Home

Contact Us

Author Guidelines

Terms of Service

New Member?

Author Login

	E-mail this article
	Report this article
	Publish this article

5 Major Mistakes in Presentations

1. The audience will listen because I'm a subject
matter expert and what I have to say is
interesting.

This is probably one of the most frequent
mistakes made by speakers. We all like to think
that we know our stuff, and many people do. But
that alone will not engage your audience.

Albert Mehrebian the US Educational Psychologist'
s research demonstrated that only 7% of your
presentation's impact will be your words. Only 7%.
.. This is worrying for subject matter experts.
You could prepare for weeks, select the best
words and key messages, you could have the best
introduction, middle section and ending than any
speaker on the bill, but your impact could be
negligible.

A few year's ago I became a school governor and
as such, I was offered training sessions by my
local Education Authority. The general standard
of the 2 hour presentations was good. One evening,
the guest speaker, a man who had worked in
education all his life with a career that spanned
being a headmaster, Ofsted inspector and a senior
role in the Ministry of Education and Science;
what this fellow didn't know about the history of
secondary education was not worth knowing.


However, he ended every sentence with a
pronounced hmmmmmmmmm. Imagine that 6 times per
minute, for two hours.... I nearly lost the will
to live.

Tip - Listen and react to feedback from your
colleagues. I'm certain that over the course of
this fellow's long and distinguished career, many
people must have mentioned his verbal mannerisms.
If your company culture prohibits you from giving
constructive feedback, seek professional help.
Advice from consultants is more likely to be
accepted because it is seen to be given
objectively.

2. Speaking too fast.

Nervous and inexperienced speakers always remind
me of the 100 metres sprint. They hear the gun,
they're out of the blocks fast and they can't
wait to get it over with. This is not unusual -
it is the normal reaction to any potentially
stressful situation. Let's close our eyes, do it,
and get it over with. It's a bit like going to
the dentist.

However, some speakers do not even devote
themselves to such minimal preparation.

Tip - for each minute of your speech, spend ten
minutes of preparation on it. Watch yourself on
video and ask yourself if you're delivering too
fast.

3 Keep it short and simple and always leave them
wanting more. The best way to maintain the
attention of an audience is to start with a
gripping opening, develop a maximum of three
themes or key messages, and conclude with a
message that pulls the introduction and key
messages together with impact.

An experienced speaker can make this look simple
and seamless, but we're looking at perhaps 0.001%
of the population. We all need help developing
this skill.

If you speak for over 10 minutes it's almost
inevitable that the structure will suffer and you
will lose your audience because you haven't
signposted your structure well enough. Tell them
what you'll tell them, tell them, and tell them
what you've told them.

Tip - keep it short and simple and use your best
material at the beginning and the end of your
speech. Start and end with impact.

4. Maintaining eye-contact with your audience.


For the new or inexperienced speaker, eye-contact
is one of the hardest aspects of speaking.
Looking into the eyes of strangers does not come
naturally to most of us. Indeed, in some cultures
young people looking directly into the eyes of
their elders is seen as a mark of disrespect.

However, as a speaker, your audience is your
primary concern. Remember that without audiences,
we do not need speakers. Making eye-contact and
engaging your audience is critical to success. It
shows respect and demonstrates confidence. We
listen and learn most from confident speakers.
Life is a busy place, and when we invest time in
a speaker, nobody likes to feel they have wasted
their time.

Tip - if you find eye-contact difficult, try it
out with friends and family in regular
conversations. You will have a major impact on
those with whom you are conversing. It' very
difficult (almost rude) to disengage eye-contact
with somebody when you're having a pleasant chat.
Bear that in mind when you're making a speech and
you'll do very well.

5. Speaking in a dull and monotonous voice.
Throughout our professional careers, how many
times have we endured the monotonous speaker?

In my case rather too often. Tonal variety is
what adds massive impact to your speech or
presentation. We need some highs and lows allied
to seamless changes in pitch and pace. These
effective techniques help to keep your audience
engaged and participating in your presentation.
Mehrebian's research demonstrated that 38% of
what an audience remember is down to the
effective use of tonal variety. A massive 55%
relates to your body language. If you send a
mixed message, don't be surprised if the message
is dropped.
A key factor in any speech or presentation is
simply this:

Tip - It's not what you say. It's the way that
you say it.

Scenario 1: You're trying to find the
channel with the live football. Suddenly, your
wife sitting in the opposite armchair says, Do
you love me?' You continue
flicking through the channels, you don't look
back at her and you eventually say the words, Of
course, I love you.'

Scenario 2: You're trying to find the
channel with the live football. Suddenly, your
wife sitting in the opposite armchair says, Do
you love me?'

You stop flicking through the channels with the
remote and put it down. You walk across the room
and take your wife by the hand, gently and
sincerely you look her in the eyes, caress her
cheek and say, Of course, I love you.'

Notice that the same words are used, but which do
you think conveys the stronger message?
About the Author
Vince Stevenson is one of England's greatest
speaking enthusiasts, having competed for and won
many prestigious competitions. Vince is involved
with speaking at many levels and has just
finished his year as District President of the
South-Eastern District of the Association of
Speakers Clubs having been involved in its
educational development for many years. Vince is
a founder and lead trainer at the College of
Public Speaking.