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Mastering Presentation
Mastering Presentation
Mastering Presentation
Ebook346 pages1 hour

Mastering Presentation

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Mastering Presentation Skills using Microsoft PowerPoint By Palani Murugappan
LanguageEnglish
PublisherBookBaby
Release dateAug 1, 2014
ISBN9789671275689
Mastering Presentation

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    Book preview

    Mastering Presentation - Palani Murugappan

    skills

    PREFACE

    Hello again!

    Afraid of speaking with confidence? Do not know how to present a presentation? How to captivate your audience with dazzling slide presentation?

    If you are unable or not confident enough to answer the above questions, here is the book for you. This book was specially written to those out there who will be making some sort of presentation to their peers, colleagues, employers, or to the general public but lack the know-how.

    The book starts off by introducing some general rules and ideas on public speaking and moves on to creating creative and dazzling slide presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint. Many tip, shortcuts, and other pointers on maximizing PowerPoint are highlighted too.

    While many books have been written on Microsoft PowerPoint, this book attempts to blend PowerPoint with how the presenter will make his presentations to the public. Of course, as in any book, you should have some basic understanding of what PowerPoint is and how it works. All of the examples in this book are illustrated with the appropriate screen captures to simplify the learning curve.

    So, why wait? Get a head start of mastering your presentation skills using Microsoft PowerPoint. People around you will be amazed with your newly gained knowledge.

    Palani Murugappan

    Email : palani12@yahoo.com

    Why presenters fail?

    Many speakers are very good at what they do, yet they fail to excite the audience, let alone get the message across. Why?

    Presenting anything involves more human element than the subject matter itself! When you speak, the voice should come from within you, not just from your throat. For example, a speaker with a monotonous tone will most likely get the audience to start looking elsewhere or loose interest in what he/she is saying very quickly.

    Speakers should vary their tone every now and then based on the topic they are delivering. Also, the right image with some text in their presentations would most likely keep audience guessing for more.

    This book aims at highlighting some of the more useful presentation techniques using Microsoft PowerPoint as the delivery tool. Of course, many will argue that speakers do not actually need a software tool for delivery purposes. There are many good speakers who can convince you the minute they open their mouth.

    Some sales personnel are very good at their work while some are just not born to do sales or marketing. Techies as some would call those who are highly interested in anything technical, be it computers, electrical or electronic items, digital items, etc. are just so passionate with technology that they can tell you exactly what the item consists of. However, when you get this group of people to explain how it works to the man on the street, they will most likely fail. Why? It is because of the language and technicalities used that not many of us will understand. It is better to get someone who knows a little on technical issues but great with people to do the explanation. The message always gets across far better this way.

    Giving a presentation

    Presentations are used mainly when you want to deliver a message, an idea or information to an audience (of any size). You should a clear view of what you will be speaking and to whom you will be addressing the topics.

    Preparing your presentation is the key to how successful it will be. It is better to know who will be your audience in advance so that you will know some of their expectations. For example, finance people will most likely be amused with presentations using numbers as they can relate to it better. However, for someone who is involved in administration work, these figures may not mean very much to them.

    Write a plan of how you will structure your presentation from beginning to end. You should structure it such a way that it is similar to writing an essay i.e. an introduction followed by the main body and finally a conclusion.

    Keep in mind the amount of time you have and be sure that you will not exceed this. It is always better to finish early than late. Time yourself to make sure that you deliver everything within the time allocated.

    Before you do the actual presentation, practice as much as possible. Your voice, body language, eye contact, and dressing are highly important. Many do not take effort to brush up on these matters. Infact, quite often you will find that many new speakers tend to stammer and just not confident of themselves.

    The presentation

    The perfect start is to ‘win’ the audiences’ interest by using a dramatic statement, or some humour. For example, you can complement some members of the audience, enlighten them with some jokes, etc.

    However, never pick on any of them especially when they give you a hard time. It is always to safer to play a more passive role than to respond to them.

    Try to create a bond and establish some rapport with just about all of them. Do not be a sexist, or racist as this will only lead to the audience giving you a bad evaluation.

    Use visual aids like an over-head projector (transparent slides) or a flip chart

    End your presentation with something that the audience will remember, even if it is something simple like a visual or a closing statement.

    Presentations are a way of communicating ideas and information. A good presentation needs to have the following:

    Content - It contains information that people need. Unlike reports, it must account for how much information the audience can absorb in one sitting.

    Structure - It has a logical beginning, middle, and end. It must be sequenced and paced so that the audience can understand it.

    Packaging - It must be well prepared.

    Human Element - A good presentation will be remembered much more than a good report because it has a person attached to it.

    Presentation tips for public speaking

    Know the needs of your audience and match your contents to their needs.

    Know your material thoroughly. Put what you have to say in a logical sequence.

    Ensure your speech will be captivating to your audience as well as worth their time and attention. They have made time and effort to be there to listen to what you have to say.

    It is not what you say that matters but how you say it.

    Practice and rehearse your speech at home or where you can be at ease and comfortable, in front of a mirror, your family, friends or colleagues.

    Use a tape or digital recorder and listen to yourself. How does your voice sound? Do you sound confident enough?

    Videotape your presentation and analyze it. You may learn that you had missed out on a few points when you do so.

    Know what your strong and weak points are. If you do not know, get someone close to you to let you know what these are.

    Emphasize your strong points during your presentation. Take advantage of your positive aspects and focus more on what you are good at.

    When you are presenting in front of an audience, you are performing as an actor is on stage. The rest of the audience are here to watch you!

    How you are being perceived is very important. Usually, you can tell by the way the audience look and analyze you.

    Dress appropriately for the occasion. Even if you are making a presentation to the public on a non-working day, it is better to be properly attired than to remain casual.

    Present the desired image to your audience.

    Look pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, proud, but not arrogant. Remain calm. Taking a deep breath can help to a certain extend.

    Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous.

    Speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and show appropriate emotion and feeling relating to your topic. Do not rush through your presentation.

    Establish rapport with your audience. Stop every now and then to get to know your audience.

    Vary the tone of your voice and dramatize if necessary. This has a greater impact compared to a monotonous tone.

    Body language is important. How you move your hands, smile, posture, etc. are all important.

    Standing, walking or moving about with appropriate hand gesture or facial expression is preferred to sitting down or standing still with head down and reading from a prepared speech.

    Use audio-visual aids for enhancement if appropriate and necessary. There is a greater tendency to remember something that can be seen and shown and not just told.

    Master the use of presentation software such as PowerPoint well before your presentation. You do not have to be an expert but know it enough to create an impact.

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