Prologue
For Week 9 Daniel went over how to pitch a product successfully. There where a lot pointers given to us, especially in regards to wording and keeping it simple.
First thing Daniel cover was seating positions, when presenting you ideally want your audience close to you forming from the front rows first and then going backwards.
This for example would be the best seating positions for a large crowd of people partaking in the pitch but this also works for normal presenting as well.
Then Daniel showed us an example how our class sits in the lecture hall, our seating positions are sporadic and spread out, this makes it harder for the speaker to actively include the audience as they are so spread out so making eye contact with them is more distracting even.
A way to remedy this would be to us all sitting at the very front and close together, now ofcourse with covid this makes it harder but even just 1 seat apart can greatly reduce the spread at which the class is sitting.
Below is how Daniel would of arranged us if where in the lecture hall with him, this is what he basically called the optimial seating arrangment for the audience to sit in. This way you can include everyone and also means you don’t have to talk louder as everyone would be closer.
Another thing that many of us are guilty of is not following our time limits, I myself know that can sometimes talk over my time limit by accident. For someone who calls themselves shy I often go over my time limit due to talk, how I manage that I will never know.
Another good point Daniel brought up was the use of plain english, one thing I’ve seen people do is include big words that are hard to say or could be simply dumbed down to a plain version, Daniel showed a good example of this. Which honestly is really insightful as finding alternative words can really help.
As you can see the difference is massive, not only has it cut down on words but it also helps the audience understand what you’re trying to say better.
Content
When it comes to presenting the content we have 2 approaches, we can either lay out what we intend to cover or get to the point. We don’t want to bore our audience with useless information.
Second only to you (the information you bring and how you present it) is your PowerPoint slides. If not designed well, a PowerPoint can be disengaging or distracting (regardless of the content quality). Here are some presentation design tips to make sure this doesn’t happen to you:
1. Keep Your Slides Simple
This is one of the most important PowerPoint presentation tips to follow when designing your slides. Keep in mind that less is more effective. A cluttered slide is distracting. It causes confusion for an audience: Which part of the slide should I focus on? Should I read the slide or pay attention to the presenter?
But, a simple, visually appealing slide will engage your audience, keeping them on track with your main points. Here’s an example of a simple slide that serves its purpose perfectly:
2. Limit Words on Your Slides
Sort of a continuation on the last point. Less is more effective, If possible avoid bullets altogether. Otherwise cut them to just a few simple words. The audience should be listening, not reading.
3. Choose Appropriate Fonts
Fonts are an important part of engaging your audience. Fonts and typography choices have a subconscious effect on viewers. They cause them to characterize your company’s presentation and brand either positively or negatively. Make sure that you’re choosing fonts that are professional and modern.
4. Avoid Over-Formatting Your Points
There’s no need to have every word of every bullet point capitalized, or to have all your bullet points in title case. If possible, drop bullets altogether. Again, the simpler the better. If you intend on keeping bullet points, don’t over format them.
5. Choose Three Focal Points in the Room
This is another great point I found, If you stare at the same spot or even worse, the same person the entire time, your presentation will be ineffective and you could make your audience feel awkward. People will be distracted by you, wondering what you’re staring at.
Pick three points in the room typically: left, center, right. Take time to direct your delivery toward each physical focal point in the room. Also, focus on the center when making your primary points. This is where this image comes in handy again, thanks Daniel. Essentially though with a smaller audience you can also have three focal points and it will work the same.
Reflection
In general, I would say I am semi confident however I do get fairly nervous on the build up to presenting. Althought once I get started I start to word vomit, this is both a blessing and a curse, as I do get all the information out and I sound confident but I tend to sometimes go over the time limit. I feel like presenting a small presentation in front of five or six peers would not be that bad for me. When it comes to larger groups I tend to struggle. In regards to this presentation I know in reality I will do fine and the nerves will go the moment I start speaking, but until then I have the nerves building up.