Nabil M. Hewahi. How to make a presentation? 9/9/2015.

Nabil M. Hewahi. How to make a presentation?04/19/23

Put yourself in the audience's shoes - try to understand your listener's level of understanding, their map of reality, and anticipate what they want to know. Once you know what your audience wants, you can figure out how to "sell" the benefits of your topic to them.

Nabil M. Hewahi. How to make a presentation? 04/19/23

Decide what it is you would like to happen as a result of your presentation. The four main goals of any communication are to inform, to request for an action, to persuade, and to build relationship. Decide which of these goals you are planning to achieve. Let your listeners know what you want them to do near the beginning of your talk and again at the end. Present your basic idea and give them an outline of your presentation that would lead you and your audience to the desired result


Research your topic – speak about something you have earned the right to talk about through experience or study. Anticipate questions, and make sure you have the facts to answer them.

"Develop reserve power", advised Dale Carnegie, "assemble a hundred thoughts around your theme, then discard ninety... Always prepare so that you are ready for any emergency such as a change of emphasis because of the previous speaker's remarks or a well-aimed question from the audience in the discussion period following your talk... This will give you reserve power, the power that makes people sit up and take notice."


Seize every opportunity to practice – no professional in any field performs without practicing. Remember, your time in front of a group is your showcase.


Predetermine your mind to success. That's the main secret of being a good presenter: you have to be confident to show confidence. You must be inspired by the deep belief in your cause. To have faith in yourself and your message, explore all phases of your subject and ask yourself how your talk will help the audience to get what they want. Careful preparation provides the solid ground you need to support your self-confidence. Tell yourself you can do it, that you are more qualified than any member of the audience to give this particular talk.


List all points you plan to cover. Group them in sections and put your list of sections in the order that best achieves your objectives. Begin with the most important topics. When you put your talk together, keep in mind why your audience would want to hear what you have to say.


How you give your talk can be more important than what you say. Whenever possible speak from an outline. If you have a formal written speech to deliver, use a marking system in the text to guide your delivery.


The audience will make decisions about you from your first appearance, your words and the sound of your voice. You can't make a first impression twice. Plan your opening sentences and practice them in front of a mirror. Use short sentences. Keep technical information at a minimum. Grab attention with a joke, an interesting fact, a short anecdote( طرفAة – ,(حكايAةa quotation, a positive statement, a provocative(يرAAAAمث) question... something designed to arouse curiosity and get the audience looking and listening to you.


No matter what you are, we are all in sales. Selling is a transfer of emotions. When you speak, do your listeners sense how strongly you believe in what you're saying? If you want people to give you their undivided attention and feel compelled (برAمج) to heed your advice, they must hear and see (يبAالي)in you an unwavering commitment to your message... More


Promise to tell the audience how they can get something they want.

Outline the agenda – knowing your order increases

attention. Never take your audience for granted. People have

very short attention span. Not more than 15% of their brain power is required to understand the language and grasp what you mean. Don't let the remaining 85% of their brain to do daydreaming. To keep your audience with you, you must build in new devices – make your message visual, build anticipation, create a conversation cycle, use role-play practices – to keep your listener's mind 100% occupied.


The sound of your voice makes a great difference. Practice projecting enthusiasm.

People aren't going to be influenced by a lifeless voice. To hear yourself speak, record

your voice during a phone conversation or practice your presentation using a tape

recorder. Then make necessary changes.


Communication is a two-way street. Before you begin your workshop or presentation, be sure your participants know what to expect. They will arrive with some preconceived (ورAAيتص) ideas. Your advance communication about your presentation needs to be clear to set the perceptions right so there is no confusion or disappointment.


There's nothing wrong with lecturing, as long as you realize the limitations. Lecturing is a way of presenting information verbally and is teacher/trainer focused. The facilitator speaks and the learners listen. Learners can become easily bored and inattentive.


Short lectures or verbal presentations of information need to be enhanced and supported with visuals and activities directly related to the information being presented. In the classroom, the teacher can complement his information by assigning extra study or independent practice. In a workshop, activities are more immediate--small groups, games, buzz sessions, guided practice, role play, brainstorming. The idea is to engage the learners and stimulate them to participate in their own learning.

04/19/23Nabil M. Hewahi. How to make a

presentation?

Provide for every type of learner – visual, auditory and kinesthetic (ركيAح) . Provide for everyone with things to see, hear and do. You'll stimulate your learners, whether in the classroom or meeting room. They'll enjoy it more, learn more and retain it longer.


Videos can be effective training aids if you edit them carefully and use at the appropriate times. Videos can illustrate an idea and put it into action. The theme of the video must correspond with the main points you are discussing. Show only the parts that are related. Remember, the video is not the entire presentation, it just supports the main points. Give the participants suggestions of what to watch for. A question and answer period, discussion and/or a handout should accompany the video.


