Board of European Students of Technology

14th of August 2009 Training Group TRAP XII - Sending the message - 1 of 19

Sending the message

TRAP12 Warsaw 2009

8th – 22nd of August 2009

Delivered by:
Carolina Santos, LBG Almada

carolina.santos@BEST.eu.org
 Ina Strugaru, LBG Iasi

ina.strugaru@BEST.eu.org
Jurgen Sarmet, LBG Tallinn

jurgen.sarmet@BEST.eu.org
Karina Herman, LBG Timisoara

karina.herman@BEST.eu.org
Xavier Duchatel, LBG Paris, Ecole Polytechnique

xavier.duchatel@BEST.eu.org

1 Podium panic 4

1.1 Anxiety and nervousness 4

1.2 Benefits of nervousness 5
1.3 Crossover point 5
1.4 Tips and tricks 5
1.4.1 Be well prepared 5
1.4.2 Practice 6
1.4.3 Have a backup 6
1.4.4 Reduce fear of your audience 6
1.4.5 Relax before speaking 7

2 Voice 7

2.1 Tips for using your voice 7

2.1.1 When presenting 7
2.1.2 For improving 8

3 Eye contact 8

3.1 Why? 8
3.2 How? 8
3.3 What prevents it? 8
3.4 How to concentrate on eye contact and the presentation at the same time? 8
3.5 How to control a person’s gaze? 9

4 Body Language 9

4.1 What carries the message? 9

4.1.1 Eye contact 9
4.1.2 Facial expressions 9
4.1.3 Gestures 9
4.1.4 Standing 10
4.1.5 Posture and body orientation 10
4.1.6 Movements 10

5 Preparation 11
 5.1 General preparations 11
5.1.1 Why? 11
5.1.2 Who? 11
5.1.3 What? 11
5.1.4 How? 11
5.1.5 Where? 11
5.2 Preparation of the content 12
5.2.1 Collect and read information about your topic 12
5.2.2 Select the information and stick the different parts together 12
5.2.3 Make the definitive presentation out of it 12

6 Structure 12

6.1 Introduction 12
6.2 Body 12
6.3 Conclusion 12
6.4 Questions and Answers 13
6.5 Transitions 13
6.5.1 Examples of transitions: 13
6.5.2 Three common mistakes 14
6.5.3 Transitions and team presentation 14

7 Tips and tricks 14

7.1 How to make an interesting presentation 14

7.2 The first 90’’ 14
7.3 How to attract attention in the beginning? 14
7.4 Practice 15

8 Visual aids 15

8.1 General considerations 15

8.2 What to check before the presentation? 16
2. Horizontal axe 16
8.3 Flipchart 17
8.3.1 Positive aspects: 17
8.3.2 Negative aspects: 17
8.4 Overhead projector, beamer, computer based still images, slide projector 17
8.4.1 Positive aspects: 17
8.4.2 Negative aspects: 17
8.5 Video, film, animated computer-based presentations 17
8.5.1 Positive aspects: 17
8.5.2 Negative aspects: 17

9 Presenting in groups 18

10 10 Tips For Successful Public Speaking 18

11 References 19

Presentation skills and how we develop them

Presentations are one of the most important skills of the modern world. As engineers, it is vitally important to be able to
communicate your thoughts and ideas effectively, using a variety of tools and medium. You will need to develop and
use this skill throughout your years in University; when you attend job interviews and especially when you start
working in the big wide world. But, it is often said that engineers do not possess the ability to communicate well. Of
course that’s a lot of b%&%$^ - not enough coaching and practice, that’s all!

Good presenters aren’t born that way. Looking around the infant playground, you do not see good or bad presenters.
Sure there are some personality trends – some people are introverts and some are extroverts. The simple truth is that
good presenters have had a lot of practice doing it and most good presenters have been trained to present well.

But how often are we taught how to present? There are 2 main area of skill:

1. Skills of effective presenting; use of teaching aids, use of the voice, structure and so on.
2. Self-management; the ability to remain calm and composed in front of an audience.

Learning these skills makes a huge difference not only to the quality of your presentation but also on your enjoyment.

1 Podium panic
Did you know that public speaking tops the list of phobias for most people? Surveys show that fear of speaking in front
of groups is the greatest fear people have – not dying, not spiders, not heights – public speaking!

So what exactly are people afraid of when it comes to public speaking?

1. ‘Drying up’ or nor being able to speak

2. Your mind going blank - forgetting what you are talking about
3. Having someone in the audience that knows more than you
4. People noticing that you are nervous
5. Having to run screaming from the room
6. Looking foolish
7. The presentation being so awful and embarrassing that your social/career relationships are forever ruined
8. The impossible to answer “question from Hell”
9. The audience talking over you or walking out
10. Dying on stage( OK, so we made that up to make it up to 10 J )

What can you do about this fear?

