This guest blog from Lois Grant one of our team is designed to help develop the presentation skills of those new to making presentations.

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail

That old adage is very true when it comes to presenting, and to prepare effectively, you need to ask yourself a lot of questions.

Most people start their planning with “What shall I include?” and then have trouble either fitting it all in or knowing what to edit out.  It is crucial to first ask yourself: “WHY am I giving this presentation?  What is my aim/goal/purpose?  Is it to sell a product, introduce a change, influence opinion or provide information?  And, if so why?  If you are not sure, clarify with the person who invited you.  In fact, question if you should be doing this at all?!

Your next question should be “WHO am I delivering this presentation to?” 

The quickest way to turn a business audience off is to deliver your presentation to suit you; conversely, the quickest way to turn them on is to deliver it to suit them! 

Get inside the mind of your audience.  Find out how many people are attending, their level, background and experience, what they expect, want and need from you, their age etc.  The approach and content of your presentation will vary depending on who you are talking to.

Analysing your audience will give you your ‘start position’.  Your next step is to establish your ‘finish position’.  What do you want your audience to do as a result of your presentation?  It is then about guiding them from ‘Start’ to ‘Finish’?

The next step is to consider WHAT to include in your presentation.  Let the ideas flow and note down (or perhaps mind-map) all the ‘possible’ content.  You will probably have far more information than you can possibly incorporate in the time allowed, so next steps are to prioritise by identifying the items that:

• Must be included (key topics)
• Should be included (key information to include under each topic)
• Could (information to include time-permitting)

All the time you are doing this, stay focused on your finish position!

You then need to consider WHERE you will be delivering your presentation, how you will lay out the room and what equipment is available.

And WHEN will you be delivering your presentation?  If you have a choice, go for mid-morning when people tend to be at their most alert.  Mid-afternoon can also work well.

Also ask yourself HOW you are going to deliver it?  How will you keep your audience engaged?   Rather than just talking, can you get the audience involved in any way?  When will you invite questions – throughout or at the end?  Are you going to give handouts?  What props and visuals will you use?

What next:

•  Use this simple ‘Why, Who, What, Where, When and How’ approach to preparing your next presentation and notice how much more confident and organised you feel.
• Join me next month for some tips on how to arrange your presentation content into a natural flow.

Hope you enjoyed this blog designed to help those new to presenting who wish to develop their presentation skills.

Lois Grant
Training To Achieve