Smile! When audience members see a genuine and sincere smile, it makes them want to smile too. What could be better than looking out on an audience of happy, smiling people?

Move. Don’t hide behind your podium (ةAمنص) . Presentations can be scary, but the audience won’t eat you alive. This doesn’t mean you should pace furiously (اجAمهت)from one end of the stage to the other, but a little movement will help keep your audience awake.


Test your setup before the presentation. Can you see your visual aids, slides or overheads clearly from the back of the room? Is everything working as you had expected?

Present to the crowd. Consider your audience before your presentation. If your audience is a group of university students, leave your suit at home and make your presentation less formal. If your audience requires more formality, perhaps it’s best if you forget the animation. It’s unlikely that swirling text and funny noises will impress this crowd.


Don’t try to impress with jargon. Never speak above the crowd in hopes of impressing people. When you’re speaking in a language that doesn’t compute, they’ll tune out. The audience may also see you trying too hard to impress and you may come across as false or insincere.

Use a computer and multimedia projector. Professional presenters use a computer and projector, so why shouldn’t you? Overheads projectors are a little old-fashioned and printing those overhead slides is a nuisance (اجAازع ). Get out of the comfort zone and try using new technology. If you’re worried about its reliability, bring your overheads as back-up.


Be yourself! Be honest, open and sincere. You’re best at being yourself, so let your true self show. People relate to honesty and expressiveness.

Update your slides for each presentation. Don’t use the same slides again and again. In the world of visual aids, fresh is good.

Place your company logo in the bottom right-hand corner of your slides. The eye looks naturally to the bottom right corner, so if you want your company’s name reinforced, place it there. While you’re at it, why not use corporate colors for your slides? Not only is it a double-whammy ( عAاثر but it’s also a (حAظway to stay consistent with the use of color throughout the presentation.


Use light colors on a dark background and vice-versa. This seems obvious but it’s important to keep in mind. The easiest combinations to read are white or yellow bold text on a dark background.

Bonus tip! Show a visual every one to three minutes. Using this guideline can help you stay on schedule during your presentation. In the planning stage, if you allocate a maximum of three minutes for each slide, it will help you stay on time during your actual presentation.


Forgetting to turn off your screen saver. Your presentation is going smoothly, and you’re taking a little extra time to explain each of your PowerPoint slides. You turn to look at the projection screen and, in horror, realize that the audience has been watching cute little tropical fish swim for the past five minutes. If you’re using a laptop for your presentation, be sure to turn off your screen saver before you begin.


Beeping laptop. If you usually present using a laptop, you’ve probably experienced the low-battery warning. It screams for attention and successfully irritates any well-intentioned audience. Bring an extension cord if you’re using a laptop and plug it in. This way you won’t have to worry about low batteries interrupting the flow of your presentation.


Speaking too quickly. It’s natural to speed up when feeling nervous. But when you speak at record speeds, not only is it difficult for the audience to understand what you’re saying, but it’s a dead giveaway that you’re sweating bullets.


Overusing animation. Animation is great for capturing the audience’s attention and adding interest to any presentation, if used in moderation. However, when things are whirling(ةAدوام), whizzing(نينAط) and zooming across the screen, they direct the people’s attention away from your message. They’ll be too busy trying to figure out how you got your visuals to do those amazing tricks.


Unexpected animation. Be sure to rehearse your animated presentation before you give it. This ensures the animation you’ve used is working properly and is appropriate for the audience. Don’t let any unexpected sights or sounds catch you off guard.

Using too many bullets and fonts. Keep it simple by using only a few bullets and a maximum of two fonts per slide. If you get too many fonts and bullets, the design becomes cluttered (ىAAفوض) and the information more difficult to read.


Forgetting to delete all guidelines. If you’re using PowerPoint, there’s nothing worse than a slide that appears as "Click to add title." Of course the audience will forgive you, but it certainly won’t help you look like a pro.

Using a font that’s too small. The smaller the font, the more difficult it will be for the audience members at the back of the room to read your information.


Placing too many words on a slide. Keep the information in your presentation concise. The words that appear on the slide should spark the larger thought, not explain it. Follow the 7 x 7 rule, which limits the words on a visual to no more than seven words per line and a maximum of seven lines, for a total of 49 words or less per visual. Headings or titles should be kept to four words or less.


Using red lettering on your slides. Typically, red has negative connotations (ةAAدالل). It’s almost always interpreted as a warning sign or danger, and in business it symbolizes failure or financial loss.

Bonus Tip! Spelling is important. Probably one of the most embarrassing blunders ( اخطاء is overlooking spelling errors on your (محرجAةslides. Don’t solely trust your spell-checker either. Your best bet is to review your slides and then ask someone else to look at them next.