Firstly, accept that you need fear. We wouldn’t be here today if our ancestors didn’t rely on this fear to survive bigger,
stronger and fast predators. We don’t have predators nowadays but our body still reacts as though we do (shaking
knees, butterflies in the stomach, sweating palms and so on ).

1.1 Anxiety and nervousness

When presenting you need a little anxiety as this will improve recall, raise energy level and make for a more focused,
dynamic speech. An overly laid-back speaker can easily bore!

So you don’t want too much anxiety and you don’t want too much relaxation. You need enough tension to give you
energy, and enough calmness for clear thinking and recall. You need the right balance.

1.1.1 The ‘pattern of fear'

1) You have a presentation coming up.

2) You think about it, imagining things going wrong and so feel anxious.
3) Unknowingly, you build up an association between the thought of the speech and the feeling of fear.
4) You go into the actual situation and get a fear response!

Repeated often enough, this will cause the two to become very closely associated. This is ‘negative mental rehearsal’
for the event. Not surprisingly, when you go into the actual situation you feel terrified!

1.1.2 Dogged by an Ancient Brain

As Ivan Pavlov showed, dogs that are repeatedly fed whilst hearing a bell can eventually salivate when just hearing the
bell without food, people who repeatedly feel fear coupled with imagining something, find they feel fear when the
situation arrives.

However, people can learn to associate tightrope walking, fighting in battles or defusing a bomb with a state of
psychological calm.

You can learn to change an association.

1.2 Benefits of nervousness

§ Activates adrenaline supply
§ Makes eyes shine
§ Puts the edge on the presentation
§ Creates an atmosphere with a bit of a drama
§ A sign that you are alive
§ A sign that your audience is important for you

1.3 Crossover point

The moment when nervousness takes over the presenter and instead of being a life-sign, it becomes a dark cloud
hanging above him/her. The audience starts feeling the nervousness and concentrates more on that than on the
presentation itself. The nervousness of a presenter who is over the crossover point reflects back in the audience. In fact
the audience becomes nervous.

1.4 Tips and tricks

Don’t fight it! Accept it as a positive influence.

There are several steps of tricks to use to overcome the fear of making a mistake or looking foolish when you speak to a
group:

1. Be well-prepared before speaking to a group

2. Practice your speech
3. Have a backup, in case you forget what you want to say
4. Reduce the fear of your audience
5. Relax yourself just before you speak

1.4.1 Be well prepared

• Leave nothing to chance – chances of failure or goof-ups are greatly reduced
• The 9 P’s rule :
Prior Proper Preparation
Prevents Poor Performance of the
 Person Putting on the Presentation
• Know your material
– Create a picturesque presentation map, a visual description of what your main topics are and how
they are connected to each other. Memorize the picture. It is easier to memorize pictures than words.
– Do not learn your script by heart. At most learn some important keywords by heart.
– Memorize the first and the last part of your presentation. It’s a psychological known fact that when
you know well how to start and end you will feel more confident. Don’t learn everything by heart !!

• Know the audience

– You can use the A.U..D.I.E.N.C.E Analysis
A nalysis – who are they? How many will be there?
U nderstanding – What is their knowledge on the subject?
D emographics – What is their age, sex, educational background?
I nterest – Why are they there? Who asked them to be there?
E nvironment – Where will I stand? Can they all hear and see me?
N eeds – What are their needs? What are your needs as the speaker?
C ustomized – What specific needs do you need to address?
E xpectations – What do they expect to learn or hear from you?
• Know the conditions under which you will speak
(You can read more about what to look after in the Preparation and Visual Aids sections.)

1.4.2 Practice
• You should practice your speech many times before you give it. Even if you know the material very well,
the more you give a talk, the more automatic it becomes and you gain more confidence
• Practice alone – say the speech out loud, it is good to get the material ingrained in your memory
• Use a mirror – this way you get an idea of how you look when speaking. If you must refer to notes, it allows
you to practice eye contact with the audience
• Stand in the corner – Say your speech while standing in the corner. The sound reflects back to you, and you
can get an idea of how you sound when you speak.
• Record your practice – use a camera or a tape recorder. This forces you to avoid pausing to try to remember
things. It allows you to play the presentation back and study how you move, how you sound, your timing, your
phrasing, and the content of the material.
• Use your friends – practice in front of them. It is a very important way to practice, because it’s getting
closer to the ”real world”. Even an audience of one person is good for this type of practice
1.4.3 Have a backup
• Bring along a “security blanket” or “safety net” in case something goes wrong
• Outline – it’s good to have your presentation outlined on small cards. You can refer to them in case you
forget something. It is acceptable to an audience, as long as you are not reading everything word-for-word from a
script
• Reduces anxiety about forgetting what you were going to say or having your mind go blank. You may never
use the cards, but the fact that you have them – just in case – can reduce the butterflies
(Check also the Eye Contact section.)
 1.4.4 Reduce fear of your audience
The more important the audience or the occasion, the greater your fear can be. You don’t want to look like a fool in
front of the bosses at work, your peers, or even your friends and relatives.
• Not that important – one method to overcome is to visualise the people as not all that important. An old
trick is to imagine that the audience is naked. President Franklin D. Roosevelt visualised his audience on the
porch, at the dinner table – it created a feeling of intimacy and trust.
• Individuals – Visualise your audience as individuals, not a mass of people. Imagine that the only person
listening is your best friend. Your audience listens to you as one person at a time, so speak to them as
individuals, never as a group. Create a prototype audience member and make up a story about his life, his
problems, and his needs.
• Use positive approach – they are on your side. They want to hear what you have to say and to see you
do well. They are not there to see you fail.
1.4.5 Relax before speaking

