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