Effective Presentation Skills Training

4 Developing and Delivering Business Presentations

 

Learning Objectives

 

After studying this chapter, you will be able to

 

1 Highlight the importance of presentations in your ­business career, and explain how to adapt the planning step of the three-step process to presentations.

2 Describe the tasks involved in developing a presentation.

3 Describe the six major design and writing tasks required to enhance your presentation with effective visuals.

4 Outline four major tasks involved in completing a presentation.

5 Describe four important aspects of delivering a ­presentation in today’s social media environment.

On the Job: Communicating at Principato-Young Entertainment The Serious Side of the Comedy Business

The business of being funny can be profoundly unfunny these days, particularly for comedians who want to break into movies and television shows. Fewer movies are being made, and the audience for television and online shows is so fragmented that trying to build a fan base is an uphill struggle. Making the situation even worse for comedians, many of whom are writers at heart, is the seemingly unstoppable growth of reality shows, which require neither writers nor actors in any conventional sense.

 

 

Talent agent Peter Principato (right, with actor Will Arnett) coaches his comedian clients to hone their presentations before pitching movie and TV show ideas to studio executives.

John Shearer/Getty Images

Talent agent Peter Principato knows this landscape as well as anyone, and as he puts it, “There’s less and less real estate every year.” Studios are increasingly reluctant to “green-light” projects, particularly with the young and not-quite-top-of-the-marquee talent that is the specialty of Principato-Young Entertainment, the Beverly Hills company he cofounded with producer Paul Young. But comedy is in Principato’s blood, so he works overtime to make his clients successful, even in this challenging environment.

 

In the entertainment industry, the road to success often starts with “the pitch,” a brief presentation to one or more studio executives by an individual writer, actor, director, or producer or by a team of these people. If the executive is intrigued by the concept, it might be discussed further within the studio, and eventually a decision will be made about funding production.

 

With so much riding on this brief presentation, you can imagine that it’s a high-anxiety event for the presenters, requiring vital communication skills. In fact, the ability to pitch effectively is so important that it has its own slang term: being “good in a room.”

 

Pitches can fall flat for a number of reasons, whether the concept is not a good fit for a particular studio, the idea is so unusual that executives are unwilling to risk investing in it, or the pitch is poorly presented. A presenter may fail by being unable to summarize what a new show or movie idea is all about, by smothering executives in too many details, or by trying too hard to sell the concept.

 

The pointers Principato gives his clients constitute good advice for presentations in any industry, but they’re vital in the entertainment industry. First, come up with a single compelling sentence that describes the show or movie. If presenters can’t do this, chances are they haven’t thought the idea out well enough, or the idea is so complicated that it would be too risky or too expensive to attempt. This one-line summary is essential for another reason, in that the first studio executive to hear the pitch will usually need to share it with other executives or potential financiers before a decision can be made. A catchy, succinct idea is a lot easier to repeat than a rambling, confused concept.

 

Second, expand on that one sentence with a single paragraph that builds interest by substantiating the concept and helping the listener envision what the show or movie would be like. Third, for a proposed series, explain how the concept would play out, week by week, by describing several episodes. Fourth, fill in the “big picture,” such as by describing how the show would look on screen or by rounding out the main characters.

 

You’ve probably noticed how this advice follows the classic AIDA model of getting attention, building interest, increasing desire, and asking for a decision, which is what makes Principato’s advice valuable for just about any profession.

 

The funny business is tough and getting tougher, but Principato is clearly doing something right. Principato-Young continues to expand and attract more of the young comedians who might be box office stars for the next several decades. And his love of comedy and comedians continues to motivate Principato himself. As he describes it, having his job “is like getting to hang out with your favorite band.”1

 

www.principatoyoung.com

Planning a Presentation

 

1 Learning Objective Highlight the importance of presentations in your business career, and explain how to adapt the planning step of the three-step process to presentations.