While you are waiting for your presentation on the spot do some simple unnoticeable exercises to increase your blood
circulation.

§ Take a brisk walk. Walk about 5 minutes around the block, or at least outside the meeting room. It will
loosen up your body and prevent later on from knee shaking. It also burns off excessive nervousness and gives
both physically and mentally a feeling of moving forward.
§ Don’t sit with your legs crossed before the presentation. One of your legs may go to sleep and will not
function when you have to stand up fast. Keep both feet on the floor, lean a bit forward while sitting and
exercise your legs by wiggling your toes. (Nobody will realize it).
§ While you are sitting let your arms dangle at your sides. Let your arms just hang there. Make believe
that your fingers and arms are supported by the carpet.
§ Twirl your wrists so that your fingers shake loosely. Just be gentle. Slowly you are shaking the stress
out of them.
§ Pretend that you are wearing an overcoat and you can feel it resting on your shoulders. Shoulders
“hunch up” when you are cold or nervous, making your whole body feeling tense. This imaginary heavy coat
will make them relaxed.
§ Waggle your jaw back and forth 3…4 times. It will protect you from the “tight jaw syndrome”. If you
hear your bones grinding probably you are tense.
§ Do the old trick: deep breathing. When you inhale, your stomach goes out, when you exhale your
stomach comes in. Find a good ventilated spot and do this exercise for two minutes.
§ Say “let go”. Say to your brain, nerves, muscles, and arterial system to ease off and let go.

Design a warm-up routine (e.g. like the one above) that suits for you the best and follow it rigorously each time. The
secret is to have always the same routine.

2 Voice
Your voice has the following features:

§ Volume is how loud the sound is. The goal is to be heard without shouting. Do not mumble, or
whisper. (Even if you don’t want your audience to hear it – they will.) Also, don’t speak while writing on the
flipchart.
§ Tone is the characteristics of a sound. (eg. An airplane has a total different sound than leaves being
rustled by the wind)
§ Pitch describes how high or how low a note is.
 § Pace is how long a sound lasts. Talking too fast causes the words and syllables to be short, while
talking slowly lengthens them. People on average talk 120 words per minute. The human brain can interpret
words up to the speed of 480 words per minute.
§ Colour is the richness of a voice, some people have e.g. a warm voice

Your voice has certain characteristics you are born with. You can’t change some of them (like colour, pitch, tone), but
you can learn to use your voice by playing with most things you can influence (like articulation, speed, volume,
intonation).

2.1 Tips for using your voice

2.1.1 When presenting
§ Avoid being monotone
§ Intonation: increase, decrease.
§ Avoid using jargon, abbreviations, foreign words
§ Use appropriate speed, pauses (not in the middle of a sentence), and articulation.
§ Silence for 10sec. is OK, sometimes even good.
§ New thought, new pitch – vary your pitch to convey a new point or message
§ Don’t read, no excuses

2.1.2 For improving

§ Record your voice on an audiotape.
§ Play it back. Listen to it. Try to describe it.
§ Watch for stop words like the “you knows”, “eeeeers” and “ands”.
§ Make three resolutions on improvement.
§ Record and listen again.
§ Look after your voice! – Drink plenty of water the night before – avoid red wine and cheese and
anything with caffeine

3 Eye contact
“If you are not going to use eye contact in your presentation you might as well FedEx your message to the meeting.”

3.1 Why?
Eye contact is the cement that binds together speakers and their audiences. It is the best and easiest way to keep in
touch with your audience and to get feedback from them while presenting. Eye contact makes the speaking situation a
two-way communication process. While you are talking, your listeners are responding with their own non-verbal
messages. Use your eyes to seek out this valuable feedback.. It will tell you if they are interested, bored, tired, need a
break.

3.2 How?
Good eye contact is not a matter of how long you look into someone’s eyes. It is a matter of punctuation. It is a
registration of an idea, phrase, or even a word, by the continuous linking up of the eyes.

§ Look into the eyes; if you don’t dare to look into the eyes look between the eyes
§ Don’t look at the floor, the ceiling, outside, …
§ Look at everybody:
o If your audience is big: divide in parts and look at the centre of every part
o Don’t forget the sides when participants are sitting in a U-shape!!
§ Look long enough: not just 1 second per person
§ Maintain eye contact throughout your whole presentation
§ Select one person at the beginning – a friend, or a friendly face – and use him/her as a start up
point.
 § Look more or less 5 seconds in people’s eyes.

