Presentation Tips & Techniques

If you are suddenly called upon to make a presentation and are at a total loss at what to do, what to use and how to go about it, your woes have been solved.
This book is tailor-made for you. Read it and don't sweat so much. This is indeed your lucky day!


YOU ARE sweating bullets, your legs no longer seem to obey you and your
mind seems to wander off somewhere on its own. The reason? Your boss has
just `volunteered' your name to give a presentation of the department
functions and objectives. It is to be a 45-minute affair.
Suddenly, you realise how much of a chicken you are. Your oratory skills
are next to nothing, well, practically nothing. And you don't have a clue
where to begin.
Your worries can now stop here. Presentation Tips and Techniques is a
book to help you survive that scary assignment of speaking in public and
not making a fool of yourself, or worse, your boss. This book with an
unimpressive cover turned out to be quite a surprise.
At first glance, it offers a few sniggers at best. A double-quick scan
of its six-page contents exposes a comprehensive list of what-to-expect
and what-to-do at such a presentation.
Mike Levy, the man responsible for `putting all this information
together', has done a magnificent job of making what could have been a
tough task, a simple, straight-forward one. The tips and techniques have
been culled from the minds and experiences of professional presenters,
managers and trainers. There are five of them, all specialists in their
own fields.
The tricks of the trade are presented in a format with lots of graphics.
You do not need to be Einstein to understand fully the ideas which are
tailor-made for the occasion. For example, in the event that an overhead
projector (OHP) is needed, the various positions to anchor the projector
are spelled out. This is to achieve its maximum effect. The advantages of
an OHP are the four `I's, namely: Immediacy, Impact, Interest and
Integration.
You are taught how to acquaint yourself with the OHP. There is a visual
map to guide you in case a light `blows' and you need to change it in a
hurry.
Everything and anything there is to know about using an OHP have been
covered. Levy has been so thorough that even a professional presenter will
find something useful which he might not even have thought of himself. For
instance, there are tips on what colours to use on OHP transparencies
which also depend on the colour of the background.
Another piece of wonderful advice is the different ways to arrange the
chairs in the room. If there are 15 people, the tables and chairs should
go one way, if there are more than 20, the arrangement will have to adopt
a different pattern.
The three seating arrangements cover circle, horseshoe and V-shaped
presentations. And there are also the cafeteria and theatre formats. The
various styles will compel you to position your OHP in the most favourable
angle for it to be visually effective. The degree of angle is also
specified.
There is a checklist for every situation. Whether using a flipchart,
whiteboard or 35mm slides, you simply cannot go wrong if you follow the
checklists religiously as if your career depends on it. In most cases, it
probably does.
In a handbook that has 11 chapters, the last four cover the run-up to
the actual presentation itself. They lead you step-by-step to the actual
day when everything comes together.
There are two appendixes after the 11th chapter that add to the grand
finale. Appendix I is a quick reference presentation planner. It advises
the pale-faced first timer what to do in uncharted territory. Appendix II
is called the Problem Buster. It is self-explanatory. Any individual
should be able to follow the advice to the letter unless he has been hit
by a falling coconut.
The book's main strength is its simplicity and the easy-on-the-eyes
graphics which are displayed generously from page to page. It is fun to
ready, informative and very educational.
An employee who harbours ambitions to be his company's future top gun
should grab hold of a copy of this book. In any given corporate situation,
there will come a day when a promising worker will put to the acid test -
how well he projects his ideas and how organised his mind is. This book is
a big platform for that individual when that fateful day arrives so that
he doesn't fall to pieces for lack of preparation.
It is guaranteed to help you give a commendable, if not impressive,
presentation after you have journeyed through this powerhouse of tips and
strategies. If your boss is suitably impressed with your performance, then
this book is well worth its small investment.