Don’t you hate bad, boring and irrelevant presentations?
I’m very conscious about this, since I teach PR/marketing and social media classes, guest lecture at various universities and give about 12 paid presentations a year. I also sit through about two dozen or more presentations each year.
In the restaurant world, good service can cancel out bad food within the overall dining experience, but good food doesn’t make up for bad service. Similarly, a good presenter can overcome a bad presentation, but a good presentation is dead with a bad presenter.
In this first of a series of blog posts on the same topic, here are annoying things to avoid doing during your presentation that will elevate your status as a speaker.
DON’T REINTRODUCE YOURSELF
Person making the introduction: “And now I’d like to introduce Jim Smith, product manager at XYZ Company.”
Presenter: “Hi, I’m Jim Smith. I’m the product manager at XYZ Company.”
Advice: You probably over-rehearsed your intro and can’t stop yourself from reintroducing yourself. It’s completely unnecessary, and it commences your speech on the wrong foot. Just go directly to the next part of your presentation.
PUT THE DICTIONARY AWAY
Presenter: “Webster defines success as a favorable or desired outcome …”
Advice: How many times have you heard a presenter reference the dictionary? It’s cliche and conveys that you don’t have any other ideas for starting a section of your presentation. Start with a bold assertion, then spend the next few minutes proving it.
STOP ASKING THE AUDIENCE
Presenter: “Okay, show of hands, how many people in the room …”
Advice: This is agony, especially if you do this repeatedly. Audience members will likely stop raising their hands after a while, and/or they will lie if they think they will be embarrassed by being in the minority of a poll. Make your point through published research/stats instead.
END YOUR PRESENTATION …
Presenter: “I know I’m running short on time, but …” [with five minutes left, yet presentation goes for another 15 minutes]
Advice: First, don’t acknowledge you are running out of time and still go past. You either didn’t rehearse your presentation enough to get it within the allotted time, and/or you have way too many points to get across. Either way, cut it down. No one ever complained about a presentation that ended early.
… IN A MEANINGFUL WAY
Presenter: “I’d like to end with this quotation …”
Advice: Unless you’re giving some sort of motivational speech, you’re only ending your presentation with a quotation because you couldn’t figure out another way to stop. Reiterate 2-3 key points instead.
THE ONION
If you don’t believe me that these are common mistakes, then you should read the Onion article titled, “Hotshot Commencement Speaker Jumps Straight Into Speech Without Even Defining ‘Courage’.”