Half Knowledge is dangerous they say. I say true. Let me pick from where I had left the last time. We had seen what the content should be, how to keep you audience alive in attention, how mannerisms can be controlled, about the dress code, language to use and how to start and end. Let me put across the other set of 6 guidelines that would add a feather to your hat.
Interaction :
Speaking to your friends comes with an ease and the same does not come to pass with an alien audience or if the same friends are sitting for the presentation. Wondered why? If you think it is cause that you don’t know the matter correctly or if you think it is ‘cause you are standing and they are sitting then you are definitely mistaken. This is simply ‘cause your conscious that you are not talking/ speaking with your friends any more BUT Presenting. So, Why not interact with your audience and be friendly with them. You would be surprise to see the change. The in-habitations would vanish. And there would be a remarkable change.
Now yet again DO NOT lose your ascendancy over your audience. Remember, you are the driver of the bus, you will have to direct your audience the way you want it. Everyone sitting on the opposite side has come to listen to you, and by interaction I do not mean just bombarding your listener with questions. There are many ways to do it: a Rhetorical question or a witty humour or a simple yes or no would do. With the easy going audience it will be easy for you to cover up your topic as well.
Audience :
I think this is the most difficult one to explain yet the easiest to understand. Sitting here on the other side of your monitor screen I would not able to pin out what level of your audience you would have, or to understand what topic and so on. The best thing to do is do a background check of your audience. For example, if you have to deliver a lecture in an MBA college. The thing is, not all the student in the MBA colleges will be with the same calibre as that of the rest of the ivy colleges. So accordingly you can modify your lecture to suit your audience.
This point is some-what interlined with the language point discussed in part1. This would also highlight the vocabulary that you make use of. Also the use of anecdotes should be in par with the grasping knowledge of the audience.
Plant a Question :
At the end of the presentation when you ask for questions and you don’t get any, it only means 2 things: one your audience has understood everything or they have understood nothing. This is one way to look at it. The other is to make a fool out of yourself when they do not ask you anything. To shield yourself from embarrassment why don’t you plant a question or two in your audience?
This can be done in many ways. One is if your friend is in the audience, well you got the point I don’t have to tell you what to do next. Secondly, before your talk, instigate a question in someone’s head, without making it obvious. This is done by giving to him incomplete and conflicting knowledge of the subject that you would be talking about. And eventually it multiplies with a grain of doubt and comes out from his mouth, as a question as you expect at the end of the presentation.
Body Language :
I am no expert when it comes to body Language BUT being said that, am not that amateur that I would not pin point the odd colours out from the picture. While presenting, we normally don’t have to worry about our hands as they move accordingly (most of the time). The problem comes while facing the music of questions from the other side. Shall I put my hands in the pocket? Or shall I fold them? Or shall I simply keep them behind. Well the meaning varies from committing a deceit to being defensive and etc, etc. So, what should one really do with his hands?? It is said that keeping the hands open or palms of our hands over each other (making a hand cradle) indicates that you are open for new ideas. The same would apply to your audience as well, which means looking at; how they are positioning their hands you can alter your presentation accordingly.
Hands are not the only thing we should be worried about, the way you stand also speaks a lot about you. If you are standing with your legs open it shows your dominance on the floor, in the similar fashion if you get fidgety even while seating or constantly tap your feet etc, it means you want to leave the room. This could be the case with your audience as well. So, no sooner does this comes into picture make sure that you change the situation. Now when I say change the situation I don’t mean for you to go and speak to him personally. It’s just that assure the audience that something more interesting will be coming up next or the talk is almost coming to an end or something that would buy you time to complete your matter without any hindrance.
Likewise, the facial expressions that you give could be offensive to your audience. The worst part of the facial expressions is that one can’t see himself doing it unless it’s in a mirror or the mirrored reflection from someone else. Try wiping off the unnecessary grin from your face, cause if you smile every time it questions the reliability of your matter. Also avoiding looking at the left hand side while answering to someone’s question (while thinking I mean) ‘cause it looks made up. Also avoid biting your lips it say that you are assuring you self that everything is fine or going to be.
Eye contact is a must with your audience but make sure that you divide your attention in the lot accordingly and not just stare at one person.
Know every slide :
You are standing there because you know something more than others do (mostly). Of course no one expects you to know everything under the sun, but what one expects is for you to know everything that is there on the slide. Make sure that you know why a particular thing is there on the slide or why the slide is up there. And if you don’t, you are in trouble.
Everyone expects the preacher / presenter to be perfect – something which is not possible, I’d say, a bit above average would be next to near perfect. If you do not know everything of something is forgivable but if you don’t know entirely, then the skepticism would point out the rest of your presentation.
Fluency :
When I speak of fluency I mean in the matter you put across. Consistency and logical sequence helps your audience to map the matter you are speaking of. Nobody likes a jumping jack from one topic to another. And it would build up your name as a good orator as well. Of course, language is an aid to it.
Now, the hurdles that you will get would be:
- Random questions thrown at you interrupting your flow.
- Technical difficulties: Audio – Visuals not running.
- Mishaps with currents and no inverter.
- Inattentive audience etc.
Well, I am not god! And if you are expecting a way out through it, all I can tip you is by saying not to lose your cool.
That is all that I have added to myself and I came across a Chinese saying “when someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others too” hence shared it here.