High Power Presentation Skills | The First 90 Seconds Impressions During The Presentation

The first 90 seconds of a presentation are crucial. “Presentation is a skill where preparation and attitude are apparent almost instantly.” Throughout the training we’ve focused on preparation. As soon as you enter the room, though, it’s all about attitude. So.....

Start on time. This shows respect for those who are punctual and sends the message that you intend to make the best use of your time. Be enthusiastic and sincere.

Smile. Show that you’re pleased to be there. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a great smile or not. Just show that you enjoy what you’re doing—even if you’re feeling nervous.

Introduce Yourself

You want to begin with the “great unknown”—you. The audience wants to know who’s going to be doing the presentation.

So, introduce yourself.

Keep it short and to the point, but friendly. This establishes rapport and gives your audience a sense of your personality. The participants will want to know at least your name, what you do, your credentials, and why you’re doing this presentation.

An essential part of introducing yourself and making a good first impression is eye contact. This is an important means of establishing rapport with an audience, communicating visually with your body.

Perhaps as much as the words of your introduction, eye contact connects you with your participants and shows that you’re going to be presenting to them and for them, not just in front of them. Eye contact helps build a relationship of trust.

Let’s Go

Then, start your presentation. Since you’ve memorized the first two minutes or so, you start strong, confident, and in control.

Begin by outlining the objectives of your presentation. Even if you don’t have these on a slide, you need to establish the context immediately. Sure, they probably know why they’re attending your presentation—but they’ll feel better if you show that you also know why they’re there. Just as important, a shared understanding of purpose helps create a sense of community. Set a positive tone from the start.

Get their attention. If you don’t have a slide that’s going to grab them and pull them into your presentation, you should start with a riveting statement of facts, an anecdote, or anything that’s likely to make them want to focus all their energies on you and your presentation.

Should you start with humor? Many presenters use humor to begin a presentation because it can make the audience feel comfortable, release any tension (for them and also for yourself), and build rapport.

However, humor can be very tricky. Some people are not very good at telling jokes. Some audiences don’t respond well to jokes. It can also be hard to find a joke that’s unfamiliar to your audience—and that’s not likely to offend any- one. If you’re not sure that you can use humor, don’t try.

It’s crucial from the start to be attentive to signals from the audience, signals that let you know how they feel and how they’re perceiving you and your presentation. Do you sense tension? Do you sense resistance? Do you sense particular areas of greater interest? Do you sense a lack of interest? Do you sense fatigue or boredom? The best presenters know how to read the members of their audience.

Imagine the people in your audience asking, “So what?” (Remember the WII-FM) If you’re not focusing on answering that question with whatever you do in your presentation, you may have trouble holding their attention.

Delivery

Delivery involves many factors. Among the most important are body language, movement, and language usage.

Body Language

How important is body language? Remember the research results shows that: the visual/body language aspect of our total communication has the most impact in getting our message across—55%. So, it’s certainly crucial to have your body working for you—or at least not against you.

First of all, stand straight, but not stiff. You should be relaxed, not rigid.

Don’t lean on the lecture or podium. If you drape over it like you need support, you may appear tired and your behavior may be contagious. Be relaxed, be casual, but don’t be lazy.

You should radiate energy. And if you want to lean on a wall, tables, or chairs, do so casually, not as if you depend on them to remain upright.

Speakers who are expressive and dynamic use their hands and arms. Speakers who don’t make gestures come across as stiff. And they certainly don’t inspire the audience. So, how do you become more expressive and dynamic? Just let your body react to how you feel.

If you’re interested in the content and in reaching your audience, your hands and arms should naturally express that interest. If you’re enthusiastic about what you’re doing, your hands and arms should show that enthusiasm naturally. Just allow your body to get involved in your feelings.

Use your arms, not just your hands, to emphasize key points. Make open hand gestures, toward your slides and especially toward your audience.

Those are some basic, simple suggestions. You’ll gesture more naturally with experience and practice.

Movement

In general, it’s good to move around the room. But there are some things to avoid.

Don’t always hide behind the lectern, podium, table, chairs, or other furniture. If it’s appropriate to the circumstance, come out from behind that furniture and move around the room or stage. If possible, “work the room and work the audience.” Move appropriately and with a purpose. Don’t move simply because you’re nervous. Keep in mind that moving with meaning is a great way to put your nervous energy to work for you.

Your movements should be natural and support your words and the rest of your presentation. Don’t draw attention away from a slide if that’s where you want your audience to focus.

Don’t move constantly, just as you would not speak constantly. Pause for effect. Stand still to make an important point. Above all, don’t pace.

In general, don’t stay anywhere too long, except around the front of the room. Also, don’t hover over anybody. Respect the personal space of your participants.

As you move around, don’t make participants squirm to follow your movements. It’s good if they move a little, but too much will distract them from focusing on what you’re saying.

Finally, don’t talk with your back to the audience. And don’t move while participants are talking.

Language

When you speak, convey confidence and show interest in what you’re presenting and in the members of the audience. Speak with feeling.

Use short sentences and short, simple words. Use the active voice (for example, “We tested the product” or “The marketing department drew attention to the problem”), rather than the passive (for example, “The product was tested by us” or “Attention was drawn to the problem by the marketing department”). A presentation is not a report or an article, with long, complex sentences and a formal style. Speak precisely and concisely. Make every word count. Repeat important points.

Emphasize the sense of shared experience and interest: use “we” rather than “you” whenever appropriate.

Speak slowly and clearly enough that everyone in your audience can understand every word. Make sure you don’t run words together or trail off at the end of phrases and sentences. This is most likely to happen as you move or as you shift from slide to slide or end a section. Lazy enunciation not only makes it harder for people to understand your words but also tends to cause their attention to wane.