3.3 What prevents it?

§ Too much light. You are standing on a stage and a reflector points at you.
§ You are too far from your audience.
§ Handouts. Think twice before you give them away during your presentation.
§ “Cocktail Party Eyes” Your eyes tell your audience that you are not interested in them and wish to be
somewhere else.

3.4 How to concentrate on eye contact and the presentation at the same time?
§ Be very well prepared. Be the master of your material. This will give you confidence and will show in
your eyes.
§ Practice.

3.5
How to control a person’s gaze?

Research shows that of the information relayed to a person’s brain, 87% comes via the eyes, 9% via the ears, and 4% via the
other senses. While you are delivering a presentation or a training, if, for example, the person is looking at your visual aid as
you are speaking, he will absorb as little as 9% of your message if your message is not directly related to what he sees. If the
message is related to the visual aid, he will absorb only 25-30% of your message if he is looking at the visual aid. To
maintain maximum control of his gaze, use a pen or a pointer to point to the visual aid and at the same time verbalize what
he sees. Next, lift the pen from the visual aid and hold it between his eyes and your own eyes. This has the magnetic effect
of lifting his head so that he is looking at your eyes and now he sees and hears what you are saying, thus achieving
maximum absorption of your message. Be sure that the palm of your other hand is visible when you are speaking.

4 Body Language
Albert Mehrabian conducted research experiences in order to assess the importance of different communication channels
when conducting some kind of messages. The most known aspect of his work is the “7%/38%/55%” formula.
When conducting experiences where a sender was communicating a verbal message that was in contradiction with what his
voice or body-language expressed, and the message was related to feelings and emotions, Mehrabian arrived to the
conclusion that 7% of the people most likely would follow the meaning of the verbal message, when 38% would prefer to
follow what the vocal part implied, and 55% the body-language. This formula is widely misused and misunderstood, as true
in every communication process, when it applies to very specific messages in specific situations. Please be careful when
explaining it.
However, this formula gives a correct trend about the importance of non-verbal communication channels in the transmission
of a message. Other statistic studies have shown that usually between 50 and 80% of the message is actually conveyed more
through the non-verbal channels, according to the situation.
You should be aware that body-language is of crucial importance in the good transmission of any message, and that
controlling your body helps you make sure that your message gets understood in the correct way. As a matter of fact, body
language can accent, complement, substitute, contradict to what you originally meant.

4.1 What carries the message?

4.1.1 Eye contact
(See Eye Contact section.)

4.1.2 Facial expressions

Leave that deadpan expression to poker players. A good speaker realizes that appropriate facial expressions are an
important part of effective communication. In fact, facial expressions are often the key determinant of the meaning
behind the message. People watch a speaker’s face during a presentation. When you speak your face – more clearly
than any other part of the body – communicates to your audience your attitudes, feelings and emotions.

4.1.3 Gestures
§ Support your presentation
§ Keep people awake
§ Show enthusiasm
§ Use your hand
§ Don’t exaggerate
§ Don’t repeat

Gestures are reflections of the speaker’s personality. What’s right for one speaker may not be for another. Here are
some guidelines to help you become a dynamic effective speaker.

1. Respond naturally to what you think, feel and see – Don’t inhibit your impulse to gesture, you will
probably become tense
2. Create the conditions for gesturing, not the gesture – When you speak you should be totally involved
in communicating – not thinking about your hands. Tour gestures should be motivated by the content of your
presentation.
3. Suit the action to the word and the occasion – Your visual and verbal messages must function as
partners in communicating the same thought or feeling. Every gesture you make should be purposeful and
reflective of your words or the audience will note the effect, not the gesture itself.
4. Make your gestures convincing – Your gestures should be lively and distinct if they are to convey the
intended impressions. Effective gestures are vigorous enough to be convincing yet slow enough and broad
enough to be clearly visible without being overpowering.
5. Make natural, spontaneous gesturing a habit – the first step is to determine what, if anything, you are
doing now. Hands often reflect the nervousness of the speaker. Here’s a method to overcome on that:
• Record a presentation on video or ask a friend to watch you
• Get feedback only on your hand gestures.
• Take two heavy books (dictionaries) into each of your hands.
• Repeat the presentation. The gestures you see now are the real ones. The rest is nervousness and
should be eliminated.

