|
Home »
Presenting Yourself
Presenting Yourself
Katerina Hajivassiliou
Training
Consultant
Inspire
Development
Imagine you have been asked to present for one hour to
three hundred people. You are now standing backstage, peeping through the
curtains and are waiting for your cue. You see the audience chatting and
waiting expectantly for your entrance. Are you feeling nervous? You are not
alone, in a recent survey where 3,000 adults in the United States were asked to
list their ten worst fears. Speaking in public came out as their number one
fear - above even fears of financial ruin and death! In fact, a certain amount
of nervousness is vital to making successful presentations - it gives you some
very useful adrenaline, which you need to be at your best. Interestingly, when
required, most people learn to face their fear, perform the presentation well
AND survive in the process. All you need is to plan it well, apply some
everyday skills, add some new knowledge, practice a lot and DO IT.
Presenting Yourself
The Plan
Before you begin, it
is important to be very clear about why you are presenting. Who are your
audience? Think carefully about what you wish to achieve and what your audience
will gain from your presentation.
How do you want the audience to feel
during and after your session? Do you require them to feel motivated or
excited, do you want them to perform some different action after the session or
perhaps you want them to buy something?
Decide the key points you need
to put across during this presentation to achieve your outcomes. We know that
the human brain generally holds between five and nine pieces of information in
their conscious minds at any one time. So decide what your 'jewels' are and
keep these to five or less points, if possible.
From research we know
that people tend to remember the start and the end of presentations more than
the middle. This is why you may have heard the old adage, "Tell them what you
are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you have told
them".
This repetition ensures your audience have had an opportunity to
take in the important information whenever they are at their peak concentration
levels. Plan your 'jewels' in this way so that by repetition the audience take
on the messages you want them to.
First Impressions
A new
audience will sum you up in seconds. You can help to manage what kind of first
impression people create about you. This is important because their first
impression will determine whether they:
- Listen to you
- Believe you
- Want to go along with your ideas
The first three minutes are vital here:
- · Decide what impression you want to give. Dress
accordingly!
- · Plan your opening moment; this must have maximum
impact For example. A slow walk may communicate calm confidence; a fast walk
may communicate energy.
- · Make eye contact with everyone in the first few
minutes and smile.
- · Plan your opening perfectly and rehearse it
until perfect.
Variety
For people to enjoy
and remember your presentation, variety is essential. Think about your voice,
your pace, tone and how you can use emphasis to help you. This powerful tool
can help you create an emotional impact on your audience?
We need to
stimulate as many senses as possible in order for effective learning to take
place. What visuals can we use to help the audience understand fully the
message we are putting across? Visuals must be big and bold in order to
stimulate the audience in a different way.
Add activities, questions,
anecdotes, stories, and humour, all these could be used very effectively to
vary your presentation and add more interest.
I recently used a story in
order to introduce the topic of congruence to a group of Managers and as I
looked around the room, I noticed how people were hanging on my every word
until I finished the story. It truly is a powerful way of gaining full
attention of the group as well as helping them understand the topic at many
levels.
Practice
When you enjoy listening to the best
presenters today, you will probably be aware that this wasn't their very first
presentation. It takes practice in order to achieve excellence in anything and
the art of presenting is no exception.
You can shortcut your pathway to
excellence by spending some time practising these skills:
Voice
- Control your breathing
- Project, don't shout
- Vary the pitch, tone and volume
- Speak clearly
- Use pause for punctuation
- Use questions
Body
- Use controlled gestures to emphasise and illustrate your
words
- Standing still, moving with purpose
- · Posture
Practice
- Use you mind, visualise your successful
presentations
- Use a mirror, notice your body language and its
effects
- Use a video and give yourself feedback, what worked what
didn't
- Ask a group of friends to watch you and give you feedback
(this is the most effective way of learning as you will have an idea of your
effects on others).
Emotional State
Examine your
nerves, what is the fear? What is the likelihood of it happening, what if it
does? Know your role and reasons for talking. Know your subject area. Just
before you speak visualise the successful presentations not your fear. Regulate
your breathing to help you relax. Relax your face and muscles. Show your
enthusiasm in your body movements even if it feels you are going over the top -
you have probably got it right. Use your voice to punch home key
words.
Emotional state applies as much for your audience as it does to
you. When they are at their 'peak' they are more likely to take in and remember
your presentation. The best presenters are able to keep their audience in a
'peak' state for more of the time.
Nervous or not, you can enjoy
presenting. Acting is a nice way to tackle presentations. Just act as if you
were confident, enjoying yourself and enthusiastic - it
works!
About the author
Katerina Hajivassiliou is a
Training Consultant with Inspire Development. She is a qualified Business and
Master Practitioner of NLP with 10 years experience in the Pharmaceutical
industry.
Click here
for further information
Disclaimer
Net Media Marketing excludes any
warranty, express or implied, as to the quality, accuracy, timeliness,
completeness or fitness for a particular purpose of this briefing. Net Media
Marketing will not be liable for any claims, penalties, losses, damages, costs,
or expenses arising from the use of or inability to use this briefing or from
any unauthorised access to or alteration of the Briefing. Net Media Marketing
makes no warranty that the contents of this briefing are compatible with all
computer systems and browsers.
Medical sales jobs,
Pharmaceutical sales jobs, All jobs
& vacancies, Pharmaceutical
jobs, Healthcare sales,
Laboratory sales,
Veterinary sales,
Dental sales jobs,
Trainee
sales jobs, Nurse Advisor jobs,
Sales Management,
Pharma Marketing,
Senior Management,
Regulatory jobs,
Clinical jobs,
Scientific sales jobs,
Pharmaceutical jobs,
British National Formulary (BNF),
British Pharmacopoeia (BP),
Pharmaceutical Company list,
NHS News - local and national
|
