I
have a pet peeve that I
didn’t know I had until
recently. Having been in
education for along time,
I’ve sat through my share of
presentations. Most of the
presentations have been on
the positive side of
tolerable, but there have
been a few that left me with
nothing more than a sense of
relief when it was over. As
I’ve considered the
situations, I’ve discovered
some characteristics that
are common to good
presentations. So,
regardless of the
setting—business, school,
church, social organization,
and so forth—here are some
things to keep in mind next
time you have to speak to a
group of any size.
1. Know your material.
Speakers should have
confidence in their
knowledge of the material
they are presenting. You
might have to rely on notes
or note cards, but practice
your presentation so that
you don’t have to read to
those in attendance. When
you start reading to
me—whether from your notes
or the PowerPoint
presentation—I have
flashbacks to my childhood
and think it’s nap time!
2. Engage the audience.
Let’s face it... some of the
most knowledgeable people in
the world make poor
presenters because they
don’t know how to engage the
audience. If you are bored
presenting it, just imagine
how bored those listening to
you are! Engaging the
audience can be accomplished
through a variety of
interactive
techniques—asking good
discussion questions,
providing fill-in-the- blank
handouts, hands-on
activities, etc. Good
presenters can read the
audience and can tell if
they have them engaged. Be
prepared to draw them back
in when you see their minds
taking a field trip.
3. Connect to real life.
Adults engage in educational
experiences for a variety of
reasons, but one of the most
prevalent reasons is their
desire to learn something
that will help them in their
day-to-day lives. Though you
might be the foremost expert
in your field, if you can’t
present material that
matters to ordinary people,
you haven’t accomplished
anything in your
presentation. Check your ego
at the door... or you might
find that you are the only
person in the room who is
impressed with you!
4. Watch the time! This is a
big issue for me. Adults are
busy and invest themselves
in activities that often are
squeezed into an already
overloaded schedule. When
you start late or talk
beyond the end of class, you
have said, “I’m more
important than you!” Respect
the time commitment of those
in the room and learn to
budget your time so that you
can finish before they start
checking their watches.
Then, if the situation
allows, make yourself
available to speak
one-on-one with those who
want to remain after class.
5. Don’t waste time teaching
the obvious or the
unnecessary. Most of us have
been around long enough to
catch on to the obvious
things in life. I bet that
before you can say, “That’s
a picture of a clock,” most
adults figured it out. On
the other hand, you might be
a clock-aholic... I’m not!
So, I probably don’t want
the intricate details about
the clock’s construction.
6. Have a plan. View the
presentation as a journey
from point A to point B.
Understand why the journey
is important, the path you
will select to make the
journey, and the interesting
details that are part of the
journey. When you spend two
hours clicking through
slides sharing technical
information in a monotone
voice, you need to be put in
time-out! That’s not
education; that’s abuse!
We have this idea that all
we need to be called an
“expert” is a PowerPoint
presentation and a captive
audience. Try videotaping
your next presentation. If
you get bored or fall asleep
while watching it, you need
to review this article.
People’s time is too
valuable for you to waste
it! Think about it!
We hope this article
provided you with valuable
information, which will help
you to make more informed
decisions. Please get in
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