4.1.4 Standing
Presentations are delivered standing.

§ Stand unsupported, don’t lean on a table or a wall, …

§ Don’t hide behind table, flipchart easel, even avoid using lecterns.
§ Before you start your presentation spot the place where you will stand. Keep your both feet on the
ground while sitting. Stand up fast and go to the place quickly, this will show confidence.
§ Pay attention not to stand in front of visuals.
§ You can have a ‘strong’ position: standing on 1 place, or very little moving with the legs. The energy
and focus is concentrated on the upper part of the body (face and hands), be sure to use them in a good way.
§ You can have a ‘free walk’: moving around naturally. Be careful not to move too much and to move in a
good way (not up and down, don’t turn around, …)

4.1.5 Posture and body orientation

§ Turn towards the audience. Always face the audience.
§ Don’t speak while writing on a flipchart. Try to write on a flipchart while you are standing besides it.
You can ask someone else to write on the flipchart if necessary.
§ Hands and arms not crossed. Crossed arms or hands are a sign of being closed, not crossed arms show
openness, confidence.
 4.1.6 Movements
Never move without a reason
Moving your body in a controlled, purposeful manner creates three benefits:
1. Supports and reinforces what you say
2. Attracts an audience’s attention
3. Burns up nervous energy and relieves physical tension

The eye is inevitably attracted to a moving object, so any body movement you make during a speech invites attention.
Too much movement, even the right kind, can become distracting to an audience. Bear in mind the following types of
body movement:

• Stepping forward during a speech suggest you are arriving at an important point
• Stepping backward indicates you’ve concluded an idea and want the audience to relax for a moment
• Lateral movement implies a transitional action; it indicates you are leaving one thought and taking up
another.

The final reason for body movement is the easiest; to get from one place to another. In almost every speaking situation you
must walk from the location you are addressing your audience to your props, especially if you are using visual aids. Always
change positions by leading with the foot nearest your destination.

Use three positions with visual aids. Your “home” position is front and centre. The other two positions should be relatively
near the “home” position. You can move to the right of the lectern and then to the left. Using and varying these three
positions prevents you from favouring one side of the audience. If you are speaking on stage, these three positions are
called front centre, stage left and stage right. Never stand in front of any visual aid.

Remember:
§ Moving, changing places keeps the attention up.
§ Don’t start marching up and down if not necessary
§ Your walk should show confidence.
§ Find the right pace. Not too slow, not too fast.
§ Use your arms and hands; never leave them in your pockets.
§ Support your speech by using your arms and hands: show enthusiasm, support words but be careful for
contradictory signs (e.g. saying ‘high’ but showing low)

5 Preparation
“To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.”

You will need seven times more information than you will tell in your presentation.
Be aware that the preparation time of a good presentation exceeds far the presentation time itself! As Wayne Burgraff
said – “It takes one hour of preparation for each minute of presentation time”

5.1 General preparations

The five important questions for preparing a presentation are:

5.1.1 Why?
What are my objectives? What are the goals of my presentation?
There are a lot of different kinds of objectives: to explain, to inform, to train, to report, to motivate, to thank, to self-
promote, to define and solve a problem, …

“Every presentation should have a clear objective and every element of the presentation should support it.”
 5.1.2 Who?
Who are the participants? What kinds of people are attending your presentation? What kind of group is it (experienced
and non-experienced mixed, all new people)? Do the people know each other from before? What do they already know
about the subject? What is their age? Position?

5.1.3 What?
What is the best way to deliver these objectives to these people? What techniques am I going to use? What visuals am I
going to use? Do I need any other facilities?

5.1.4 How?
How to structure the presentation? How to make sure the message gets through? How to present yourself – e.g. what to
dress?

5.1.5 Where?
In which room will I do my presentation? Is the room reserved? Is there enough space for the participant? Are all the
facilities that I need there and are they working?

Before you start you should know 3 things:

§ Yourself
§ Your audience
§ Your subject

5.2 Preparation of the content

5.2.1 Collect and read information about your topic
You can use several techniques to collect and organize data and ideas e.g.: brainstorming, 4MAT, mind-mapping …

5.2.2 Select the information and stick the different parts together
§ Reduce the information you have to the essential things you need.
§ Put an order in which you are going to tell everything.
§ Some questions you can ask yourself to help you with this:
o Which anecdotes, examples … do I want to tell to make it more interesting? Can I use them as an
introduction to get people’s attention?
o What parts can be tricky or difficult? How can I make them easier?
o What content can I skip, in case of not enough time?
o What can I tell more if I have too much time?
5.2.3 Make the definitive presentation out of it

§ What technique am I going to use? How am I going to explain things? How am I going to visualize
things?

6 Structure
A fundamental structure for good presentations:

1. Introduction: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them”

2. Body: “Tell them”
3. Conclusion: “Tell them what you’ve told them”
4. Questions and Answers
Don’t forget to use transitions!!!

6.1 Introduction
§ Welcome everybody
§ Introduce yourself
§ Capture the participant’s attention (you can do this with an example, a little story, …) and give them a
reason to listen to you.
§ Establish the subject; define the goal or purpose of the presentation.
§ Give the body/structure of the presentation. Have a look at the schedule together with your audience:
write this down and put the schedule somewhere so that the participants can see it all the time. This can also be
used as memory jogger for the presenter.
§ Set some rules and give some administrative details e.g. when to ask questions, switch of mobile
phones, etc.

