Key Points from “it’s Showtime!”

Key Points from “It's showtime!”

“It's showtime! How to give effective presentations”, written by author and trainer Steve Kaye, Ph.D. is an article that, as the title implies, lists what Kaye considers to be some helpful tips when preparing or giving presentations. In the following, we will go over some of those points as well as why they are indeed useful.

Keep it Simple

Kaye makes a good point about throwing too much information at one’s audience. Confusion may result some members of the audience may tune out the speaker as they focus on other things, such as the clock. Giving only important information, especially that which will have they greatest chance of swaying one’s audience, is definitely a best practice.

Manage your Fear

Do not let fear of making mistakes cause you to be unable to give a presentation. This is important because as the author states people make mistakes and those mistakes are not fatal. Knowing this and accepting it will help you to master your fear.

Fear of Forgetting

Nobody in your audience is going to know if you forgot to mention something, says Kaye. While it may feel like your audience members are able to read your mind and peer into your heart, the truth is that they cannot. In fact, you may turn an unnoticed omission into a noticeable mistake by backtracking and trying to bring up the missed point.

Natural Conversation Style

The best way to convey your message is to use a natural, comfortable conversation style when doing a presentation. From personal experience, I can tell you that this is true. There is nothing more boring for your audience then having some stiff-laced person who is afraid of his or her own shadow conveying information to them in a monotone manner.

Pointless Actions

Fidgeting with eyewear, clothing, documents, pointer, etc. can be very distracting for your audience. Performing these actions can cause your audience members to pay more attention to whatever it is that you are playing with than to your presentation.

Avoid Apologies

Never start your presentation by apologizing for your lack of ability, knowledge, or preparedness. Doing so will cause your audience to immediately have a lack of confidence in what it is that you are trying to convince them of. You will then have to spend extra time trying to regain that confidence.

Have a Goal

What is it that you are trying to accomplish with the presentation? You have to be sure that you have a goal and that your entire presentation is built around that goal. If