Many experienced speakers are struggling as their audiences have gotten younger. They do not know what to do with Millennial audiences and event coordinators do not know what to expect from Millennial speakers either. Being a Millennial myself, I wanted to break it down for you because it isn’t that scary. First off, Millennials are generally defined as Americans born between 1980-2000 (although these dates vary between studies). This generation is America’s largest population increase since the Baby Boomers born between 1946 – 1964. Millennials have grown up with technology in their homes and are quite comfortable as technology advances. Older generations tend to stereotype Millennials as the “Me Generation” because they see a sense of entitlement and narcism. However, they are also known for being community focused and firmly believe in helping the greater good. This belief system comes from their upbringing, including “helicopter parents” that hovered nearby and praised them
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It has been my experience and observation that women presenters tend to be more reserved and self-conscious. Female presenters tend to overthink everything and strive for perfection, even when perfection doesn’t exist. It’s a combination of things that make it more difficult for female presenters to begin, much less finish, a presentation. I have put together my list of advice that female presenters need to know. Don’t let self-doubt creep in. Women are infamous for self-doubting their capabilities and shrivel at the thought of stepping in front of other people to talk. This doubt leads to feelings of inability to perform and allows the mind to wonder how listeners will judge and criticize. Women can do everything that men can do, and sometimes better, you just have to trust yourself that you know your subject matter and are extremely qualified to give this presentation. Overcome the fear of public speaking.
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Many presentation coaches and public speaking books will tell you that if you want to make your presentations better, you need to narrow down your speech to three points. They continue to tell you how to go whittling your talking points to a maximum of three and state that in doing so, you will have a simplified presentation guaranteed for success. This method is known as the Rule of Three, and although I agree with utilizing threes, it does not simplify your message. Here is the critical problem with the Rule of Three – if this is the only attempt to simplify your message, then you risk talking in jargon and high vocabulary that your audience doesn’t understand. Most industries, even the ones you don’t consider to be technical, have a deep vocabulary that consists of jargon, industry acronyms, and vocabulary understood only by those in your industry already. You do
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You have probably heard other presenters say “my presentation went over time, and that’s wonderful” before. For many years, this adage was the measuring tool to gauge a presentation’s success. Presenters thought going over on their time meant they had good presentation skills. I am unable to verify if there was a time when this measuring tool was correct, but these days time is far more precious. In the age of overwhelming information and a million things to do, presenters risk far more than they know by going over on the time allotment. When others enter the room and want to hear you speak, they have sacrificed precious time away from other important things to be receptive to your message. It is stressful for every single audience member when presenters speak all the way to the last second or go over on their allotted speaking time. In addition, you will have the contact
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If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn or Twitter, you’ve probably seen a graphic of a facet of business compared to an iceberg. People use icebergs because the majority of an iceberg’s mass is hidden below the surface of the water. This comparison is used when describing subjects like financial advising or even how to network because of the hidden, behind the scene elements that make that skill or product successful. Let me be the first to say that presentations are like icebergs too! The reason presentations are like icebergs is because the majority of the work happens away from the audience. When developing a presentation correctly, you should spend more time not presenting. The majority of the work for a presentation occurs during the preparation and practice phase, which happens behind closed doors. The only visible part of the process is the actual act of standing in front of others
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Many business professionals today have trouble communicating with prospects and clients because they feel like they need to over-explain themselves; otherwise known as rambling. When you ramble, your result is the opposite of your over-explanation; it repels the attention away from the message. The question is why do business professionals feel the need to over-explain themselves? Not rambling is one of those basic presentation skills that many presenters just don’t have down pat. Rambling happens agnostically across every industry, but is more obvious in the technical fields. Technical professionals work is complicated, and when you have been in the industry for any length of time, you get accustomed to talking with colleagues. When the need arises to explain your work to family, friends, prospects, or clients, suddenly the explanation of what you do for a living is more complicated than it should be so do not ramble. Once again, any line
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When I meet someone for the first time and say that I’m a presentation coach, usually their response is flattering, and they talk how needed a public speaking coach is for businesses because they’ve seen a lot of bad, boring presentations. Almost always, they then ask, “How much does a presentation coach cost?” The answer really varies by market and based on the presentation coach’s experience; however, you’re usually looking at $2,000-10,000. I know that is a broad range and the price also varies depending on the scope of work. Some coaches charge per day, others by the presentation, and some charge a monthly rate. It is not uncommon to see a public speaking consultant charge $2,500 for a half-day session, plus travel costs. Regions like the Northeast United States and in major metro areas like San Francisco and Chicago, things cost more for coaching. In those areas, you probably
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I’ve heard that experts come in two forms, those that have done it and those that research it – the best experts do both. After giving over 1,000 presentations myself and coaching dozens of presenters, I knew my way wasn’t the only way, so I began researching presentation books. What I found was that most presentation books just repeat the same old information over and over. So I began researching things that most wouldn’t consider “presentations” to validate my personal experiences with research including marketing, biological, physiological, and psychological. I’ve included this presentation research in SpeakU, my self-guided presentation skills course. I’m asked all the time what presentation books that I recommend, so here is my official list. (I’ll probably add to it time to time too.) Top 10 Presentation Books You’ve Probably Never Heard Of 10) The Visible Expert by Hinge – The first book I’ve found that cites the benefits
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Most presenters feel the need to rely on a crutch like notes or slides. Using visual aids may not be the best for your presentation, but if you determine that you are going to use them, I’ve developed some suggestions for using visual aids like Powerpoint and Keynote. Tips for Using a Visual Aids Stand adjacent to the screen – I attended an association luncheon where the presenter started on the right side of the screen (same side as the computer), but during the introduction, he took the stage and moved to stand smack dab in front of the projector. His visual aid slides were plastered all over him, and you couldn’t see his face anymore. Quite distracting, the contact person had to interrupt to tell the presenter to move to the side. “Oh,” and he moved to the left side of the screen. He then stopped presenting to look at
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The web has thousands of articles about what NOT to do in presentations. Let me make it easy for you with this master list of what to do in presentations. Here are four steps to make your presentations instantly better: Utilize the available resources and educate yourself about what presentation delivery requires. Video yourself or have a colleague video you for analysis about individual habits such as movement or use of crutch words. Find a source to practice presentations regularly, and consciously avoid your problem areas. Know that it takes time and sometimes an objective point of view, be patient and persistent. 14 Public Speaking Tips Presentations take a lot to master; there are many different pieces that all must fit together to make a speech great. In addition, presentations take a lot of practice to master and even more self-awareness for improvement to continue. Here are fourteen great tips
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