152: Presentation Rehearsal

Every performance is better when practiced beforehand and presenting is no different.  We are putting ourselves out there when we present, so don’t miss it, there is a lot on the line.  We need to ensure we are a triumph rather than a joke.  The way to do that is to practice beforehand.  How do we do that, what are some best practices to help us?   We need to design the whole presentation.  We need to start with the close.  Yes, we need to plan how will we finish the talk.  What is the one key message we want to get across to our listeners.  When we distill that one point, it becomes the beacon on the hill around which to arrange the preparation of the data and the flow of the talk.    We now design the sections of the talk.  What are the key points we will make and what is the evidence we will marshal to sustain the argument in the time allotted to us.  Stories are easy to understand and remember, so don’t make our audience work hard, give them the information in story form for maximum effect.  So each section has some key point, supporting data, told in a story format.   Finally, we design the opening – how can we break through all the competition for the mind space of our audience.  How can we grab their complete attention?    We should avoid reading the presentation.  We are going to be aiming at talking to points on the slides or in bullets format in our text or recalled from memory.    Using a mirror, video camera or a coach are good ideas, to get feedback on how we are coming cross both visually and verbally.  If we seek feedback from a colleague or a family member only ask for two pieces of feedback – “what am I doing that is good?” and “what can I do to make it better?”.    Every five minutes we need a change of tempo to keep our audience interested.  We need to switch our energy or speed up or down.  We can’t be too strong all the time or we will wear down our audience and lose them.  Alternatively, if we are too soft, they are lured away by the internet and are soon gone from us.   We must involve eye contact with all in our imaginary audience. We practice looking to the left, center or right, also close and far.  We also need to practice the congruency of our gestures with our words.  Match a powerful gesture with a point you want to drive home, to give it strength.   We need to a full rehearsal from start to finish, at least three times.  Don’t forget to practice the Q&A. Remember, the audience can ask us anything, no matter how rude, off topic, irrelevant or impertinent, so we have to be ready to go. We can go from hero to zero quick smart, if we don’t practice answering difficult questions before we go live.