What makes a presentation memorable?<\/p>\n
Look at popular TED Talks \u2014 the best ones, the ones that have the most views. More often than not, they generally don\u2019t have any slides at all.<\/p>\n
Some TED Talks on exactly the same subject have wildly different numbers of views. Some spread, some don\u2019t. We only feel compelled to click the \u2018share\u2019 button if we feel utterly engaged by the person and their story.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how you can make that happen:<\/p>\n
The first area that a lot of people focus on with their presentation is content.<\/p>\n
They think it\u2019s the easy bit to focus on, but they may not necessarily do it well. They write too much down, want to include too many extraneous details, or don\u2019t get to the core points quickly enough.<\/p>\n
So, I always recommend \u201cstarting at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
You have to ask yourself, \u201cWhat do I want people to walk away with after my presentation?\u201d Be very clear about actions you would like them to take, or what new way of thinking you want them to have.<\/p>\n
For your introduction, you\u2019ll need to give some context and backstory around why you\u2019re giving this talk in the first place. People have very busy lives these days. They\u2019ve got 17 meetings a day, 25 conference calls, and 3,000 emails, so you need to remind them about the purpose of this event.<\/p>\n
Prime their minds to listen to you. This will make them much more likely to take action at the end, because you won them from the start.<\/p>\n
The next piece to think about is your style.<\/p>\n
The way you present information is going to have a\u00a0huge<\/em>\u00a0impact on what people take away from your talk. If you say the same words with a different style, you can end up delivering a completely different message.<\/p>\n Some people say, \u201cI\u2019m just going to be myself, and behave the way that feels comfortable.\u201d This means you are just going to display any distracting habits that have built up during your career and now feel comfortable to you.<\/p>\n Your old pyjamas are comfortable, too, but you wouldn\u2019t wear them for a presentation. So put down your old habits so you can bring your words to life.<\/p>\n Think about style this way \u2014 your job is to physically and vocally bring to life the words in a way that an email can\u2019t. If you\u2019re not going to do that, then cancel the meeting and send them an email.<\/p>\n Engage your face, voice, arms, and posture. Focus on how you want people to feel and let this guide your behaviour. Drop the professional poker face and connect with people.<\/p>\n The third and final part of your presentation is all about mindset.<\/p>\n Many people have brilliant communication styles in day-to-day life. You sit with them in the office and have a lovely time with them because they\u2019re engaging and interesting to be around. But we all know that you can go in to a meeting with great content and style only to buckle under pressure and have the whole thing fall apart.<\/p>\n This means removing negative self-talk and anxiety. There\u2019s a voice in your head that will say, \u201cI can\u2019t do this. I shouldn\u2019t do this. I should call up and cancel. It\u2019s going to go badly and be a total disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n This is known as your monkey mind.<\/p>\n This is the part of your mind that is trying to protect you from pain and keep you alive. It says all of these things to stop you from going in to that room and doing your job. You need to flip things around and find a way to calm your monkey mind.<\/p>\n3. Mindset: It\u2019s Everything<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Having a good mindset on the day of your presentation, pitch, or speech is key.<\/span><\/h2>\n