Our generation has no choice but to improve on our presentation skills. And if you want to become a trainer, this skill becomes all the more important. If you are one of those people who are not sure how to be a good presenter, here are some basic tips.
Focus
- Training objectives – Keep a physical copy of training objectives, easily visible to both you and participants in the room.
- WIIFM – Point out WIIFM (What’s in it for me) for the participants right at the beginning of the session
- Training Plan – Have a schedule of the training prepared with approximate time lines for each topic and activity.
- Control tangential discussion – Don’t ignore tangential discussions, they usually have a basis. Have an adult conversation with your audience to understand the concern and lead the discussion in correct direction.
Speech
- Volume - Check your audibility for all participants.
- Inflection - Don’t be monotonous. Bring variation in your voice.
- Pitch – Use your voice to express emotions. Change of pitch is more expressive to convey anger or joy than just words.
- Pace - Keep the speed of communication slower than your normal pace. Participants will have different speeds of processing the information. Allow them enough time to absorb the meaning.
Energy
- Maintain it - As a trainer keep up your energy level, so that the atmosphere is conducive to communication and hence more learning takes place.
- Control it - Use variety of exercises to energize the group if participants are lethargic. Also be prepared with serious activities to bring down excessive energy so that focus is not lost.
Eyes
- Eye Contact – Have optimum eye contact with all the participants. Neither stare nor ignore anyone.
- Touch Turn Talk - Never talk while looking at the screen or computer or while writing on the board. Ideal technique is to touch the material (visually or with a pointer), turn your body to face the participants and then talk.
Preparation
- Enough but not excessive – Prepare your content well. But don’t overdo it as it will start looking robotic.
- Notes - Keep small notes ready which can be immediately referred to in order to check if all important points have been covered.
- Plan B - Technology can ditch you anytime. Your laptop may crash or the projector may stop working. Have appropriate flip charts prepared or have extra activities ready which can be done in the absence of any technology.
Don’t rely on gut feel to improve on the above mentioned points. Ask a friend or a colleague to attend your training and give feedback. If that is not possible, take out your video camera and record yourself while you present. The play it back enough times till you can identify and correct undesirable actions. Improving presentation skills is completely in your hands. Take your presentation and training skills to the next level by working on these basic principles.
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