<font color=red>QUICK TIPS</font> Practice Effective Presentation Skills

Whether you’re addressing a group of clients, your own employees or your peers at a seminar, you’ll learn that public speaking is a craft that you can improve with practice. From the Professional Landcare Network's Specialty Symposium earlier this month in Milwaukee, here are some DOs and DON'Ts that can help you get started and effectively connect with the audience.

DO

• Use good organization; many presentations can be summarized by answering three questions:
  What is it?
  How does it work?
  Why do you want it?
• Pause at the opening, between thoughts and for emphasis
• Establish eye contact with everyone in the room; talk to one person at a time. Groups do not exist; only individuals do
• Be positive
• Smile – it’s contagious
• Use good posture, stand up straight
• Focus on the audience and keep your hands free to gesture; you will all relax
• Use simple visual aids to illustrate your point; talk to the audience, not the aid. You are the visual aid
• Dress appropriately
• Limit the information you distribute before or during your presentation.
• Hand out supportive data at the conclusion
• Move about, if possible
• If using a flipchart, write your notes lightly in pencil on the pages
• Use evidence – facts, statistics, analogies, personal or customer experience or experts’ judgments
• Use plain language; speak with verbs and nouns, not adjectives and adverbs
• Respect your audience; never overestimate its knowledge or underestimate its intelligence
• Keep the message clear. Can you state your objective in one sentence?
• Get to the point; your audience takes about one minute to judge you
• Project your voice; eye contact and gestures will help you sound natural
• Vary your vocal tone to emphasize points and get attention

With that in mind, here is a list of DON'Ts:

• String random thoughts together: “one thing, and another thing, and also, in addition”
• Rush or use non-words: “ahh, you know, OK, basically”
• Look at the ceiling, at the floor or out the window
• Begin with apologies, excuses or sarcasm
• Frown – it’s contagious
• Slouch, rock, sway, have hands in pockets or sit on anything that was not meant to be sat on
• Play with coins, keys, pens, glasses, clothes, hair or notes; they cause message competition
• Allow visual to take over; you are the focal point, not your slides, flipcharts or posters
• Over or under dress; wear distracting jewelry
• Expect your audience to pay attention to you if you give them a great amount of reading material when you talk
• Use repetitive motions, pace back and forth, or white knuckle the lectern
• Memorize or read your presentation; the fear of forgetting increases nervousness, but people resent attending presentations they could have read on their own time
• Use personal opinions to support your case
• Use slang, buzz words or technical jargon
• Rely on jokes to break the tension. Eye contact, gestures and a good message will do far more.
• Talk down to your audience; it is difficult for others to accept your ideas if you cause them to lose self-esteem
• Overwhelm your audience; the mind will only absorb what the seat will endure
• Gradually lead into your point or say a few words before your presentation
• Mumble
• Speak in monotone