[Image by shiulynurO of Pixabay]
This week many of us will celebrate the holidays and that got me thinking of the theme naughty vs. nice. You may be thinking that you always fall on the nice side but… what if your presentation is naughty? Probably you want to change that and the best way to do so is to take time to ensure you know your own habits (which we all have) and then seeing if you can adjust them. Let’s get started!
- Do you making statements that sound like questions? It’s become routine for many speakers to sound this way but this habit can be corrected. This has to do with inflection and using your voice incorrectly in a rising style. You can change that if you hear it. The best way to do that is to record yourself and on playback see if you notice the emphasis trending up. Then take the same statement and try stating it with a downward movement. Listen to the difference.
- Do you include unwarranted information? I know you probably love your content however your audience can become bored or distracted and will quickly tune you out. That’s why it’s beneficial to truly know your listeners and what they need to know. By removing information your listeners already know or is not relevant to them, you can establish greater focus and clarity.
- Do you use gestures effectively? Many of my clients ask what to do with their hands. Here is a list of items to avoid with your hands—do not place your hands in your pockets, do not hold your hands behind your back, and do not use both hands to hold onto your notes.
- Do you use your slides correctly? You’ve most likely attended presentations where you’ve witnessed these mistakes: inconsistent fonts, excessive bullet points, outdated animation, or clip art as opposed to photos.
- Do you sound stiff or nervous? This can happen to anyone but the solution is to spend time sounding conversational. You may be thinking that while this sounds good you aren’t sure how to go about it. You want to focus on your delivery which means pausing more, slowing your rate of speech and varying your energy level.
Giving a presentation that’s “nice” is optimal. Not easy to do but with coaching and practice, it can happen. If you’d like my help changing this list of behaviors from naughty to nice…I’m ready to help.