Presenting with power
THE OTHER day I had attended a presentation on dressing and interviews and though the content was familiar, they way the presentation was done rather caught my fancy. I met the presenter after the show and asked him how he did what he did to keep a roomful of people - over 1500 of them - glued to their seats and so totally involved for an unbelievable 120 minutes. He was kind enough to sit down with me and tell me how to get the same effect when I presented.
Familiarity breeds content!
He told me that it is essential to be totally comfortable with the equipment, both the computer one uses and the projector. One of the biggest problems is fumbling around with equipment when there is a group of people looking at your discomfiture. Collar microphones, were he said, excellent - provided they had fresh batteries in them and worked. Technology, he said was a tool and made a very poor master, the best brains depended so much on it that if there was a power outage they generally fell apart. Thorough familiarity with all the equipment he assured me is paramount.
In focus with reality
It is important that the longer a presentation takes the more chances there are to go wrong. It is very tempting to fill presentations with a whole lot of `bells and whistles' and with the new templates and effects available, most novices, he said, would fall into the seductive trap of using them to `enhance' their presentations. Big mistake! The longer the presentation the more focused it should be. High impact visuals are fine if the presentation does not take more than 30 minutes and does not exceed 12 slides. Too much `impact' and the audience will only remember a couple of slides more for their beauty than for their content - defeating the entire purpose of the presentation. When longer presentations become necessary, it is important to have plain, if coloured backgrounds with a `low load'. A low load is a slide with only one line or sentence visible at any one time. Any slide with too much written matter on it is visually fatiguing.
Wings of fire
I asked him how he was able to sustain interest for such a long time without once looking at his slides. I wondered if he made up what he said as he walked among the audience. "It's absolutely fatal to make up things `on-the-fly'. Every gesture, every nuance, every word one uses should be rehearsed several times - even in private for effectiveness." He shared his secret - he said that he practiced while on a walk; trying various permutations till he was satisfied that he could use one of several alternatives at the right moment. Memorising an entire speech was pointless, as most of us cannot very easily parrot a set piece for so long. Besides, if one line is forgotten the thread is lost and we collapse in nervous disarray. Less experienced presenters should, if they can try and rehearse in the same room, as they will be finally making the presentation preferably will all the equipment that they will want to use. `Winging' a presentation is the worse thing anyone can do because it indicates a lack of preparation and argues lack of respect to the audience. If the audience see you being confident with the peripherals of the presentations, they will assume you know your subject as thoroughly. This is not logical, but it is the way audiences think.
Clothes Makyth the Man
It is essential that the presenter be really well and carefully dressed. Unsightly bulges in pockets and elsewhere makes both the audience and the presenter uncomfortable. "Remember," he said, "the collar microphone is a boon, but it has a belt unit that many people shove into their pockets. This causes the odd break in signal and is rather too large to facilitate easy movement around the room." It is best to hook it to your belt and that, preferably in the back, out of harm's way. Ladies are therefore advised not to wear a salwar/kurta combination since the logistics of hooking up could be acutely embarrassing. A sari will however permit the clipping on of the remote unit. Ergo, gentleman presenters should wear a trouser (with a belt) and ladies would do wise to wear a sari. It is important that the sari should be of a material that drapes well and does not have distracting geometric designs. The deeper, darker shades are better for visual effect. Hair should be worn away from the face. Men look best wearing a light, solid colour shirt and dark trouser. Research shows that audiences are more relaxed when presenters are wearing conventional clothes that are conservative in style. Suits and ties are not necessary in our climate but if worn, do remember to practice moving about wearing these, since the object is to look as if you make the clothes, not that the clothes make you.
Slow and steady
Rocketing through a presentation is worse than not doing the presentation at all. It is important to allow the audience to listen to what you say. The audience should not be forced to keep up with the presenter; the presenter should go at the cognitive capability of the audience - otherwise they will tune out. In the course of a long presentation, it is essential to remember that audiences have waves of attention capability. Research shows that information is best absorbed in packets of 12 minutes. It is wise therefore to stay with this and relieve the tedium every twelve minutes with some humour or with relevant anecdotes. Humour tends to help people remember the points made, and live anecdotes help to anchor them. While using humour, please keep in mind, he said, the level of the audience. "Abstruse punning and wordplay will not appeal to everybody. Inappropriate jokes can doom a presentation."
Goodies to take home
Just as children's birthday parties involve `return-presents', it is always a good idea to give audiences something written to take away with them so that they can relive the experience and the learning. With such a huge audience though, this may not be possible so it is important to provide a large swathe of time for questions that the presenter can answer in detail. Spending time with questioners is always a great way to reinforce learning. Patience is essential and as he said: "If an audience can devote two hours to listen patiently to you, a good presenter should be willing to deal with every question with the same patience and understanding."
Going by the huge number of people that surrounded him after the session, it was obvious he practised what he said, and believed in it too. And now, after that experience, so do I!
ARMITY GAUR
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