In our regular Wednesday’s SV fellowship this week, we had one of our members to practice a presentation at the group. After her presentation, we as a group gave our critics and suggestions to assist her to improve her content and skill. In this one-hour rehearsal, I learned something and would like to share with you.- Understand the differences between talking and writing. Presentation is different from writing a memo or article. When we write, words lie flat on a page, detached from voice or volume in one dimension, leaving a reader to infer and experience the intended meaning of those words. Spoken words, on the other hand, fly to the listener in a combination of pitch, pace, posture, timbre, gestures, energy, movement, inflection, emphasis, facial expression and eye contact. Each parameter widens and deepens the context by which the listener can comprehend the intended message. Therefore, just reading from your note or writing definitely is not an effective way of presentation.
- Put your energy and passion into your presentation. If you feel it boring yourself, for sure you will not be able to interest others. Many powerful speakers have blended passion and energy in their presentation, so they can connect audience’s hearts to win over their support. In other words, they present as a teacher, or a facilitator or a learner, or a storyteller. As their presentations progress, they are able to gradually sell their idea or thoughts to the audience.
- Keep in your mind clearly the goal of your presentation. I have had the privilege to hear many presentations in my good old days as senior management. When presenters started, I would always think and wonder what was the objective of his or her presentation today. Unfortunately, many speakers only presented statistics, information or his/her work yet forgot the purpose of the presentation. In our Wednesday practice, at the end of the presentation, I asked our presenter twice what was the goal for her presentation. Her response was “I am presenting my research work to a group of audience who considering offering me a job.” Following her response, I asked our group, have you all been impressed? Or you are willing to offer her a job? If you can go through this exercise by yourself, you pretty much know how well a job you have done in your presentation.
- The Summary is where to recap your points and the last chance to impress your audience. Therefore, it is very important to ensure your summary is interesting and informative. It’s always should be convincing.
As Christians, Bible gives us much good advice.
- May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).
- An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up (Proverbs 12:25).
- The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction (Proverbs 16:21).
God bless.