We all know what a bad presentation is like. When we watch others talk, we can spot the defects — too long, too boring, uncoverable and what you have. The truth is, all of us slip into the same errors in delivery when we take the stage ourselves.
Here are five of the most common errors in presentation and some tips on how to prevent them.
1. When you fail to connect emotionally
If you just "specify the truth," even in a business setting, you could lose your audience. No delivery, irrespective as analytical the subject or the audience, should be emotion-free. Talk to the hearts and minds of men.
Seek ways to bring your exponents, data, evidence, logical arguments and other analytical contents with emotional texture. Try to open your audience with a story, for instance, that your data can be more meaningful or include analogies.
Take a number of questions, to discover the emotional appeal of your ideas. In order to pay for cloud storage, for example, if you say, "Why do we need cloud storage? "Your response maybe like 'facilitating data sharing in remote locations with colleagues.'
Then wonder why you have to do it — and then you can get to the people who are influenced by your thoughts. Suppose your response is "to help distant colleagues in organizing disaster relief and saving a life." It is easier to pick words and images, which generate empathy and support when you have found it.
2. Expecting too much from the Slideshows
A better tool may be PowerPoint. Yet you know what you are trying to do. Do nothing more, just that. Problems arise as too many elements are placed in a slide deck. You will end up writing whole papers as you talk if you cram in all the things you will discuss so you won't miss anything. (Garr Reynolds correctly names
"slideuments" to these hydraulic beasts)
One wants to engage in a plodding. It's dull, so you can still read it yourself more easily. So try not to spell out everything by a
bullet points. Hold your teleprompter text concealed in the field of "points" from the view of the public and only create visuals that will enhance your thoughts. What if then you have to deliver documents? Build handouts of all the text you have omitted and switched to "points" for the slides.
3. Using the same old boring visuals
Nothing gets anyone’s eyes rolling like a visual cliché. Would you want your presentation to stand out (in a positive way) from the ones you saw? Brainstorm other visual ideas – and throw out the first ideas. They are also the ones who happen to all the others. That's why in other people's presentations you saw them a million times. Provided any concept you wish to explain, generate many ideas, and you will be working towards originality.
4. Avoid speaking in jargons
Have you ever listened to a host who sounded super-intelligent without knowing what she was actually saying? If so, it probably was jargon-filled. That field is equipped with its own lexicon which experts know but which everyone else knows. When you do not speak to a group of people who are interested in the material itself, it is best to avoid highly technical or industrial languages.
Using terms that resonate with all that you need to gain support and power. They won't consider them if they can't follow your thoughts. Ask if your application passes the "grandmother test": if your grandmother doesn’t understand you, then you definitely need to rework on your message.
5. Going overboard your allotted timeslot
Speaking too long is one of the worst presentation errors that can be made. A great conversation moves quickly. You will never be scolded by people in your audience for ending early, but certainly late. Therefore, regarding the time-slot as sacred. And remember that people have tolerance for presentation in 30 to 40 minutes (that's conditioned by TV shows with commercial breaks creatively produced). They 're sure to squirt, going longer than that.
