ear-busting squeal. • It must have been something I ate. A police, fire, or ambulance siren disturbs your presentation. • [Name of someone the audience knows] is late again. • I told them not to pick me up for another hour. A cell phone rings in the audience. • Tell them I'm busy right now. You make a mistake Nobody is perfect. Unfortunately, many of us realize this truth while giving a presentation. Take a look at some possible mistakes you can make and things you can say in response: You make a point that no one understands. • I can explain your difficulty understanding my (last point, chart, plan, whatever): In my previous job, I wrote instructions for putting together children's toys. You mispronounce a word or say something stupid. • I feel like the javelin thrower who won the coin toss and elected to receive.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Whether you're giving a business presentation or delivering a soliloquy onstage, stage fright can rear its ugly head. The fear of getting stage fright can itself cause stage fright to strike you dumb. Don't be afraid of stage fright. Just keep the next several tricks in mind, and you'll be ready for anything. (Unless you get so nervous that you forget the tricks.) Write out your intro and conclusion The student was 6 feet, 2 inches tall. He was standing in front of the class, preparing to start his speech. You could tell he was nervous by the way he gripped the podium; the color had drained from his hands. He started to speak. He got out a few words, and then he fainted. As he fell to the ground, the podium went down with him. He never let go. The student was in a class taught by speech expert Allatia Harris. She says that the incident is a perfect example of why she advises speakers to write out the introductions to their presentations. "Nervousness is most intense just before you start talking," she says. "You see all those people looking at you, and words start coming out of your mouth, but your mouth's not connected to your brain. You may not even be aware of what you're saying." Give special attention to the introduction. You need to have it down cold so you don't fall down cold. Similar preparation should be given to the conclusion — the second most anxiety-producing part of a presentation. Double-check the order of your visuals You can't check your visual aids too many times. Much of the anxiety associated with presenting comes from the fear that the visuals will screw up. The more you check them, the more confident you are. Double-check your equipment Many people worry about their computers, projectors, and other equipment. Take the extra few minutes to check them to make sure they work properly. Then you can stop worrying. Anticipate problems, and have solutions ready Anticipate any problem that may arise, and have a plan ready to deal with it. For example, whenever you stumble over a tongue-twisting name or phrase, you can have an all-purpose recovery line ready. "Let me try that again — in English." What if you forget what point you were going to cover next? You can buy time by asking the audience a survey question that requires a show of hands. Or you can review what you've already covered. Or you can skip ahead to a different point. What if you have an equipment failure? Bring spare supplies — an extra light bulb for the projector, an extra marker for the flip chart, an extra battery for the laptop. You get the idea. Get to the site early, when possible Fear of the unknown probably produces more anxiety than any other cause. Until you get to the site where you're presenting, you face a lot of unknowns. Is the room set up correctly? Did they remember to give you an overhead projector? Is an audience actually going to show up? Plenty of little questions can add up to big sources of stress if you don't have answers for them. You can get the answers simply by going to the room, so do it early — at least an hour before you present. That extra time allows you to correct any mistakes and calm down. You also get a chance to meet members of the audience who arrive early, which can reduce stress by making the audience more familiar to you. Divide and conquer Many presenters who suffer from stage fright claim that only a large audience triggers their fear. A few people? No problem. A big group? Forget it. Try this: Look at one face in the audience at a time — especially faces that appear interested in what you're saying. Keep coming back to them. (No, normally you shouldn't stare at only a few people. But stage fright creates an exception. If the only way you can prevent yourself from passing out is to look at only a few people, then do it. Just don't stare at only one person for the entire time.) Don't apologize for nervousness Many presenters feel compelled to apologize for being nervous. Don't apologize for making a mistake, flub, or goof-up. Just let it go. You don't want to draw additional attention to your nervousness. As Allatia Harris says, "Never apologize to the audience unless you've injured someone." Watch what you eat Everyone's heard that you are what you eat. Maybe and maybe not. But here's some food for thought — what you eat before you present will affect your anxiety level. So avoid drinking coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages