5 MORE Things You Should Never Do When You Present
Did you miss the first 5 things? Check them out here!
Do you want to see numbers 11 through 15! They're here!
6. Never, after you greet the audience and receive a less than enthusiastic greeting in return, insist on the audience doing a better job of returning your greeting by saying something to the effect of "Come on! You can do better than that!"
a. You have not done anything to get people hyped ... unless you have rock star status. And you immediately make the audience feel inadequate or like it has to do something it really does not want to do.
b. Do not rely on the audience to get you excited. Never make the audience responsible for making you feel welcome and wanted. Get yourself pumped by thinking of the value you're about to bring that's going to rock the house! Think to yourself "Okay. You aren't excited now, but wait until you get a load of this presentation!"
c. Greet everyone, accept the greeting you get in response, then set out to totally wow the crowd. THEN you will see audience excitement go through the roof!
7. Never pose your first question to the audience, then ...
... call on an individual to bravely answer it in front of everyone.
a. You may not have provided enough information for a person to have a fair chance at arriving at a correct answer.
b. Remember it feels safer to answer a question in front of a small group of listeners than it does to answer a question in front of a room full of people.
c. Your first question for your audience should be one where audience members can engage with each other, discussing possible answers to the question, then you can call on someone to share with the larger group.
8. Never say "Do you want to share?"
a. It gives the person the option to say, "No."
b. It makes you sound weak.
c. Instead, say, "I need X number of volunteers to share Y" or "I know Beth and Ron have done Z. Please share your experiences." or "I'm now going to pass the mic to Meg." And if you opt for the latter, then remember number 5 here.
9. Never call on someone to answer a question to which the answer serves as a basis for understanding an integral part of your presentation without you providing the answer/definition, too.
a. Let that person offer an answer.
b. Thank him/her regardless of whether the audience member's answer was correct or incorrect.
c. Ensure you provide the definition you need everyone to have.
10. Never look anything short of polished and professional.
a. Visit the presentation place at least two hours before showtime so the room is familiar to you. A visit the day before is even better.
b. Start set-up no later than 45 minutes before show time, especially if you will use technology as part of your presentation.
c. Do not point the clicker at the screen to advance slides. (You know you've seen it. You'll see the presenter lift and point the clicker at the projection screen, then click the button to go to the next slide as if it's a remote control from back in the day where you had to point it directly at the TV in order for it to work.) First, it's not the screen or anything around it that controls the clicker's functionality; to that end, it would make more sense to point the clicker at the laptop or to point it at the computer. But second, it's not necessary to do either one. Simply discreetly click the clicker to advance your slide without a lot of movement of the arm or hand. Think of the bank teller pressing the button under the counter to alert law enforcement there's a robbery in progress. Yeh. Like that. If all of a sudden, the clicker malfunctions, trust me; pointing it at the projection screen and pushing the button as hard as possible will not fix it, and it does not make you look like a pro. If you have problems with your clicker, check to ensure you have the transmitter correctly inserted in your laptop or computer, change the batteries, replace the clicker with another one, or manually advance your slides.
Did you miss the first 5 things? Check them out here! And the last 5 things are here!
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