Your wordsand sentencesshould be simple and short.
Yo u r eyes are an important link with your audience. Look at
them, measure their reaction and adjust to it. Don’t fret if people
look at their watches; it’s when they start shaking them to see if
they’ve stopped that you should start to worry!
Usehands for gesture and emphasis only. Avoid fidgeting. Don’t
put your hands in your pockets.
Standnaturally and upright. Do not stand casually. Be and look
like someone in command. If you pace up and down like a caged
tiger you will distract your audience. They will be waiting for
you to trip over some equipment or fall off the edge of the plat-
form.
Manner
Relax and show that you are relaxed. Convey an air of quiet
confidence. Relaxation and confidence will come with thorough
preparation and practice. At the beginning of your presentation
look around at the audience and smile at them.
Don’t preach or pontificate to your audience. They will resent it
and turn against you.
Show sincerity and conviction. Obvious sincerity, belief in your
message, positive conviction and enthusiasm in putting your
message across count more than any technique.
USING POWERPOINT
Most speakers rely on PowerPoint to back up their presentations.
The slides are easy to prepare and because they enforce the use of
bullet points they encourage the development of succinct and
easily followed expositions and arguments. They also enable
handouts to be produced easily. But PowerPoint slides can be
over-used, and present a number of dangers which can reduce
rather than enhance the impact of a presentation. The following
are 10 guidelines on their preparation and use.
278 How to be an Even Better Manager