You might not pitch the next Oscar winner to a studio executive as Peter Principato (profiled in the On the Job chapter opener) hopes to do, but wherever your career takes you, speeches and presentations will offer important opportunities to put all your communication skills on display, including research, planning, writing, visual design, and interpersonal and nonverbal communication. Presentations also let you demonstrate your ability to think on your feet, grasp complex business issues, and handle challenging situations—all attributes that executives look for when searching for talented employees to promote. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Planning presentations is much like planning other business messages: You analyze the situation, gather information, select the best media and channels, and organize the information (see Figure 14.1). Gathering information for presentations is essentially the same as it is for written communication projects. The other three planning tasks have some special applications when it comes to oral presentations; they are covered in the following sections.

 

Presentations involve all of your communication skills, from research through nonverbal communication.

 

Figure 14.1 The Three-Step Process for Developing Business Presentations

Although you rarely “write” a presentation or speech in the sense of composing every word ahead of time, the tasks in the three-step writing process adapt quite well to the challenge of planning, creating, and delivering oral and online presentations.

On the subject of planning, be aware that preparing a professional-quality business presentation can take a considerable amount of time. Nancy Duarte, whose design firm has years of experience creating presentations for corporations, offers this rule of thumb: For a 1-hour presentation, allow 36 to 90 hours to research, conceive, create, and practice.2 Not every 1-hour presentation justifies a week or two of preparation, of course, but the important presentations that can make your career or your company certainly can.

 

Creating a high-quality presentation for an important event can take many days, so be sure to allow enough time.

Analyzing the Situation

 

As with written communications, analyzing the situation involves defining your purpose and developing an audience profile (see Table 14.1). The purpose of most of your presentations will be to inform or to persuade, although you may occasionally need to make a collaborative presentation, such as when you’re leading a problem-solving or brainstorming session.

 

Table 14.1 Analyzing Audiences for Business Presentations

Task Actions

To determine audience size and composition

Estimate how many people will attend (in person and online).

 

Identify what they have in common and how they differ.

Analyze the mix of organizational position, professions, language fluencies, and other demographic factors that could influence your content and delivery choices.

To predict the audience’s probable reaction

Analyze why audience members are attending the presentation.

Determine the audience’s general attitude toward the topic: interested, moderately interested, unconcerned, open-minded, or hostile.

Analyze your audience’s likely mood when you speak to them.

Find out what kind of supporting information will help the audience accept and respond to your message: technical data, historical information, financial data, demonstrations, samples, and so on.

Consider whether the audience has any biases that might work against you.

Anticipate possible objections or questions.

To gauge the audience’s experience

Analyze whether everybody has the same background and level of understanding.

Determine what the audience already knows about the subject.

Consider whether the audience is familiar with the vocabulary you intend to use.

Analyze what the audience expects from you.

Think about the mix of general concepts and specific details you will need to present.

In addition to following the audience analysis advice in Chapter 4, try to anticipate the likely emotional state of your audience members. Figure 14.2 offers tips for dealing with a variety of audience mindsets.

 

 

Figure 14.2 Planning for Various Audience Mindsets

Try to assess the emotional state of your audience ahead of time so you can plan your presentation approach accordingly.

As you analyze the situation, also consider the circumstances. If some or all of the audience members will be in the same room with you, how will they be seated? Can you control the environment to minimize distractions? What equipment will you need? If some or all of your audience members will be online, how will the meeting system you’re using affect their ability to hear and see you and your presentation materials? Such variables can influence not only the style of your presentation but the content itself.

 

Try to learn as much as you can about the setting and circumstances of your presentation, from the size of the audience to seating arrangements.

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Dealing with the difficult four

 

Get advice on dealing with four difficult audience members: the Resister, the Expert, the Dominator, and the Rambler. Go to http://real-timeupdates.com/ebc12 and click on “Learn More in the Students section.”

Selecting the Best Media and Channels

 

For some presentations, you’ll be expected to use whatever media and channels your audience, your boss, or the circumstances require. For example, you might be required to use specific presentation software and a conference room’s built-in display system or your company’s online meeting software.