before you go on. You'll be jittery enough without the added stimulation they supply. You also probably want to avoid carbonated beverages unless you're giving a presentation about burping. Have water handy One consumable that you should have available is water. If anxiety dries out your mouth or you're overwhelmed by negative emotions, pause and take a sip of water. And if you're thirsty? You know what to do. Just make sure that you don't drink all your water within the first 30 seconds of your presentation. Remember, don't drink too much water, or you may have to make a mad dash to the restroom — not something you want to do during your presentation. Keep your breathing even Feel like you're going to pass out? Pause and take a breath. And then a few more. This pause seems like a dramatic flourish to your audience. But it gives you a chance to get your emotions under control.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Business presentations don't always have to be about numbers, charts, and graphs. Sometimes telling a story can help your audience grasp a concept more readily than staring at raw data. As communications expert Jim Lukaszewski says, "A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a good story is worth 10,000 pictures." Well, maybe only 9,999. But his point is well taken. In the world of business, the ability to tell "your story" is essential — whether your story is motivational, financial, technical, or the company story. The do's and don'ts of using stories The following sections give you some guidelines for using stories effectively. Most of them come courtesy of Jim Lukaszewski. (He's founder of The Lukaszewski Group, Inc., a management communication consulting company based in White Plains, New York.) Tell stories for a purpose A story should have a reason for being told. And the reason — a lesson, moral, objective — should be obvious to the audience. One of the fastest ways to turn off a business audience is by telling pointless stories. Tell stories about people Face it, human beings are a narcissistic species — they like to hear stories about themselves. So if your story involves people, it gets attention. And if you can talk about people familiar to the audience, such as other industry members, even better. Here's the uncommon knowledge: If you can't talk about real individuals, talk about hypothetical people. Use names. Personify your stories. Jim guarantees that this gets your audience involved. Try out stories first The first time to tell a story shouldn't be when you're standing at a podium addressing your audience. You need to know how the story works. Try stories on your friends, neighbors, colleagues, and anyone willing to listen. Theoretically, the story will get better every time. By the time you use the story in a presentation, you should have a polished gem. Develop a repertoire of stories. Every story won't work with every audience, so having a selection of stories from which to choose is nice. Develop several stories that you feel comfortable telling; then you can fit them to your topic and your audience. Job seekers can use that story in a presentation about interviewing techniques. Or you can use it to make a point to salespeople about being ready for the unexpected. The only limit to its use is your imagination. Collect stories Most people are exposed to good stories every day. You see them in the newspaper. You hear them on radio and TV. People tell them to you. Write down the stories you like. Collect them. Start a file. Then you have them at your fingertips when you need them. Checking out different types of stories You can use many different types of stories to liven up your presentation. Here are a few of the more common ones. Success story A success story documents the triumph of people, actions, or ideas. Think of the stories that you liked as a child. Most of them ended with the words "happily ever after." Those words are the sign of a success story. People like to hear stories about how an idea or action worked out successfully — especially in the business world. They're popular in any type of business presentation. Personal story Any time you add a personal story, you get people's attention. People are much more interested in personal stories than they are in just plain facts. A personal story is a tale about something that happened to you, the presenter, with your friends, colleagues, or relatives — anything that really occurred. These are the stories that you can't make up. The time your friends dared you to jump into a pond with your clothes on when you were 8 years old. The time you flipped a coin to answer true-false questions and aced a test. The time you got bumped from a flight and met someone who ended up being your biggest customer. You can use all these types of personal stories to make points in a business presentation. What if you don't have many personal stories? Interview other people, and tell their stories. Getting stories from other people — coworkers, clients, vendors — is so simple to do, yet so few presenters do it. Other people's stories are a great source of material that you shouldn't overlook. (Just make sure you don't mislead your audience and claim the story as your own. And ask for permission to use this story. If the person you're telling the story about is in your audience, make sure she doesn't have any objections to you using it.) Humorous story A humorous story amuses your audience while making a point. It can be a funny story about your work or anything else. Humorous stories provide a great way to create rapport and get attention — as long as they don't embarrass anyone in your audience. They're particularly useful in sales presentations. Parable A parable is a story with a simple moral or lesson — and you don't need to be a preacher to tell one. Parables have become popular with presenters who talk about business ethics. They can also be very useful for sales and marketing presentations. (The moral of the story is that the company that didn't buy my product went bankrupt.)