Would you like to deliver your next presentation like a TED Talk pro?
Imagine the scene….. You’re in the dentist’s waiting room and there is a choice of newspapers and magazines. I believe they are there to make you relax, to take your mind off the imminent horror of staring open-mouthed at your dentist as he tries to ask you how your holiday was when you have a mouth full of cotton wool. As you cast your eye over the day’s headlines - they are calling to you. ‘Please read me’, they say. ‘I’ve got the best story of the day, I’ve got the one you really want to find out more about’. But which one finally makes you submit?
Without even seeing the said article I know what you’ve chosen. No, I’m not a mind reader, but journalists are smart cookies and they know that what everyone wants is a good story with a strong human element. We all need a story we can relate to, written in every day language so we can read it quickly, absorb and digest. So the same rules apply to writing your presentation.
You should write your talk as though it were a conversation. Use colloquial terms, refer to the audience in the singular ‘you’ and make it flow as though you were talking to a single individual. After all, that is what you are doing - the fact that there may be two thousand single individuals in the same place is irrelevant! To each and every member of any size audience you are talking to them alone, so write your presentation for one person.
The starting point for writing your presentation or speech should be your key message that you write down when planning the presentation. This should come very early in your talk and be repeated at least once more, perhaps towards the end. Letting people know early on what your main message is about will help grab their attention and will give you extra confidence as you see interested faces all around you. Your structure plan (please see last blog) will help you write your presentation. Look at this as you write your talk down so that you make sure you are following your own guidelines.
When writing the text itself, write it using words you would normally use. Don’t try and add in any fancy words because you think the audience will be impressed. Only write what you are comfortable with saying. Television newsreaders often re-write stories they are given by reporters so they can put them into words they like saying!
Your presentation will probably go through three or four drafts. After each one, read it out aloud so you can be sure how it will sound. You’ll need to learn it anyway, because you won’t want to use notes when standing up in front of an audience. Reading it aloud also allows you to check timing. Do a word count as you type - three words per second is the average speed of reading in a presentation.
For more advice on giving presentations please see our other blog posts. Similarly, if you or a group of colleagues would like some more advanced (yet fun!) training from experience journalist presenters why not get in touch with the Media First team via their website www.mediafirst.co.uk
James