 

For other presentations, though, you might be able to choose from an array of presentation modes, from live, ­in-person presentations to webcasts (online presentations that people either view live or download later from the web), screencasts (recordings of activity on computer displays with audio voiceover), or twebinars (the use of Twitter as a backchannel— see page 465—for real-time conversation during a web-based seminar3).

 

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Nancy Duarte’s five rules for presentations

 

Follow these steps distilled from Duarte’s decades of experience crafting presentations for major corporations. Go to http:// real-timeupdates.com/ebc12 and click on Learn More in the Students section.

Organizing a Presentation

 

The possibilities for organizing a business presentation fall into two basic categories, linear or nonlinear. Linear presentations are like printed documents in the sense that they are outlined like conventional messages and follow a predefined flow from start to finish. The linear model is appropriate for speeches, technical and financial presentations, and other presentations in which you want to convey your message point by point or build up to a conclusion following logical steps. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Linear presentations generally follow a fixed path or from start to finish.

In contrast, a nonlinear presentation doesn’t flow in any particularly direction but rather gives the presenter the option to move back and forth between topics and up and down in terms of level of detail. Nonlinear presentations can be useful when you want to be able to show complicated relationships between multiple ideas or elements, to zoom in and out between the “big picture” and specific details, to explore complex visuals, or to have the flexibility to move from topic to topic in any order.

 

Nonlinear presentation can move back and forth between topics and up and down in levels of detail.

The difference between the two styles can be seen in the type of software typically used to create and deliver a presentation. Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and similar packages use sequences of individual slides, often referred to as a slide deck. They don’t necessarily need to be presented in a strict linear fashion, because the presenter does have the option of jumping out of the predefined order, but in most presentations using slides the speaker moves from start to finish in that order.

 

Prezi is the best-known nonlinear presentation software and doesn’t use the concept of individual slides. Instead, you start from a main screen, or canvas, which often presents the big-picture overview of your topic (see Figure 14.3). From there, you add individual objects (including blocks of text, photos, or videos) that convey specific information points. When you present, you can zoom in and out, discussing the individual objects and their relationship to the big picture and to each other. You can also establish a narrative flow by defining a path from one object to the next, which also lets people view the presentation on their own4 (and effectively turns a Prezi presentation into a linear presentation).

 

 

Figure 14.3 Nonlinear Presentations

Nonlinear presentations, particularly those using the cloud-based Prezi system, give the presenter more freedom in zooming in and out from the big picture to the details and covering topics in any order.

Image courtesy of Matt Hollowell

Prezi is sometimes viewed as a more dynamic and engaging way to present, and it certainly has that potential. However, keep several points in mind if you have a choice of which approach to take and which software to use. First, match the tool to the task, not the other way around. A detailed technical discussion might need a linear presentation, whereas a free-form brainstorming session might benefit from a nonlinear approach. Second, if they are used well, software features can help you tell your story, but your story is what matters—not the software. If they are used poorly, software features only get in the way. (Overuse of zooming in Prezi is a good example.5) Third, despite their reputation, PowerPoint and other slide programs aren’t limited to creating boring, linear flows of ­bullet points (see “Choosing Structured or Free-Form Slides” on page 454). Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Remember that presentations—using any software or system—are not about flash and dazzle; they are about sharing ideas, information, and emotions with your audience.

Defining Your Main Idea

Regardless of which overall approach you take, a successful presentation starts with a clear statement of the main idea you want to share with your audience. Start by composing a one-sentence summary that links your subject and purpose to your audience’s frame of reference. Here are some examples:

 

If you can’t express your main idea in a single sentence, you probably haven’t defined it clearly enough.

Convince management that reorganizing the technical support department will improve customer service and reduce employee turnover.

 

Convince the board of directors that we should build a new plant in Texas to eliminate manufacturing bottlenecks and improve production quality.

 

Address employee concerns regarding a new health-care plan by showing how the plan will reduce costs and improve the quality of their care.

