r
ch You
r
a
e
s
e
R
ce
Audien
se
Rehear
Page 6
ng
Handli
e
s
i
t
c
Pra
ns
Questio
entral
C
e
t
a
e
Cr
ge
Messa
Page 28
Page 8
r
Get You oss
ge Acr
Messa
Page 11
2
- Structure
P.12
- Language
P.14
- Voice
P.18
- Body Language
P.20
- Eye Contact
P.22
resent
P
&
n
Desig
Aids
Visual
Page 24
3
You are the Presentation
Not your slides
As the presenter, you need to:
Identify your audience’s needs and concerns
Engage in a dialogue with your audience in
which you answer their questions
To do this, you should
put your audience first and make sure that
your presentation is aimed at your audience.
4
5
Research Your Audience
Be clear about your purpose:
Make sure that you are completely clear about
what you want to achieve in your presentation.
Decide:
What do you want your audience to do as a result
of your presentation?
What do you want them to remember?
Before you start creating your presentation,
try to answer the following questions
about your audience:
Who are they?
How well do you know them?
How many of them are there?
Why are they coming to listen to you?
How much do they already know?
What do they expect?
What are the main concerns which you need
to address?
Now, think about your central message
6
7
Create Central Message
Examples
“I’m here to talk
about our latest
communication
strategy.”
It’s clear but not very
memorable
“Our communication
strategy matters
because how we talk to
employees will make
the difference between
motivated teams and
reluctant employees.”
Your central message should be
clear and memorable.
It needs to answer two questions:
Why are you giving the presentation?
How will the audience benefit from it?
8
It tells the audience
why they need to
listen: without the
communication strategy
they won’t be able to
motivate their staff.
Checklist for Central Message
• Make sure your message addresses
the concerns of your audience
• Keep it brief and effective
• Include your central message early
on in your presentation
• Link the rest of your presentation to
your central message
9
Get Your Message Across
10
Clear structure
p. 12
Language tricks and techniques
p. 14
Effective use of voice
p. 18
Appropriate body language
p. 20
Consistent eye contact
p. 22
11
Get Your Message Across
Structure
Examples
Overall structure
• Introduction
• Main body
• Summary
Introduction
• Self-introduction
• Central message
• Mini-overview
• Timing
• Question-handling
Main body
Decide on the structure of the main body.
There are a variety of approaches and some that work well are:
• Past/Present/Future
• SNAP (Situation/Needs/Alternatives/Proposal)
• Problem /Solution
Before structuring your presentation,
you need to:
Select the appropriate information
Divide this information into two sections:
• vital to support message
• useful to reinforce
12
Checklist for Structure
• Select information that is vital to your
presentation
• Make sure your structure is clear
• Link your ideas logically
• Restate your key ideas, using different
words
• Refer to the central message
13
Get Your Message Across
Language Tricks & Techniques
Examples
Use signposts to show the logical links between your ideas
Start a section
“OK, let’s start by...”
Change sections
“Perhaps we could move on to the question of...”
Reinforce the central
message
“What does that mean to you?”
Look ahead
“I’ll come back to this point later”
Look back
“As I mentioned earlier ...”
Link
“...and that ties in with...”
Summarise
“So, to sum up...”
Conclude
“I think that covers everything”
Use signposts to establish an understanding between you and your listeners
To maintain the interest of your audience
you need to:
Understand
their needs
“And this, of course, is why you want to...”
Sympathise
with their views
“You’re absolutely right when you say...”
Anticipate
their questions
“You’re probably wondering why we...”
Appreciate
their expertise
“I don’t need to tell you that...”
Keep your language clear, lively and memorable
14
15
Keep your language short, common and concrete
Instead of:
Say:
Short
“If such an eventuality
arises...”
“If this happens...”
Common
“It’ll improve client
interface...”
“You’ll get on better with
your clients”
Concrete
“Implementation is
scheduled for December«
“We plan to do it in
December.”
Make an impact by varying the language you use
Vary your vocabulary
“Demand went down/slumped/fell as prices
went up/rocketed/rose”
Approximate and
simplify details and
figures
“£242,178 – let’s call it a quarter of a million.”
Use an example
“Take the decommissioning of Concorde, for
example...”
Ask rhetorical
questions
“So, how do we deal with the marketing
issue?”