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Don’t let unforeseen circumstances put a damper on your speech. Get the details of the location where you will deliver your speech ahead of time and use these tips: Get to the room early so that you have time to make changes if it’s set up improperly. Close the curtains so that the audience can’t stare out the windows. Control audience seating. Make sure that chairs and tables are arranged in the configuration that you want. Remove extra chairs. Check the microphone and sound system while you’re standing exactly where you’ll be using them. Make sure that the room isn’t too cold or too stuffy. Find out exactly where the room is located and how long it takes you to get there.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When you speak in public, you have to prepare your speech by selecting and organizing material, and writing a clear message. Once you’ve written the perfect speech, you need to prepare for the delivery. Writing your speech These guidelines will help you organize your material and write a speech. Resist making a speech that you don’t want to make. Organize your information in a simple pattern that the audience can easily recognize. Use various types of material — examples, stories, statistics, quotes — to maintain audience interest. Use your introduction to set the audience’s expectations. Have a special conclusion ready that you can go right into if you run out of time. Never omit a conclusion. Anticipate the questions you’ll be asked and have answers ready. Practice out loud. Delivering your speech Practice these tips to deliver a speech that wows your audience: Try to establish eye contact with your entire audience. Vary the rate, pitch, and volume of your voice, as well as its tone. Use your hands to gesture instead of keeping them clasped in front of your crotch. Look at the audience more than your notes. Don’t pace back and forth, jingle change in your pocket, or play with your hair. Stand behind a podium if it makes you feel more comfortable. Convey enthusiasm for your subject — it’s contagious.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Good visual aids will highlight your speech. To avoid mistakes and display your information efficiently when using the appropriate visual aids, follow these guidelines: Make slides and overheads easy to read by avoiding too many words per line, too many colors, and designs that are too busy or too small. Check text for spelling errors. Take advantage of computer software templates that help you design visual aids. You know you need time to design slides and overheads. Number all your slides and overheads. You can’t check the working condition of the slide or overhead projector too many times. Bring an extension cord and adapter.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Visual aids are a great way of reinforcing ideas that you are trying to get across in a speech. Take a look at these pointers to help you prepare and present your visual aids in the most effective way: Make PowerPoint presentations or overheads easy to read by avoiding too many words per line, too many colours, and designs that are too busy or too small. Check the text for spelling errors. Take advantage of computer software templates that help you design more interesting visual aids. Allow yourself plenty of time to design your PowerPoint presentation or overheads. Number all your overheads so they’re easy to follow. Check the working condition of the overhead projector – you can’t check it too many times! Bring an extension lead and adapter in case a huge distance exists between the nearest socket and where you want the projector to be.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When you're ready to deliver your well-prepared speech, follow these simple steps to make sure that your room is in order, too. These checks will be sure to eliminate any last minute surprises. Get to the room early so that you have time to make changes if the set up doesn’t suit you. Check the laptop and the projector for your PowerPoint presentation or other technical equipment to make sure you know exactly how it all works. Control audience seating. Make sure that chairs and tables are arranged in the configuration that you want. Remove extra chairs. Check the microphone and sound system while you’re standing exactly where you’ll be using them. Make sure that the room isn’t too cold or too stuffy for your audience. Familiarise yourself with the venue and where the toilets are!