by Lois A. Wong

As an executive coach I’ve seen thousands of speaker mistakes over the past 15 years. When asked, ‘How do you know if you’ve given a great presentation?’ By the audience reaction. Generally speaking people clap, ask questions, or will approach you after the talk. On the other hand if people are yawning, looking away from you, tapping their fingers, crossing their arms, or wiggling their leg those are sure signs that strong caffeinated coffee and big chocolate chip cookies should have been served in advance. Another sure sign of boredom is snoring.

In the latter case if you’re nervous before the presentation, don’t worry, no one will be paying attention after 10 minutes. What puts people to sleep faster than Brady Bunch reruns? Insert geek speak, lots of statistics, and present all of it in a monotone Johnny Cash voice. Almost everyone has experienced what I call ‘death by presentation’. In fact millions of presentations are given each day and most of them are boring!

What’s the secret to giving a great presentation? Besides practice, practice, practice, enthusiasm, simple color graphics, 3-5 bullet points per slide, good eye contact, voice projection….. well, maybe you know these basics. So, what do the most successful speakers do other than this?

• Open with a grabber to excite the audience.
  
• Use metaphors and analogies to explain complex information. It will most certainly help the audience do what I call ‘retain & explain’ the concepts to someone else.
  
• Use humor to make a point. Not jokes but levity inserted in the right places is like feasting on a well-marbled steak.Without the fat, it’s tough to swallow.
  
• Tell stories. Everyone loves to hear stories. Short stories, not Tolstoy.
  
• Ask relevant questions right up front to involve audience participation and interaction.
  
• And remember not to drink ice water which constricts the vocal cords, milk which causes mucous, or to have too much caffeine.

When is your next presentation and how will you prepare? Executive coaches, like a sports coach, provide assistance, encouragement, and guidance for the business task at hand. In this case presentation skills. The next time you prepare for a critical presentation, contact an Executive Coach to assist you in turning snoring, boring to interactive, informative, and fun!