Each of these statements puts a particular slant on the subject, one that directly relates to the audience’s interests. By focusing on your audience’s needs and using the “you” attitude, you help keep their attention and convince them your points are relevant.

 

Limiting Your Scope

Limiting you scope ensures that your presentation fits the allotted time and your content meets audience needs and expectations.

Limiting your scope is important with any message, but it’s particularly vital with presentations, for two reasons. First, for most presentations, you must work within strict time limits. Second, the longer you speak, the more difficult it is to hold the audience’s attention levels, and the more difficult it is for your listeners to retain your key points.6

 

The only sure way to measure the length of your presentation is to complete a practice run.

The only sure way to know how much material you can cover in a given time is to practice your presentation after you complete it. If possible, complete a dry run in front of a live audience in order to simulate real-life speaking conditions. As an alternative, if you’re using conventional structured slides (see page 454), you can figure on 3 or 4 minutes per slide as a rough guide.7 Of course, be sure to factor in time for introductions, coffee breaks, demonstrations, question-and-answer sessions, and anything else that takes away from your speaking time. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Approaching time constraints as a creative challenge can actually help you develop more effective presentations. Limitations can force you to focus on the most essential message points that are important to your audience.8

 

Choosing Your Approach

Organize short presentations the same way you would a letter or brief memo; organize long presentations as you would a report or proposal.

With a well-defined main idea to guide you and a clear notion of the scope of your presentation, you can begin to arrange your message. If you have 10 minutes or less, consider organizing your presentation much as you would a letter or other brief message: Use the direct approach if the subject involves routine information or good news, and use the indirect approach if the subject involves bad news or persuasion. Plan your introduction to arouse interest and to give a preview of what’s to come. For the body of the presentation, be prepared to explain the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your subject. In the final section, review the points you’ve made and close with a statement that will help your audience remember the subject of your speech (see Figure 14.4).

 

 

Figure 14.4 Effective Outline for a 10-Minute Presentation

Here is an outline of a short presentation that updates management on the status of a key project; the presenter has some bad news to deliver, so she opted for an indirect approach to lay out the reasons for the delay before sharing the news of the schedule slip.

Longer presentations are often organized more like reports. If the purpose is to motivate or inform, you’ll typically use the direct approach and a structure imposed naturally by the subject: comparison, importance, sequence, chronology, geography, or category (as discussed in Chapter 11). If your purpose is to analyze, persuade, or collaborate, organize your material around conclusions and recommendations or around a logical argument. Use the direct approach if the audience is receptive and the indirect approach if you expect resistance.

 

No matter what the length, look for opportunities to integrate storytelling into the structure of your presentation. The dramatic tension (not knowing what will happen to the “hero”) at the heart of effective storytelling is a great way to capture and keep the audience’s attention. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Using a storytelling model can be a great way to catch and hold the audience’s attention.

Preparing Your Outline

An outline helps you organize your message, and it serves as the foundation for delivering your speech. Prepare your outline in several stages:9

 

In addition to planning your speech, a presentation outline helps you plan your speaking notes.

State your purpose and main idea, and then use these elements to guide the rest of your planning.

 

Organize your major points and subpoints in logical order, expressing each major point as a single, complete sentence.

Identify major points in the body first, then outline the introduction and close.

Identify transitions between major points or sections, then write these transitions in full-sentence form.

Prepare your bibliography or source notes; highlight those sources you want to identify by name during your talk.

Choose a compelling title. Make it brief, action oriented, and focused on what you can do for the audience.10

Many speakers like to prepare both a detailed planning outline (see Figure 14.5) and a simpler speaking outline that provides all the cues and reminders they need in order to present their material. To prepare an effective speaking outline, follow these steps:11

 

You may find it helpful to create a simpler speaking outline from your planning outline.

 

 

Figure 14.5 Effective Outline for a 30-Minute Presentation

This outline clearly identifies the purpose and the distinct points to be made in the introduction, body, and close. Notice also how the speaker has written her major transitions in full-sentence form to be sure she can clearly phrase these critical passages when it’s time to speak.

