Presentation Techniques

b2b · Post by **b2b** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:34 pm

What are some of the best presentation techniques, tools? Any tips on how to improve presentation qualities? What are the common mistakes people do in presentations and how those can be avoided?

cnu · Post by **cnu** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 5:50 pm

* Keep it short to the point
* Know what audience want and deliver only that
* Appropriate jokes
* Body language, polite, your appearance, smell
* Thoroughness of subject matter
* Cartoons, videos
* More practical n pragmatic examples from daily life
* Colors

lemme know if u want more ;)

Desi · Post by **Desi** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:24 pm

* Do not stay frozen when giving presentation, move around but not excessively.
* Make comfortable eye contacts.
* Do not fidget.
* Depending upon type of presentation, may or may not want to involve the audience.

mn_op · Post by **mn_op** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:51 pm

b2b, This post will not be any help to you but I would like to have some more discussion on this topic. 'presentation skills' is the most important acquired skills for every India born programmer....without this one just cannot expect to make any big career moves.

We come across people who are naturally great speaker and then there are some whose mere sight on dias makes us cringe with anticipation of embarrasment. I think its all in the personality. Good looking person in expensive clothes and with deep/resonating voice can make any point with ease. While this sounds shallow, I have found that many highly intelligent folks make a mess of their presentation just because of their fear.

Good voice (possibly accentless) is one thing thats needed for the an effective presentation. How does one develop the voice? Are we born with it? Officers in Indian army seem to have well modulated voice for giving commands. Company big shots have uncanny ability to develop instant rapport with anybody (probably other than their immidiate sub-ordinates :-) just with a few exchanges in their mellifluous but authorative voices.

I have read somewhere that a couple of pegs of whisky every night can do it...is it true? Hope its true so I can start drinking everyday :-)

Desi_by_Nature · Post by **Desi_by_Nature** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:09 pm

Do not read out directly from the slides (i've seen way too many ppl do that). If you don't have anything additional to add than what's in the slides - then the whole point of a presentation is amiss. You could have sent the same information in an email or a memo.

Keep the bullet points in the slides very concise (no more than one line ideally). Be prepared to speak out about each point in more detail.

Purujit · Post by **Purujit** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:13 pm

Do not:
Read from the slide or from a book
Cram too much in one slide, long winded sentences, etc.
Put your hands in your pocket or fidget/scratch around
Chew gum

Do:
Ask questions to keep the audience engaged, but not too many questions
Have a good narrative
Dress appropriately

Purujit · Post by **Purujit** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:16 pm

I mentioned some points that DBN also did, due to concurrent posting.

ssppss · Post by **ssppss** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:18 pm

Basic Idea: The clearest presentation are done by thos who think clearly.

Other than that there are many techniques.

Use bullets: try to put them 3 in number.

This is one nice presentaiton on presenations:

http://www.changethis.com/35.05.Presentation

b2b · Post by **b2b** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:27 pm

Thanks a lot for useful tips.

How do you make an immediate impact within opening 3-4 minutes? How do you assess whether the desired message has been passed on to the recepients exactly....specially when making presentation over webex / teleconference?

One probably minor question, does it matter whether one stands / sits while making presentations?

Are there any good books / other reading material on presentation skills / techniques?

Desi_by_Nature · Post by **Desi_by_Nature** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:33 pm

b2b;44982One probably minor question, does it matter whether one stands / sits while making presentations? [/quote]

Always stand. Standing helps keep the audience's attention on you. If you're sitting you'll most likely be out of sight for people sitting in the back - they will just hear a voice coming from nowhere and will lose interest soon.

In fact don't even just stand in one place - if there's space to walk around - move around periodically like a tiger in a cage (but not constantly). Again this helps retaining the audience's attention.