This is the first of a series of posts probing problems and strategies surrounding effective business presentation skills. Part 1: Common presentation problems.
By Sean Ashcroft
COMMUNICATION is the oil that lubricates business – but a recent study by the CBI identified that the British economy wastes over £40 billion a year because of poor management and poor communication. The main costs come in high staff turnover and lost business.
In-house and client-facing presentations are events that too often leave people on the edge of their sleeping bags. The following are the most common causes of life-sapping presentations.
“Do you believe the standard of presentations in your workplace is satisfactory?” asks Richard Johnson, director of the College of Public Speaking. “Or do you suspect the standard is far from satisfactory. Whatever you believe, the truth is that 90% of attendees at most presentations have switched off within the first 5 minutes.”
The most common causes for this sorry state of affairs is:
Presentation mistakes 1. Nerves
This affects many people to varying degrees, but if you are solely focused on controlling your nerves you will be unable to deliver a good presentation. Imagine trying to aim for double top in a darts match when you are shaking with fear.
Presentation mistakes 2. Lack of training
For most parts of your job you are probably given reasonable training, guidance and help by more experienced colleagues. However, for some mysterious reason there are 3 things that many organizations do not do well – manage people, interview and selection skills and …. deliver presentations.
Presentation mistakes 3. Death by PowerPoint
The majority of presentations simply duplicate what the speaker is saying – would you bother to watch television if it sounded like listening to the radio combined with reading a book? Wouldn’t you just choose to read the book or listen to the radio?
Presentation mistakes 4. Ignoring the audience
We’ve all been bored by the person in the pub who wants to monopolies the conversation and talks for ages without letting anyone else get a word in. So why don’t we think about how boring a 30-minute presentation is if it sounds like someone just sounding off in a pub?
Presentation mistakes 5. Deadly dull data
In a social setting, when people drone on about something that has no interest to you, it makes you want to walk away. Even worse is when people drone on about something that does interest you, but manage to make it an exercise in tedium. How many presentations have you sat through which fall into one or both of these categories?
Presentation mistakes 6. Reading to oneself
Many people come to presentations as actors would to a first dress rehearsal; they simply read their notes, and the audience may as well not be there. It’s why theatres are full for performances and empty for rehearsals.
Presentation mistakes 7. Lack of conviction
If the presenter cannot generate sufficient enthusiasm in their delivery, why should the audience listen?
Presentation mistakes 8. Aimlessness
Would you start a journey from your house to a strange, far away town without plotting directions? So why do so many presenters confuse their audiences by going off at needless, dull tangents?
This post is drawn from The Essential Need to Improve Presentation Skills Within The Workplace, a white paper from the College of Public Speaking.
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