6.2 Body
§ Series of points (3 to 5) in a clear structure. Memorize them or use a small support, like the schedule, or
small cards.
§ Take care that the arguments are put in a logical order.
§ Put the most important arguments at the beginning and at the end.
§ Make a good connection between 2 points, but don’t mix everything.
§ Make clear which point you are talking about.
§ Explain the most important things very carefully; maybe use an example to clarify them.

6.3 Conclusion
§ Summarize.
§ Repeat the main points.
§ Call for action (if this was the purpose of your presentation) and explain the participants clearly how
they should proceed if they are interested.
§ Explain what is going to happen after the presentation. E.g. handouts, discussions, mailing lists, etc.
§ End with a positive note.
§ Thank the participants for attending the presentation and for their attention.
§ Always put a clear end! Even if you run out of time and you have to skip some points: always end!

Note that the main points are told three times to the participants: once in the introduction, once in the body, and once in
the conclusion.

6.4 Questions and Answers

§ After inviting questions do not rush ahead if no one asks a question. Allow the audience to gather their
thoughts.
§ Listen to the entire question
§ Pause and allow yourself to evaluate the question and the listener
§ Repeat the question in your own words: this way you check if you understood the question right and
you make sure the whole audience heard it.
§ Acknowledge the question or comment, “this was a good question”, “glad you asked that question” to
motivate others. Be sure to credit everyone for asking a question if you don’t want people to feel their question
was not as important.
§ Answer to the whole audience.
§ Always respond.
 § If you don’t know the answer now: admit it. Write the question down, this show you care about a
questioner. Promise to look it up and answer later. Be specific: tell when and how exactly the answer will
arrive. Keep this promise!
§ Prepare yourself with for the Q&A session:
a. Guess those questions you are likely to get. If you made your homework and know both your topic and
audience, this will be easy.
b. Write them down on cards; one question per card (preferably coloured, not to mix it with your other
papers). Leave about five to six lines below each question.
c. If you have more then 20 questions, it is likely that your presentation contains too many holes and needs
to be reconsidered and/or restructured. Rework your presentation until the number of questions goes
below 20.
d. Answer to each question on the card.
e. Read the answers to a tape recorder.
f. Listen to the cassette. Satisfied?
g. Where you are not satisfied with your own answer, add additional notes, facts, gimmicks to the card, but
this time with a different colour.
h. Record your answers again and play it back. Better isn’t it?
i. Ask people to stand up when they are asking a question.
j. Have a pencil and paper available for you to write down questions you can’t answer

6.5 Transitions
Transitions are an integral part of a smooth flowing presentation, yet many speakers forget to plan their transitions.
The primary purpose of a transition is to lead your listener from one idea to the other.

6.5.1 Examples of transitions:

1. Bridge words or phrases - furthermore, meanwhile, finally, in addition, consequently

2. Trigger transition - same word or idea used twice: “a similar example is…”
3. Ask a question - “How many of you…?”
4. Flashback - “Do you remember when I said…?”
5. Point-by-Point - “There are three points…The first one is…The second one is…”
6. Pausing - Even a simple pause, when effectively used, can act as a transition. This
allows the audience to “think“ about what was just said and give it more time to register
7. Use physical movement - Move or change the location of your body. This is best done
when you are changing to a new idea or thought
8. Use a personal story - The use of a story, especially a personal one is a very effective
technique used by many professional speakers. Used effectively, it can help reinforce
any points you made during a presentation.
9. Use the PEP formula (Point, Example, Point) – this is a very common format used
and can be combined with the use of the personal story. Make sure stories or examples
you use help reinforce your message

6.5.2 Three common mistakes

1. The most common mistake is that people don’t use
transitions at all. Transitions help your information flow
from one idea to the next
2. The second most common mistake is using transitions that
are too short. Not enough time is spent bridging to the next
idea. This is extremely important when changing to a new
section of ideas within your presentation
3. The third most common mistake is that people use the same
transitions throughout the presentation. This becomes very
 boring after a short while. Try to be creative with your
transitions.

6.5.3 Transitions and team presentation

Transitions become extremely important when a team presentation is involved. The transition from one speaker to
the next must be planned and skilfully executed. Each speaker should use a brief introduction of the next topic and
speaker as part of this transition

7 Tips and tricks

7.1 How to make an interesting presentation

§ An average news anchor (the guys who reads the news in the evening news) does not spend more time
on the screen than 4, 5, 6 minutes out of the 45 minutes show.
§ A news story in the evening news is covered in 2.5, 3 minutes at maximum.
§ An average executive has 6 minutes of “on the job attention span”.

The “information age” taught us to absorb and process more and more data and information. Life becomes faster.
People cannot concentrate long to the same thing anymore. Think about it when you design your presentation.

