1. Respect (from the audience)
2. Love (to the audience)
Being a Great Presenter
Tanmay Vora
Posted on
Lets accept it – doing a good presentation is difficult. You stick to your powerpoint slides and you fail to impress. You do it without a powerpoint and you might loose the track. You take more time than scheduled and you loose respect. You speak a little more on same topic and you sound repititive.
From the presentations I have done so far (to clients, prospects, peers, academic lectures etc.) I have learnt how to introduce right, set the stage, build perspectives, be interactive, generate audience interest, relate topics with real life examples, modulate voice for better effectiveness and more importantly – respect other’s time.
Seth Godin (who himself is a great presenter) lists down two most important elements of being a great presenter. He says –
The two elements of a great presenter
There are no doubt important evolutionary reasons why this is true, but in my experience, every great presenter earns the respect of the audience (through her appearance, reputation, posture, voice, slides, introduction, etc.) and captures the attention of the audience by sending them love.
I think one of the ways to express your love to your audience is to be passionate while presenting. Usage of right voice tones and being expressive when presenting can go a long way in engaging the audience. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech is one of the finest examples of how to speak with passion. His intensity in presentation was strong enough to bring tears in the eyes of audience.
Seth Godin further says –
When you create a presentation, think about what your status will be as you begin the presentation. What can you do to prewire, to earn more respect from the start? How can you be introduced? Lit? Miked? What can you wear? If your reputation doesn’t precede you, how do you earn it?
Don’t apologize at the beginning of the talk. For anything. Don’t hide in the dark. Don’t hide behind a wall of bullet points.
And then, as the talk (pitch/presentation/interview) begins, don’t focus your energy or concern on yourself. It’s not about you. It’s about them. The presenter who loves his audience the mosft, wins.
“Respect and Love” lesson from Seth is going to remain with me when I do my next presentation, hopefully, sometime soon!