Preparation with Purpose Leads to Powerful Presentations

You are standing in front of a crowd where all eyes are on you waiting for pearls of wisdom to come flowing from you mouth. You’ve got nothing to say and nowhere to run. However, the fear of giving a presentation can easily be subdued with plenty of preparation. You can communicate a message to an audience if you have done your research, know your material, use visual aids to support your points, and have spent time rehearsing.

The first step in preparing a presentation is becoming an expert on the content. Look for all relevant research on your topic and be familiar with the most recent news about it. The research will be time consuming, but it will help you avoid being “sucker punched” by a question from the audience. Your research and rehearsing will help you feel and appear confident.

The second part of your preparation is adapting your message to your audience. You should know the type of people who will be attending your presentation; that will help you determine how best to present your material. Are they highly educated? Do they understand the industry jargon? Are they visual learners or do they like the facts? How much will they know about the topic? Answering these questions will help you adapt your message appropriately.

The next step is to know the purpose of your presentation. What do you want the audience to learn? Once you’ve answered this question you can streamline your presentation by making sure that each point you want to make contributes to the purpose in some way and that the audience can easily make the connection between point and purpose. This process will help you identify your key points, which you should present clearly at the beginning of the presentation.

Once you have a clear vision of the purpose of the presentation you need to prepare your script. What are you going to say to drive that purpose home? The script should have an introduction, body, summary, and conclusion. In your introduction try to grab the audience’s attention. If you know what your audience prefers than you will know if opening with a joke is appropriate. Try through your introduction to make a personal connection with the audience. In the body of the presentation you should focus on the subject matter and supporting your key points. In the summary restate your key points, and use the closing to reinforce your purpose. This arrangement will help you structure your topic in a logical way that is easy for you to present and for the audience to follow.

The next thing to consider is the visual aids that you will use. The selection of visuals can be tricky but if you allow yourself a little restrained creativity you will be on the right track. In a presentation, visuals should support the purpose and key points, not distract. Once again, knowing your audience can help you in choosing the most appropriate visuals. If the audience enjoys facts and figures, a graph or chart may be the most appropriate. If the audience you are presenting to is more creative then illustrations may be the best choice. If you plan to use PowerPoint, make sure that the font is big enough for the audience to read and that the color scheme doesn’t overwhelm the text. Limit the text on each slide; be brief and keep the slide simple.

The last step in preparation is rehearsing. The more you rehearse the more prepared you will feel. You will be able to think about all the things that could go wrong and prepare backup plans for those scenarios. You can also tape record yourself to see how you feel about your performance or to get feedback from others. However, do more than just go through the motions. The key to a rewarding rehearsal is to treat it like the real thing, so give yourself an audience and give it all you’ve got.

The day of the presentation, arrive early and set up to avoid any last-minute blunders. Observe as your audience enters the room to get a feel for them. Then wow them with your presentation skills. With a lot of preparation and a little luck your presentation will be a success!

For more information on preparing a presentation visit http://www.the-eggman.com/writings/keystep1.html, http://www.siam.org/meetings/tips.htm, and http://www.inc.com/articles/2001/05/22582.html.

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