Start with the planning outline and then strip away anything you don’t plan to say directly to your audience.

 

Condense points and transitions to key words or phrases.

Add delivery cues, such as places where you plan to pause for emphasis or use visuals.

Arrange your notes on numbered cards or use the notes capability in your presentation software.

Developing a Presentation

 

2 Learning Objective Describe the tasks involved in developing a presentation.

Although you usually don’t write out a presentation word for word, you still engage in the writing process—developing your ideas, structuring support points, phrasing your transitions, and so on. Depending on the situation and your personal style, the eventual presentation might follow your initial words closely, or you might express your thoughts in fresh, spontaneous language. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Adapting to Your Audience

 

The size of your audience, the venue (in person or online), your subject, your purpose, your budget, and the time available for preparation all influence the style of your presentation. If you’re speaking to a small group, particularly people you already know, you can use a casual style that encourages audience participation. A small conference room, with your audience seated around a table, may be appropriate. Use simple visuals and invite your audience to interject comments. Deliver your remarks in a conversational tone, using notes to jog your memory if necessary.

 

Adapting to your audience involves a number of issues, from speaking style to technology choices.

If you’re addressing a large audience or if the event is important, establish a more formal atmosphere. During formal presentations, speakers are often on a stage or platform, standing behind a lectern and using a microphone so that their remarks can be heard throughout the room or captured for broadcasting or webcasting.

 

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How to establish an emotional connection with any audience

 

Entertainment executive Peter Guber talks about the art of purposeful storytelling. Go to http://real-timeupdates.com/ebc12 and click on Learn More in the Students section.

Crafting Presentation Content

 

Like written documents, oral presentations are composed of distinct elements: the introduction, the body, and the close.

 

Presentation Introduction

A good introduction fires up the audience’s interest in your topic, establishes your credibility, and prepares your listeners for the information and insights you have to share. That’s a lot to accomplish in the first few minutes, so give yourself plenty of time to develop the words and visuals you’ll use to get your presentation off to a great start. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

An effective introduction arouses interest in your topic, establishes your credibility, and prepares the audience for the body of your presentation.

Getting Your Audience’s Attention

 

Some subjects are naturally more interesting to some audiences than others. If your presentation involves the health, wealth, or happiness of your listeners, most people will be interested, regardless of how you begin. With other subjects, though, you need to use some imagination to pull people in. Here are seven ways to arouse audience interest:12

 

If it’s appropriate for the presentation, encourage your listeners to unite around a meaningful business objective. For example, if the company is struggling and your presentation offers a turnaround solution, you could start by urging your listeners to join together for the common good.

Spend some time thinking about the best technique to capture the audience’s attention and interest with your opening remarks.

Open with a brief story that makes a point relevant to your presentation. Be sure to keep it brief and directly on topic so listener attention doesn’t start to wander.

Consider using a prop or some other kind of visual that relates to your main idea. This gives you an opportunity to be clever and creative, as long as it’s appropriate for the setting. If your presentation is about how the company’s outdated policies keep customer service agents from offering top-quality service, you might walk on stage with yours hands tied together to illustrate employee frustration about having their “hands tied” by rigid policies. To point your listeners in the direction of your main idea, ask a question that your presentation will end up answering. If you’re sharing the results of a consumer research project, for instance, you might open with “Why do some consumers reject our products and buy from one of our competitors?”

Surprise or shock your listeners with an important and relevant statistic or detail, such as “If we could cut product returns in half, we would save enough to give every person in this room a 10-percent raise.”

In the right circumstances, you can open with some appropriate humor that helps endear you to the audience, shows empathy with your listeners, or sheds some light on your subject matter. Humor needs to be approached with great care, however. If you open with a joke that is irrelevant, offensive, or simply not funny, you’ll dig yourself into a hole before you even start your presentation. Effective Presentation Skills Training

Open with a bold and specific promise about how the presentation will help your audience by providing valuable insights, information, or inspiration.

