One Annoying Act You Should Avoid Committing In Your Presentation
by Kelvin Lee
Dynamic presentation skills can be learned by knowing what to do – and what not to do. The article below discusses one big thing you shouldn’t do.
It is hard to forget the times spent in agony listening to a presentation where the speaker’s eyes remained fixated on the projection screen.
Unsurprisingly, you became bored stiff and fell asleep.
How the Audience is Distracted
Disrupted attention of speaker
If most of the time is spent reading from the projection screen, the speaker will lose the opportunity to interact with the audience. Moreover, glancing at the audience in between is necessary to ensure they are right on track with him.
By constantly facing the projection screen, he will naturally turn his back towards to audience. The speaker also has to keep turning to and fro to control the laptop and look at the projection. Not only is it a distraction to the audience but a disruption to the speaker. It suggests that the speaker is uncertain of his presentation and the audience may lose faith in him.
No connectedness between speaker and audience
A speaker needs to connect to the audience with his eyes. The eyes are one of the most important features of communication. Without eye contact with the audience, there will be a sense of disconnect between the speaker and audience. Eyes are capable of doing most of the talking. By looking at the audience, the speaker’s eyes are almost saying, “Do you understand?” Additionally, eyes can convey the speaker’s passion and interest in the topic of discussion.
Therefore, the speaker cannot afford to leave the audience high and dry. He needs to know that eye contact is essential in building the communication bridge to his audience. Hence, it is best for him to avoid reading off the text on the projection screen.
Projection flaws
A speaker who is only interested in looking at the screen has a high tendency to walk into the line of projection. Following that, the images and text supposed to be projected on the screen, will be projected onto the speaker. This is both a distraction and comical situation.
This is an embarrassing situation for the speaker. The audience may view him as unprofessional and incompetent.
Ways to Engage the Audience
Place the laptop conveniently
For a more efficient presentation, the laptop should be placed in a convenient position where the speaker can simultaneously look at his laptop screen and audience. This allows the speaker to maintain eye contact with his audience. Moreover, he can read off his laptop slides instead of the projection screen. He would also find it physically awkward to turn his back to the audience with such an arrangement.
Refrain from reading projection slides
A speaker should inject fun and interest in a presentation. The audience is waiting to be swept off their feet. Reading material off the slides is not necessary. In fact, it is pointless and boring. The audience is capable enough to do that on their own.
Thus, information on the slides should be kept to the minimum. Only display the main points. This will prevent the speaker from referring to the slides for answers and gives him more room for elaboration on each point.
Coordinate your presentation
Go through a mock presentation a few minutes before you actually deliver your presentation. This also allows you to get more acquainted with the topic and the order of presentation. When you are prepared, you can easily gain the audience’s confidence in you.
Prepare the equipment
Besides you, the next important thing to make a presentation work is the equipment. You cannot afford to have a technical fault. Thus, it is important to arrive about half hour earlier at the venue to do sound checks and ensure that the projector works. This gives you greater assurance while you are presenting.
But do look at the screen every 5 to 10 slides to be certain that your audience is viewing the slides you expect them to be looking at.
To wrap it up, try viewing things from the audience’s perspective. Imagine situations which the audience might find disturbing and try to avoid those instances, especially facing your back to the audience. Focus on delivering your message well. Do not let other distractions clutter your mind.
About the Author: Kelvin Lee is a dynamic and eloquent communicator and an experienced trainer of Power Presentations workshops. He is a certified Microsoft PowerPoint specialist and also specialises in giving corporate slides makeovers. To receive free tips and techniques on PowerPoint Presentations, visit http://figtree.com.sg/ppt_tips
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com
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