It’s all a learning curve

I have a confession to make: when I was at school, I dreaded the word presentation. It was one of those tasks that just didn’t agree with me. The whole rigmarole of getting every word you wanted to say down on paper, waiting your turn in the lesson to shakily get up in front of the whole class and, sweaty palmed, attempt to read off every word. You’d get advice like ‘Speak to the back wall’ and ‘Avoid eye contact’, but at that time in my life, the former meant I would lose my place in my notes, and the latter was akin to staring deep into Medusa’s eyes. The usual procedure, for me at least, meant stuttering and squirming on the spot until I find the right place on my A4 scrawl. The silence is deafening. All eyes are on me. I press on, not caring how monotonous my voice has become – I just need to get through this, and fast! The last words on my paper are getting ever closer – I may have missed out a paragraph because the nerves are getting the better of me, but whatever! And we’re done. It’s somewhat anticlimactic. The class politely claps and I shuffle back to my seat without daring to look up. ‘Right, well thanks for that,’ comes the disinterested voice – my teacher, as they scribble their unhelpful appraisal of my performance.

Let’s fast-forward to an adult me that’s grown a little (if not a lot) in confidence. I now love speaking in front of people. Being put on the spot in meetings still gives rise to a few of the above-mentioned neuroses, but being prepared in a presentation is a whole other ball game. The problem with presentations is that school, university and education in general all expect us to be able to present ideas; however, we’ve never really been taught how to do it correctly. Is there even such a thing as correctly in this context? Maybe this is because there is no definitive way of delivering a presentation, as the how is very much linked to the who and then let loose on the what. Teachers never gave constructive criticism that positively impacted my next presentation. What did help, however, was seeing how others handled the same task. And what definitely did the trick was making a lot of mistakes and learning from those, too. At the end of the day, the situation described in the paragraph above (a real one at that), was a goldmine of learning curves – experiences that I am very thankful to have made.

Less is more, more or less

Now, I’ve been guilty of this, and I will probably be guilty of it again: the PowerPoint is filled to the brim with information and I’m just being far too wordy. We really need to aim to be concise, using a PowerPoint (or similar) to keep the audience on track, balancing the need for visual and audio stimuli. But this can sometimes be more, and sometimes less. It depends on what you have to say. If it’s tedious for you writing and reading out your presentation, it’s sure to have the same effect on others.

Move around a little … or a lottle

One of my fondest quotes comes from one of my first days at primary school. The headmistress proclaimed, ‘Life’s like a bottle of ketchup: sometimes you get a little … and sometimes you get a lottle!’ Definitely learned my lesson on both ends of the spectrum on this one. Being rooted to the spot means that the focus is only on what you are saying – and depending on the topic, it’s a lot to expect of your audience to be able to focus only on what you are saying. Moving around too much can give the impression that you’re nervous, and the restless vibe can make it hard for the room to focus. Gesticulating and moving to another part of the room to draw attention to your next slide or if you notice attention to your words is waning can make a huge difference. Admittedly, there are set-ups where you may have to stay in one spot (e.g. a podium or if everyone including yourself is seated), but that won’t stop your hands from doing the supporting work.

The back wall isn’t listening

No, but the people in the room are. Speak to them directly and notice their reactions – it’s the best indicator of what you can add to your presentation, even if you have to do it off the top of your head. Maybe try adding some humour to the mix if people look bored (humour translates better into another language than one would expect), or adding an explanation if people look confused.

Don’t read off your presentation word for word

This one might be more of an aim than a reality for someone giving a presentation that isn’t in their mother tongue. There’s a massive amount of respect due to anyone that can present ideas in a foreign language, and even more XP* for managing that with only a few bullet points to keep them on track. Language skills aside, if a presentation is in a foreign language, this definitely shows an audience that you know your topic. You’re the designated driver that can get everyone to their destination safely, dealing with whatever lies along the road ahead as you go.

* For the non-gamers amongst us: experience points so you can level up.

If my teacher had given schoolboy me the above advice in their appraisal, it would have definitely been food for thought. Maturing is a process that we only really notice when we look back at the past and see just how much progress we’ve made. And the individual parts of me that I bring into presentations today are without doubt humour and amusing anecdotes mixed with meaningful takeaways. It is after all you standing there speaking, so the authentic you is always the best choice.