22 Strategies for Effective Business Presentations

Transcription

1 22 Strategies for Effective Business Presentations

2 2 English Is Our Mission HKEnglish.com is committed to providing the highest quality English language services for Hong Kong and Asia. Our experienced, qualified private native English teachers use proven methods to help you learn English, pass exams and develop your business communication skills the easy way. For Individuals We provide Quality English Courses & Business Skills training. Our experienced, internationally qualified native English teachers and expert Business trainers use proven methods to help you learn English quickly. We will work with you to discover your learning objectives, find your problems, build proficiency and activate your English. For Companies We provide Quality Corporate in-house Training Courses. Our Business English training courses develop the language skills and professional soft skills needed to enable your staff to perform more effectively and become more productive. Quality English Tuition and Business Skills Training Courses Business Presentation Skills - Course Code PR10 Business English - Course Code BE103 Business English Writing - Course Code BEW10 Advanced Business English - Course Code BEA10 Pronunciation & Accent Workshop - Course Code PRON10 Social & Conversational English - Course Code SOC10 Registration Hotline "2012"by"HKEnglish.com"and"Hackwood"Interna=onal"Limited All" rights" reserved." No"part"of"this"publica=on"may" be" reproduced," distributed," or" transmifed" in" any" form"or" by" any" means,"including" photocopying,"recording,"or"other"electronic"or"mechanical"methods,"without"the"prior" wrifen"permission"of"the"publisher,"except"in"the" case"of"brief"quota=ons"embodied"in"cri=cal"reviews"and"certain"other"noncommercial"uses"permifed"by"copyright"law." For"permission"requests,"write"to"the"publisher,"addressed" AFen=on:"Permissions"Coordinator, "at"the"address"below.

3 3 Contents 1."Topic"for"the"Speech" 3 2."Prepare"an"Outline"" 3 3."Wri=ng"the"Speech"" 4 4."Prac=ce"the"Speech" 4 5.""Visual"Aids"" 4" " 6."Handouts" 5 7."Calming"Your"Nerves" 5 8."Get"the"Audience s"afen=on" 5 9."Welcome"the"Audience" 5 10."Introduce"Yourself" 6 11."State"the"Purpose"of"Your"Presenta=on" 6 12."Dealing"with"Ques=ons" 6" 13."Speak"Slower"&"Clearer" 6 14."Breathe" 6 15."Talk"to"Individuals"in"the"Audience" 7" 16."Joke,"Laugh,"and"Most"of"All"Smile " 7 17."Plan"Your"Conclusion"but"Make"It"Short" 7 18."Call"to"Ac=on" 8 19."Leave"a"Las=ng"Impression" 8 20."Ques=ons"and"Answers" 8 21."Thank"the"Audience" 8 22."Feedback"&"Learn"" 8

4 4 22 Strategies for Effective Business Presentations When you work in the business world, there will come a time when you will need to have the skills to make an effective business presentation. Some positions will require that you make presentations more frequently than others. So, whether it is only once in a blue moon or every day, everyone needs to have effective presentation skills. This is an essential skill for any business career to progress. Here are 22 tips that should help everyone in being able to deliver effective business presentations. 1. Topic for the Speech No matter what your presentation is about, you need to know the topic of your speech inside out. It should be a subject that you are able to talk about even if you had no notes. When you know a topic this well then the preparation becomes that much easier and delivering it becomes smoother. 2. Prepare an Outline The organization and structure of your presentation is key to its success. You should start structuring your presentation by first preparing an outline prior to writing your speech. This will ensure that your presentation has a clearly defined beginning, middle and conclusion.

5 5 3. Writing the Speech Using your outline, begin to write the speech. You might never need to go by the prepared version of your speech but you still need to have one as it can help with preparing visual aids when needed or can be used as material to hand out. So always have a clean copy of your entire speech or business presentation. If you are more comfortable with using notes when speaking only use them in bullet form, listing the main ideas and messages to reinforce your presentation. If you have to use notes then print them on A6 note cards rather than printing on A4 paper. Keep the cards at waist level when delivering your presentation and in this way your body language will not be obstructed by the physical barrier of A4 size paper. 4. Practice the Speech Good speakers gain the confidence of their audience by rehearsing their speech. If you can memorize the Introduction and give it without notes you will also be less nervous about the remainder of your presentation. In addition, when you know your material that well you will be able to show the audience that you are an extremely competent public speaker. Have notes to go by but don t ever reply upon them entirely. Notes should only be used as a backup plan when you lose your train of thought or concentration; The note-form outline of your speech can quickly get you back on track again. If a problem like this happens, don t beat yourself up over it. Remember that even the very best speakers have times when problems occur. 5. Visual Aids If you plan to use any visual aids, such as a PowerPoint Presentation, make certain that you have all your materials ready to deliver in a suitable format (CD or USB stick) for the equipment you will be using. You also need to know the layout of the room as well as how to use the projector and the location of power outlets and light switches. Never turn your back to the audience and read from the screen. The PowerPoint slides are to aid the audience understand your points as well as for displaying more complex numerical information such as graphs etc. You should always face the audience and only briefly turn to the screen whilst referring to the information on the slides by using a laser pointer or your hand. Also, have a backup plan in case you have an equipment failure and you are not able to deliver your visual aids so that the show can go on no matter what happens.