§ Imagine your presentation as zapping on the television or surfing on the net

§ Think in segments.
§ Make difference between segments, visually and verbally
§ Use “flags” to point out the key learning in each segment. E.g. “Let me make a point here” or “Let me
nail this down”
§ Give headlines to your segments
§ Use different audiovisuals, and change them more than once during the presentation.
§ Make your presentation dynamic. This will create an illusion that things are moving; people are not
stuck in that meeting room.
§ Design your “perfect moment”. “The perfect moment is a burst of incandescence that ignites the entire
presentation and gives an everlasting impression on the audience’s memory.” (Ron Hoff)

7.2 The first 90’’

§ Establish eye contact from the beginning, you will see some friendly eyes in the audience
§ Smile!!! J Smiling gives encouragement and transmits a positive, self-confident image, plus smiling is
contagious. Your audience will smile back
§ Don’t think “How can I survive this?” Think “How can I do this brilliantly?”
§ Relax, take a deep breath; they are here to listen to you. They want you to be successful. They did not come
to see you fail
§ Have a small paper with some keywords written on in case you get lost. Be careful not to look too much to
the paper.

7.3 How to attract attention in the beginning?

§ Shout
§ Silence
§ Hammer
§ Hello and welcome
§ Joke or catchy sentence (only if you know your audience and you are quite sure about yourself)
Don’t beg for attention!

7.4 Practice

1. Parties are the perfect opportunity to practice your public speaking skills. So the next parties you attend make sure you
bring your bag of tricks.
§ If you find yourself standing alone in a corner of the room, don't just eat all the crab dip: initiate a
conversation with the next person who walks by.
§ Introduce yourself to two new people
§ Participate in a group discussion, but do not dominate the conversation
§ Have a conversation with someone you may have not seen in a while.
2. Creating a Voice Mail
Even though you may not have thought about it this way, your own voice mail message is like a little presentation
to the public and leaves a first impression.
§ Before you record your greeting, write it down and practice saying it. Record the message, play it back, and
rerecord it if necessary. Is your message too fast? Is it too slow? Is your voice clear and easy to understand? This is
great practice for when you prepare your own speech.
§ Make sure your answering machine greeting sounds professional and friendly. Call your own phone number
and listen to your own greeting. Ask yourself if your voice is clear and your message makes sense

8 Visual aids
Visuals must only support your presentation, and not replace it. Visuals can be useful to bring some variety and
colour in your way of presenting.

Visuals are used to:

§ help the group to concentrate on one point
§ support the structure of the presentation.
§ summarize and reinforce information.
§ serve as a memory jogger to the presenter as well as the audience and help him/her to gather his
thoughts.
§ present figures, graphs

8.1 General considerations

§ Write not many, approximately 7 +/- 2 points per slide/flipchart.
§ Do not write and speak at the same time
§ Do not read what is on your visual. Your audience can read and you loose eye contact.
§ Show detailed data charts
§ Make your visuals colourful, but do not overdo it
§ Make the visuals dynamic but be careful PowerPoint will easily over-perform you. Try to use catchy
things but only with a limited movement to avoid loosing eye contact for a prolonged time.
§ If you use colour background on slides or colour letter always make a test print and check if it is
readable from the back of the room.
§ Make sure you are not standing in the way while presenting.
§ It is better to have charts then matrixes since they are easier to understand.
§ In the case you have a chart , here is the order you should present it in order for the audience to
understand it better:
o Present the title
o Present the horizontal axe
 o Present the vertical axe
o Explain the graph itself
o Draw the conclusion
5. Conclusion
1. TITLE
2. Horizontal axe
3. Vertical axe
4.

8.2 What to check before the presentation?

It is the best to go through this list on the day before your presentation and check the place by yourself.

§ Make sure nothing hangs in the middle of your projected picture. E.g., lamps, cables, chandelier.
§ Check for bobbing heads.
§ Make sure there is no other event going on in the next room that causes too much noise or distraction.
§ Get the feeling of the room. Walk around. Get familiar with distances, place of switches, electric plugs,
etc.
§ If possible, go there with a friend. Let him verify if he can hear you well at the end of the room while
you are speaking.
§ Is there a visible clock? If not, bring your own one.
§ Make sure you have the phone number of the person who handles/responsible for the audio/visual
(A/V) equipment.
§ Check your flipchart easel. Sturdy enough? How can you fold out the extra arms? Is there enough paper
in?
§ Check the lighting level. Know which light you have to switch off when you start using your beamer
and where are the switches.
§ If you use local equipment make sure it is compatible with your systems/materials. Is the PC Windows,
or Mac? Is the video VHS or BetaMax? The TV Pal or Secam? Make sure the necessary cables are there to
link your PC with the beamer.
§ If you have too many cables on the floor, tape them down.
§ If you are using a cordless microphone, make sure you know where the “hot spots” are. How close you
can go to the loudspeakers? Which direction you have to stand. (Hot spot is where the microphone makes and
incredible noise due to the positive feedback between the microphone and the loudspeakers.)
§ Check how can you switch on/off the microphone, and have far you have to keep it from your mouth to
have optimal sound?
 § Ask how many people are coming to see the presentation. Remove the excessive chairs.
§ Sit in to the audience’s place for a while. How does it feel? How is the air conditioning? The
background noise level?
§ If there is a bar in the presentation room, make sure it is shut down.
§ Invest into a small pocket size electric torch. You may need it to find your notes while the lights are off
for the beamer presentation, or eventually the fuse might blow off due to an overload of using all A/V
equipments together. You don’t want to stand in the dark there.

