Hi Andrew, > Any tips on how to give presentations and what tools to use > are appreciated.
Keep the words simple. What can look great on the page, can be almost impossible to say, so practice saying it all out loud until you can say the whole thing smoothly without stumbling over words. A few times over should do the trick, plus do the presentation to a friend. It's hellishly embarrassing, but much better than being hellishly embarrassing in front of 50 people! :-) Also, don't plan to say too much. Your top speaking rate should be about 160 words a minute, and this doesn't look like much on the page, and that's the FASTEST you should go, otherwise you'll lose people (also, don't go too slow, no slower than 125 words a minute, otherwise they'll fall asleep - believe me, I know :) This speaking rate (which you should use for writing your draft, and then practice doing the draft in the time allowed), will only allow you to make around 3 points every five minutes, tops, so don't try and cram too much in. Also, say each thing three times: "I was walking down to the shops the other day, and saw this great pair of ski-boots in the shop window. I'd always wanted a pair of ski-boots. Anyway, while I was in the shop trying on these boots......" Also, don't over-prepare. Once you've got your immaculate draft, break it down into reasonable paragraphs, then pick out the key word from each paragraph. Write each of these key words onto one card each, and then use these as prompters during your talk (it also gives you something to hold onto, and don't use paper, as it'll shake). Although you'll have learned your draft, using prompts like this will let you speak naturally. Then there's other stuff; move around, forget about your hands, look people in the eye - but don't worry too much about this kind of thing. Worry about that next time. But do know every slide, backwards. Try and attack each slide with questions of your own - this will reveal weaknesses, eg: Slide 1 || || || Gronk = Punk * 17 || || || Presenter: (thinks) Jesus, I hope they don't ask me about Gronk... (1.2 seconds later...) Awkward Clever Bloke on Front Row: "Can you tell me what 'Gronk' means, and by your inability to answer me, prove to the whole world that I am much better than yow?" It happens every time. If you leave any weaknesses, there's always someone who'll ask you about it, guaranteed. It's telepathy. They can sense your weakness, and know instinctively what you'd least like to answer. Damian Conway is particularly good at tackling this. When I saw him talk recently an audience of over 100 were allowed one question each. He answered every one, as if he'd known what we were going to ask. He probably did this by trying to destroy his own presentation with his own 200 questions, based on his slides, and so was prepared for any eventuality. But the main thing is keep it simple, and use as little technology as you can get away with, to lessen all risk of something out of your control going wrong. A large white paper pad, with 4 large coloured pens is best, if your audience is small enough. There's very little that can go wrong (bulbs, batteries, wires, remote control failure) with this, plus you automatically get lots of movement. Plus, don't plan jokes. There's always some-body who'll be offended - "Let's bomb Russia! :-)" Not good, if that Awfully Clever Bloke in the front row, who enjoys humiliating people, is originally from Minsk. But aside from all that tortuous advice, have fun! :-) HTH :) Rgds, AndyD __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2