Regardless of which technique you choose, make sure you can give audience members a reason to care and to believe that the time they’re about to spend listening to you will be worth their while.13 The more you can make your opening about your listeners and their concerns, the more likely they will be to lock in your message and stay tuned.

 

Building Your Credibility

 

 

Audiences tend to decide within a few minutes whether you’re worth listening to, so establishing your credibility quickly is vital.14 If you’re not a well-known expert or haven’t already earned your audience’s trust in other situations, you’ll need to build credibility in your introduction. If someone else will introduce you, he or she can present your credentials. If you will be introducing yourself, keep your comments brief, but don’t be afraid to mention your accomplishments. Your listeners will be curious about your qualifications, so tell them briefly who you are, why you’re there, and how they’ll benefit from listening to you. You might say something like this:

 

If someone else will be introducing you, ask this person to present your credentials.

I’m Karen Whitney, a market research analyst with Information Resources Corporation. For the past five years, I’ve specialized in studying high-technology markets. Your director of engineering, John LaBarre, asked me to talk about recent trends in computer-aided design so that you’ll have a better idea of how to direct your development efforts.

This speaker establishes credibility by tying her credentials to the purpose of her presentation. By mentioning her company’s name, her specialization and position, and the name of the audience’s boss, she lets her listeners know immediately that she is qualified to tell them something they need to know.

 

Previewing Your Message

 

 

In addition to getting the audience’s attention and establishing your credibility, a good introduction gives your audience a preview of what’s ahead. Your preview should summarize the main idea of your presentation, identify major ­supporting points, and indicate the order in which you’ll develop those points. By giving listeners the framework of your message, you help them process the information you’ll be sharing, Of course, if you’re using the indirect approach, you’ll have to decide how much of your main idea to give away in the introduction. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Offer a preview to help your audience understand the importance, the structure, and the content of your message.

Presentation Body

The bulk of your presentation is devoted to a discussion of the main points in your outline. No matter what organizational pattern you’re using, your goals are to make sure that the organization is clear and that you hold the audience’s attention.

 

Connecting Your Ideas

 

In written documents, you can show how ideas are related with a variety of design clues: headings, paragraph indentions, white space, and lists. However, with oral communication—particularly when you aren’t using visuals for support—you have to rely primarily on spoken words to link various parts and ideas.

 

For the links between sentences and paragraphs, use one or two transitional words: therefore, because, in addition, in contrast, moreover, for example, consequently, nevertheless, or finally. To link major sections of a presentation, use complete sentences or paragraphs, such as “Now that we’ve reviewed the problem, let’s take a look at some solutions.” Every time you shift topics, be sure to stress the connection between ideas by summarizing what’s been said and previewing what’s to come. The longer your presentation, the more important your transitions. Your listeners need clear transitions to guide them to the most important points. Furthermore, they’ll appreciate brief interim summaries to pick up any ideas they may have missed. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Use transitions to repeat key ideas, particularly in longer presentations.

Holding Your Audience’s Attention

 

A successful introduction will have grabbed your ­audience’s attention; now the body of your presentation needs to hold that attention. Here are a few helpful tips for keeping the audience tuned into your message:

 

Keep relating your subject to your audience’s needs.

 

Anticipate—and answer—likely questions as you move along so people don’t get confused or distracted.

Use clear, vivid language and throw in some variety; repeating the same words and phrases over and over puts people to sleep.

Show how your subject is related to ideas that audience members already understand, and give people a way to categorize and remember your points.15

The most important way to hold an audience’s attention is to show how your message relates to their individual needs and concerns.

If appropriate, encourage participation by asking for comments or questions.

Illustrate your ideas with visuals, which enliven your message, help you connect with audience members, and help them remember your message more effectively (see “Enhancing Your Presentation with Effective Visuals,” pages 453–460).

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The latest tools and trends in presentations

 

From design trends to new software tools, this blog covers the newest ideas in presentations. Go to http://real-timeupdates.com/ebc12 and click on Learn More in the Students section.