6 6 6. Handouts If you have any handouts, make sure that you have sufficient of copies and that each person in the audience gets one before you begin. If they have it at the beginning, they can use it for taking notes. You can make handouts of your visual aids, and add a copy of your speech. This will all come together to make a very effective handout. 7. Calming Your Nerves Everyone gets nervous when speaking before an audience - even those who have a career being on stage. Everyone also has a different method of dealing with this problem. Making sure you know your topic & have rehearsed well, taking deep breaths, taking a short walk alone before you speak, running your hands under cold water all of these are methods to help you calm down. You have to find what works best for you. As long as you have prepared and rehearsed well then once you begin your nerves will calm down. 8. Get the Audience s Attention Currently presentations are less formal than they were decades ago. In fact, most audiences today rather like the more informal approach to giving any business presentation. However, there still needs to be a well organized structure to your presentations. You can get everyone s attention by phrases such as Let s get started, If I can have everyone s attention, and If we can start. This way the audience knows that it is time to settle down and get ready for your business presentation. 9. Welcome the Audience You can welcome your audience using phrases such as Thank you for coming today, or Good morning Ladies and Gentleman. Make sure you smile and look around the audience to get eye contact. If possible, greet audience members before they sit down to break the ice. In this way you will also reduce your nerves.

7 7 10. Introduce Yourself The introduction should include your name, what company you are with as well as your function or position with that company. 11. State the Purpose of Your Presentation Why are you giving a business presentation to them? Are you launching a new product or service, introducing a different approach to an old product or service, or selling them a product or service? It is also very important than you let them know at the beginning how long your presentation will last. 12. Dealing With Questions Right at the start, let your audience know how you will be handling questions. Will you be taking questions as the presentation goes along, or will there be a question and answer session after the presentation? Most speakers prefer to take questions at the end to avoid interruptions during the presentation. But no matter how you choose to handle questions, it is vital that the audience knows when they will be able to get answers to any questions that they might have. 13. Speak Slower and Clearly You will completely lose your audience if you are speaking so rapidly that no one can follow you. So speak slower than you normally would. You also need to speak clearly, so that everyone understands you. If you are mumbling or if your speech is hard to follow, you will lose the attention of the audience. Confirm that everyone can hear you by asking the audience directly. 14. Breathe Take it slow and steady, pausing occasionally to take a deep breath. This will help you think better and prevent nervousness.

8 8 15. Talk to Individuals in the Audience Look for familiar faces in the audience and make eye contact with them. It could be members of your team that came with you or the person who is your contact within the company or even someone that you just met. By making eye contact with one-person gives the illusion that you are making eye contact with the entire side of the room that individual is sitting. So find a contact at the left and right of the room as well as up front and on the last row. This will make everyone feel as if you are making eye contact with them and speaking to them personally 16. Joke, Laugh, and Most of All Smile Show your personality. No topic is so serious that you can t be friendly with your audience. Always smile, making a joke when appropriate and don t be afraid to laugh especially at yourself. However, be very careful of cultural differences when making jokes. What may be funny in one country may not be appropriate in another. 17. Plan Your Conclusion but Make It Short The conclusion to your presentation should be very strong as this is the point that everything has been leading up to. It should not only be strong but also positive. The audience should have no doubts that this is the conclusion. Don t ramble an ending that is long can spoil everything that has gone before. You need to be clear about what you want your audience to feel, think, and do as a result of your talk. It is best to not read your conclusion but if you are more comfortable with using notes only use them in bullet form. List your main concluding points and end with one sentence that embodies the underlying message of your presentation.

9 9 18. Call to Action Make the call to action very clear the audience should know exactly what they need to do. Your whole presentation should lead up to the call to action. It is always best to keep eye contact with your audience at this stage. 19. Leave a Lasting Impression Individuals in any audience tend to remember best what they heard last. So prepare and even rehearse your conclusion with great care. Contemplate how you make your conclusion impressive both in substance as well as delivery. This is especially true when your conclusion is a call for action. 20. Questions and Answers If your question and answer session follows the presentation this can be the time to reinforce the message of your speech. Each time you give an answer reinforce your call to action. Concerning Q and A sessions, if you don t have an answer to a question then be honest and tell the person asking that question that you will find the answer for them. Then keep your word to do just that. When all the questions have been taken care of have a tough final statement ready as your one last announcement. Your summation needs to be the very last thing your audience will hear. 21. Thank the Audience Don t forget to thank the audience for their time. Make certain that they know how much you really do appreciate them attending your presentation. 22. Feedback Remember to ask for feedback about your presentation from your colleagues. In this way you can reinforce your confidence and refine your presentation skills to the next level.

10 10 Quality English Tuition and Business Skills Training Courses Business Presentation Skills - Course Code PR10 Business English - Course Code BE103 Business English Writing - Course Code BEW10 Advanced Business English - Course Code BEA10 Pronunciation & Accent Workshop - Course Code PRON10 Social & Conversational English - Course Code SOC10 Registration Hotline