Put your words or
points into a list of
three
“In the end it’ll be efficient, modern and, above
all, profitable.”
Contrast two ideas
“We’re seen as a manufacturing company; but
really we’re providing a service.”
16
Checklist for Language
• Use signposts
• Keep what you say short and simple
• Vary your language
17
Get Your Message Across
Voice
You need to:
Make sure your audience can hear you
Give them time to absorb what you are saying
Use your voice to add impact to your presentation:
• smile so that your voice sounds brighter
• look up so that you maintain the level of sound
18
Checklist for Voice
Use signposts to show the logical links
between your ideas
• Aim to speak slowly, deliberately
and clearly
• Stress the key words for impact
• Pause regularly
• Use intonation – don’t have a flat voice
19
Get Your Message Across
Body Language
First impressions are vital and how you stand,
move and even how you dress are important
You need to avoid:
Turning your back on the audience to look at your slides
Folding your arms
You may look defensive
Standing with your hands in your pockets
You may look over-casual
Leaning back in your chair
You may look uninterested
Using repetitive movements
It may distract the audience
Wearing inappropriate clothing
20
Checklist for Body Language
• Stand still and lean forward slightly
when making key points
• Change position when you move to
another point
• Use your hand movements for
emphasis
21
Get Your Message Across
Eye Contact
Checklist for Eye Contact
You need to:
Maintain eye contact with your listeners so that you
can judge whether they understand, and whether they
agree ... or not!
22
• Look around and establish eye contact with
your listeners
• Look at different people while you’re presenting
– don’t stare at just one person!
• If your audience is large, look towards different
parts of the group
• Maintain eye contact even when you’re talking
about your visual aids
• Avoid looking at the ceiling or the floor
23
Design your visuals carefully
Design and Present Visual Aids
Where possible, use:
Design
Usage
Graphs and pie charts
not this ...
for numerical information
Flow charts or diagrams
for processes or systems
Maps, layouts and plans
for complex spatial or technical concepts
Organisation charts
or diagrams
to explain your logic
Drawings, photographs
or cartoons
to give your point impact
Bullet-point word charts
to help your audience follow your structure
... but this
Checklist for designing Visual Aids
The design needs to be:
Clear
Simple
Visually-attractive
24
• Keep the whole design bold and simple
• Limit the amount of information on each slide
• Keep words to a minimum
• Use clear, simple typefaces
• Select colour carefully
• Be consistent in your choice of headings,
colours, fonts across the set of visuals
• Limit the number of slides
25
Examples
Design and Present Visual Aids
Delivery
“OK, let’s move on to our
marketing research.”
“Have a look at this chart...”
“As you can see, it shows that...”
“So, in summary, ...”
Checklist for talking about Visual Aids
The way you talk about and handle
your visual aids is just as important as
the design and content.
26
• Make sure that everyone can see your visuals
– avoid standing in front of the screen
• Remember that your audience needs time to
take in the information on your slides
• Introduce the slide, talk about it and
summarise briefly what you have said
• Watch the audience’s eye contact: as soon as
they stop looking at the visual, move onto the
next point
27
Practise Handling Questions
People ask questions for many reasons
For example, to attack, test, show off, get
information, help you
Whatever their motive, you need to:
Listen & Check
Keep Control
Be Honest
28
Checklist for Answering Questions
• Direct your answer to the whole audience: keep
them involved too
• Check that you’ve answered the question that
was asked
• Rephrase the question if it’s long and unclear, or
if the audience is large
• Check your body language and eye contact:
sitting down with them might create a warmer
atmosphere
• Finish the question session appropriately
29
Rehearse
Final Checklist
• Check the equipment before you start
You need to practice
Practise it all aloud – several times
Rehearse it with a colleague
Memorise your introduction and summary
30
• Check everything
- the room,
- your notes
- your visuals
• Practise your presentation again!
31
Put Your Audience First
and
be yourself
smile
32
33
be aware
34
epepin
35
AIRBUS S.A.S.
31707 BLAGNAC CEDEX, FRANCE
CONTENT: Canning International Training Development
EDITOR: Christina Viol
CONCEPT DESIGN: Métaphora
DRAWINGS: Emmanuel Ajas
PRINTED IN FRANCE
© AIRBUS S.A.S. 2005
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
AN EADS JOINT COMPANY
WITH BAE SYSTEMS