Be very clear about how much time you have - and stick to that time in preparing your presentation.

Be very clear about your key message - and ensure that everything in your presentation is both consistent with, and suppportive of, that key message.

E-mail your presentation to the event organisers in advance. Ask them to load it onto a laptop, run it through, check that it looks fine, and confirm that with you.


The first slide should announce the title of your presentation, the event and date, and your name and position.

The second slide should seize the attention of your audience for your presentation. It could be the central proposition of your presentation or a conventional wisdom that you wish to challenge or a relevant or witty from a leader in your (يقتبس) quote (بAارع)field. If it is amusing (ؤنسAم) or controversial or both, so much the better.


The third slide should set out the structure of your presentation. The default structure should consist of three themes that you intend to examine. For a very short presentation, there might only be time for two; if you want to look at more than five areas, write a book instead.


Each theme should be the subject of a small number of slides. Again, a good working assumption is that three slides for each theme is about right. Less than two and it isn't substantive enough to be a separate theme; more than five and it should probably be broken up into two themes.


Each slide should have clear heading. A question is often a good way of winning attention - but, in that case, make sure you answer the question in the body of the slide.

Each slide should normally contain around 25-35 words, unless it is a quote (when you might use more) or contains an illustration (when you will probably use less). Too many words and your audience will have trouble reading the material; too few words and you're likely to be flashing through the slides and spending too much time clicking the mouse.


Each bullet point should consist of an intelligible phrase, rather than merely a word or two that is meaningless on its own or conversely a complete sentence that is better delivered orally. So, for instance, do use "Focus on profitable and growing markets" rather than simply "Focus" or "Markets" or "It is necessary to focus on those markets which are profitable and growing rather than those which are loss-making and declining". Consider this test: your slides should make sense and be useful to someone who was not present at your presentation.


Make appropriate use of pictures. It's a good idea to break up text with illustrations and it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words.


The last slide should set out all appropriate contact details: certainly e-mail address and possibly snail mail address, the web site of your organization, and any personal website or weblog if you have one.


If you are not using a microphone, be aware of the need to speak sufficiently loudly that the furthest member of your audience can hear you clearly. Take the opportunity to move around a little which will help to command attention.


You should convey a sense of enthusiasm for the subject. This will effect your delivery and how your speech is received.

Occasionally alter the speed, volume and tone of your delivery. Speaking slower or faster and quieter or louder and being more cheerful or more serious all adds dramatic effect and keeps the attention of your audience.


Don't make a rambling( وجهAه على .opening (هAائمThere is nothing worse than the speaker who starts with something like: "When I was asked to speak on this subject, I wondered what to say .."

Have a very clear structure. A good technique is to tell your audience what you are going to say, tell them, and then tell them what you have said. A good structure is for the core message to be three linked points which can be sub-divided as necessary.


Consider the use of rhyme (سجع). For example: "We will fight to show that we are right".

Use contrasts. For example: "Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed" (Mao Zedong, lecture, 1938)


Repetition can be very effective. Martin Luther King was the absolute master of judicious repetition. For example: in his Washington speech of 28 August 1963, he used the phrases "I have a dream .." and "Let freedom ring ..." again and again (seven times and eight times respectively). The same technique was used by Barack Obama in his speech following the 2008 New Hampshire primary when he repeatedly used the phrase "Yes we can".


One way of commanding attention is to use a redundant, but attention-seeking, short sentence. Tony Blair is very fond of "I say this to you" or "Let me be clear".


Remember that 50% of statistics are meaningless. So, if you are intending to use statistics - and some well-chosen figures can add credibility and authority to your arguments - be sure that you understand them, that they are meaningful, and that they are both reliable and up-to-date. Be ready in the question and answer session, or if approached later, to be able to source your statistics and supply the full context.


Make clever use of the pause. If you expect laughter or applause(راءAAاط) or you would like to create a sense of drama, pause for a couple of seconds, before continuing your speech.

Finish with a strong, affirmative statement, possibly referring back to(ايجAابي)the opening sentence or question (note how many film scripts end with a variation of a line from the beginning of the movie).


When it's all over, consider creating an on-line version of the speech. If you put the text on a web site, you can add hyperlinks to more detailed information and provide up-dates to keep the material topical and relevant. In this way, you have a 'live' document and you reach a much wider audience.


Beware of speaking for too long. The British aristocrat Lord Brabazon once said: "If you cannot say what you have to say in twenty minutes, you should go away and write a book about it".


Nabil M. Hewahi. How to make a presentation? 9/9/2015.

Documents

Transcript of Nabil M. Hewahi. How to make a presentation? 9/9/2015.