Presentation Close

The close of a speech or presentation has two critical tasks to accomplish: making sure your listeners leave with the key points from your talk clear in their minds and putting your audience in the appropriate emotional state. For example, if the purpose of your presentation is to warn managers that their out-of-control spending threatens the company’s survival, you want them to leave with that message ringing in their ears—and with enough concern for the problem to stimulate changes in their behavior. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Plan your close carefully so that your audience leaves with a clear summary of your main idea.

Restating Your Main Points

 

 

Use the close to succinctly restate your main points, emphasizing what you want your listeners to do or to think. For example, to close a presentation on your company’s executive compensation program, you could repeat your specific recommendations and then conclude with a memorable statement to motivate your audience to take action:

 

When you repeat your main idea in the close, emphasize what you want your audience to do or to think.

We can all be proud of the way our company has grown. However, if we want to continue that growth, we need to take four steps to ensure that our best people don’t start looking for opportunities elsewhere:

 

First, increase the overall level of compensation

Second, establish a cash bonus program

Third, offer a variety of stock-based incentives

Fourth, improve our health insurance and pension benefits

By taking these steps, we can ensure that our company retains the management talent it needs to face our industry’s largest competitors.

Repetition of key ideas, as long as you don’t overdo it, greatly improves the chance that your audience will hear your message in the way you intended.

 

Ending with Clarity and Confidence

 

 

If you’ve been successful with the introduction and body of your presentation, your listeners now have the information they need, and they’re in the right frame of mind to put that information to good use. Now you’re ready to end on a strong note that confirms expectations about any actions or decisions that will follow the presentation—and to bolster the audience’s confidence in you and your message one final time.

 

Plan your final statement carefully so you can end on a strong, positive note.

Some presentations require the audience to reach a decision or agree to take specific action, in which case the close should provide a clear wrap-up. If the audience reached agreement on an issue covered in the presentation, briefly review the consensus. If they didn’t agree, make the lack of consensus clear by saying something like “We seem to have some fundamental disagreement on this question.” Then be ready to suggest a method of resolving the differences.

 

If you expect any action to occur as a result of your speech, be sure to identify who is responsible for doing what. List the action items and, if possible within the time you have available, establish due dates and assign responsibility for each task.

 

Make sure your final remarks are memorable and expressed in a tone that is appropriate to the situation. For example, if your presentation is a persuasive request for project funding, you might emphasize the importance of this project and your team’s ability to complete it on schedule and within budget. Expressing confident optimism will send the message that you believe in your ability to perform. Conversely, if your purpose is to alert the audience to a problem or risk, false optimism will undermine your message. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Make sure your final remarks are memorable and have the right emotional tone.

Whatever final message is appropriate, think through your closing remarks carefully before stepping in front of the audience. You don’t want to wind up on stage with nothing to say but “Well, I guess that’s it.”

 

The Art of Professionalism Being a Team Player

Professionals know that they are contributors to a larger cause, that it’s not all about them. Just as in athletics and other team efforts, being a team player in business is something of a balancing act. On the one hand, you need to pay enough attention to your own efforts and skills to make sure you’re pulling your own weight. On the other hand, you need to pay attention to the overall team effort to make sure the team succeeds. Remember that if the team fails, you fail, too.

 

Great team players know how to make those around them more effective, whether it’s by lending a hand during crunch time, sharing resources, removing obstacles, making introductions, or offering expertise. In fact, the ability to help others improve their performance is one of the key attributes executives look for when they want to promote people into management. Effective Presentation Skills Training

 

Being a team player also means showing loyalty to your organization and protecting your employer’s reputation—one of the most important assets any company has. Pros don’t trash their employers in front of customers or in their personal blogs. When they have a problem, they solve it; they don’t share it.

 

Career Applications

If you prefer to work by yourself, should you take a job in a company that uses a team-based organization structure? Why or why not?

You can see plenty of examples of unprofessional business behavior in the news media and in your own consumer and employee experiences. Why should you bother being professional yourself?