8.3 Flipchart
§ Use capital and normal letter instead of only CAPITALS
§ Close writing instead of w i d e w r i t i n g
§ No optical SHOUTING or whispering
§ Use dark colours (blue and black) for writing
§ Use light colours (red) only to emphasize something
§ Write the thick part of the marker
§ Have a title for each flip chart.
§ Number your pages
§ Write down only the essential (no novel)
§ Use symbols and graphics

8.3.1 Positive aspects:

§ Actual and active
§ Output of discussion immediately visualised
§ Very easy to prepare
§ Easy to rehearse and add things

8.3.2 Negative aspects:

§ Limited amount of participants
§ Eye-contact broken when writing
§ Impossible to hide information

8.4 Overhead projector, beamer, computer based still images, slide projector
8.4.1 Positive aspects:
§ You get the big picture of the presentation
§ For any number of participants
§ Hiding information is easy
§ Easy to transport
§ Beamer connects directly to a PC, you can edit your presentation in the last minute

8.4.2 Negative aspects:

§ Facilities needed
§ The projectors make noise
§ Amount of information on a slide is limited
§ You can’t show all slides at the same time
§ Obscure room needed
§ The more complicated the technology is, the more likely it will break down. If you are using a beamer
for an important presentation, always have printed slides with you as a back up.
 8.5 Video, film, animated computer-based presentations
8.5.1 Positive aspects:
§ Make presentation lively, dynamic
§ Make visualization easier
§ Have a great demonstration effect

8.5.2 Negative aspects:

§ Draw your audience’s attention completely away from you.
§ Professional actors on video over-perform you.
§ Too much computer animation can be annoying and slows down presentation.

9 Presenting in groups
You can make your presentation more colourful and dynamic if you team up with others and create a presentation in
group. Here are some tips that will help you.

§ Choose a “shepherd” up-front. His/her task will be to coordinate and oversee the preparation, and make
sure all information is gathered, everyone’s task is clear, all points are covered and everybody made his/her
homework.
§ Choose an A/V person. This person will be responsible that every equipment you are using is in place
and operational. If something goes wrong, he will fix it. If everything goes perfect, your audience will not
even recognize his existence.
§ Choose a director. A director is somebody standing in the background behind the audience, and helps
in your presentation from outside. He/she can give signals when you are over time or you became flat. He can
handle the lights/ventilation in the room, and solve troubles before those would reach you. He will watch you
on your rehearsals and give feedback.
§ Work as a team as much as possible on the preparations. Kick off with a brain storming session.
§ Practice, practice, practice…together. Rehearsal is even more crucial if you don’t work alone. Give
feedback to each other.
§ To make your presentation dynamic, change your team members in every six minutes.
§ Use different visuals for each member.
§ You can also position your team members in different locations throughout the room and switch
between them, just as in a live coverage in the TV. This will give a feeling that your presentation is rolling,
moving. It’s your theatre use it!
§ “Together” is the keyword if you do presentations in group.
§ While another group member is presenting, pay attention to what that person is saying. If you are
listening to your partner, you invite the audience to do the same.

10 10 Tips For Successful Public Speaking

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and healthy. It shows you care about doing well. But, too much
nervousness can be detrimental. Here's how you can control your nervousness and make effective, memorable
presentations:
1. Know the room. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and
practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
2. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience as they arrive. It's easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of
strangers.
3. Know your material. If you're not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will
increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
4. Relax. Ease tension by doing exercises.
5. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and assured. When you
visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
6. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining.
They don't want you to fail.
7. Don't apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech,
you may be calling the audience's attention to something they hadn't noticed. Keep silent.
8. Concentrate on the message -- not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly
toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.
9. Turn nervousness into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
10. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide
the experience you need.

11 References
Cristina Dumitru, Dan Bozgan, Sophie Deprez, Sending the Message, TRAP7, 2005
Stancz, Krisztian, Presentation Skills, TRAP4, 2002
Deprez, Sophie, Presentation Skills, TRAP5, 2003
Martirradonna, Antonio, Presentation Skills, 2004
Kurtus, Ron – Overcome the fear of Speaking in public
Lenny Laskowski – several articles
Allan Pease – Body Language
Training Group TRAP XII - Warsaw 2009
TIGro@BEST.eu.org