Winging it is my preferred way of making a presentation which I believe offer significant value to both the audience and the presenter. Nevertheless as I recounted in a previous article, A PowerPoint Presentation or Winging It?, in that so many of my audiences have become accustomed to anticipating a PowerPoint presentation, I have decided to integrate it within my preferred style, Winging It. In this article, I will discuss the value of Winging It as well as How to PowerPoint effectively to keep the audience engaged.
The Value of Winging It
Winging it essentially mean to speak in public without notes. Taking notes on stage only telegraphs the idea that you had to make a big effort to bone up on your theme, then were so unsure of yourself that you had to sweat through a close read so as not to blow your lines. Appearing to improvise flashes you onto listeners' minds as an authority, an expert. Playing the puppet by reading a text, or clinging to notes takes you down, peg by peg, until you look even with, or even below, your audience.
Winging your talk enhances everything you say. It magnifies your magic, focuses your clarity, and buttresses your logic. Your stand-alone ability to think on your feet just makes everything you say sound more controlled and resourceful. This excitement you fire by risking your reputation keeps your listeners awake, thus more open-minded to your speech. It also builds into admiration which initiates and underpins any healthy respect. Moreover, when your words are written out and read, the joy and certainty of discovering the real you suffer.
Whatever you have got will look and sound better if you can train yourself to persuade without paper. It's what you do with what you have that matters. Once you are skilled at winging it, your audience will only cherish more whatever you have to say. This has been my experience and I'm sure it will be yours also.
How to PowerPoint Effectively
Although I have revealed my preference, if you insist on using PowerPoint, resist the temptation to read the slides to your audience. This disconnects you from them. However, when you move to a new slide, pause briefly to give the audience time to read the content. Then summarize or make the point in a different way. If the slide is easy to understand, you may proceed as though the words on the slide have already been said. You then can go on to explain and elaborate on what the slide is about.
Use the slides to complement and enhance your presentation. Do not allow them to be your presentation and do not use them as your script. Also, make certain your slide is not too dense. Apply the 50 percent rule twice: Remove half of the slide's content, then look at it again and remove another half. Better yet, plan for no more than three words or a single image per slide. With the exception of your three words, include your Web site address on each slide.
Make sure you have checked and double-checked the slides and the equipment. Misspellings and out-of-order or upside-down slides can quickly detract from your presentation and your credibility.
Forget about animation -- it detracts from the point you are making and, if the audience can't read every word on a slide, discontinue the PowerPoint presentation.
Finally, PowerPoint can be used to produce a professional-looking program that you can revise easily to fit each audience you present to. Unfortunately, presentations that rely on PowerPoint for their content are seldom as engaging as presentations that use PowerPoint to supplement what the speaker is saying. An effective PowerPoint presentation, especially the transitions, takes practice and rehearsal. Even though it worked like a charm the last time doesn't mean it will again. Before subjecting audiences to needless distractions, rehearse with your slides.
Will Barnes, Therapist and Business-Financial Consultant, for over thirty-eight years has worked with individuals, families, and organizations in the areas of personal growth, capacity building, and relationship strengthening. Go to http://www.youcontrol.blogspot.com for more useful information and subscribe to his free, turbocharged monthly newsletter.
By Will Barnes
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