Five steps can help in reducing presentation preparation time
(by Allan Urlis)

Executives in my company's speech coaching seminars often ask "How long should it take me to prepare properly?" and "How many times should I practice my presentation?"

Preparation and practice are the two areas over which the professional has the most direct control.

Speakers should begin by defining the business objectives of their presentation. What do you hope to achieve?

In other words, what do you want your target audience to know? To feel? To do? Now consider the audience: not simply who they are, but what they are concerned about and what emotions are connected to those concerns?

A short but focused amount of time answering these vital questions will speed the message portion of preparation. It will also ensure that your message connects with your audience.

Once these questions are answered, consider the following five-step model. It is an efficient and effective method for developing a presentation that centers on the audience and drives business results.

1. Common ground. Here's where you signal to the audience that you know who they are and what is on their mind. "Before coming here today I spent some time considering the impact of my presentation on you. As I prepared, I became aware that many of you here today are concerned about ..." Building common ground gets your audience to tune in for your talk.

2. Premise statement. This is a short and declarative sentence that is the central message of your presentation. It's the bottom line. Your premise statement contains the fraction of your words that you want your audience to recall days and weeks later. "If you don't get anything else out of my remarks today, I hope you walk away with the following ..."

3. Key supports. Here's where you insert the facts, figures and real examples that provide the evidence to back up your premise statement. This is the evidence that supports your premise statement in unmistakable terms. For most presenters finding 34 key supports for their point of view is no problem; limiting it to three or four is harder.

4. Anecdotes. Anecdotes, illustrations and personal stories make your presentation more memorable. They breathe life and credibility into your message. Great communicators are great storytellers. As you develop the stories that will illustrate your message refer back to your audience analysis for guidance. Find stories that connect to the concerns and emotions of your audience.

5. Call to action. Tell the audience in specific detail what you want them to do with the information you've just shared. Outline next steps, suggest a course of action, ask for the order.

How long this process takes varies depending upon the nature of the presentation.

However, this disciplined approach streamlines the thought process and ultimately saves time.

Okay. The presentation is written. You're feeling confident. Why? Because you've already connected with the audience's needs. You're prepared.

Now the rehearsal, and that means standing up in the privacy of your office, home, hotel room or site of your presentation and actually delivering it from start to finish.

You've practiced your introduction. You've practiced pausing. The timing of your rhetorical questions is well thought out. Are you still a little anxious? Be honest. Of course you are, at least a little bit.

That's good for a couple of reasons. One, it's natural to have some adrenaline before delivering your message. Two, you haven't over-practiced. If you practice too much, you run the risk of becoming bored with your material. If you're bored with it, imagine how the audience feels. That's why we suggest no more than six run-throughs beginning to end, half of these accompanied by any audiovisual materials or slides.

If the presentation is worth your time, then it's worth doing well. Be good to yourself. Block out time for preparation and practice. Really block out time so you can focus. Close your door. Stop taking calls. If it's an emergency, you'll know. Respond to that e-mail? Don't do it. It can wait for a couple of hours. You'll be glad you're protected and controlled.

The Power of Language
The words you select will dramatically impact your audiences reaction -- to both your ideas and your effectiveness as a presenter.

Your word processor has a thesaurus -- learn to use it -- effectively. Use "power" and "command" words to get your audiences attention and to give the impression of confidence and competence.

A few examples: Instead of "I think you will agree" try "I am certain you will agree"
I hope you will consider vs. I recommend you to consider.

Address your audience in second person. "You" is a very powerful word, generally audiences react much better to being addressed as "you" than in the third person as they. "As a participant, you will benefit" vs. Participants will benefit.

Not only should you put a thesaurus to work to find "better" words with more impact, but also to prevent excessive use of the same word over and over again. (Throughout this web site we have suffered from excessive use of the words need, requirement, and solution, even with the thesaurus, we enjoyed little relief, but still we probably reduced the use of "need" be 50%. Other than that, "requirement" and "requisite" make a more powerful impact.

Humor
The right amount of humor - used judiciously, can go a long way to build rapport with your audience, and keep your audience interested and attentive.

As a rule, don't tell jokes for their own sake, drop in your humor where it fits, relating to a point, or a break between sections. Small amounts of humor or a irreverent comment from time to time can go a long way to liven a presentation. Remember, a sleeping audience remembers little.

Don't push your luck! Rehearsing your presentation in front of real people is a great way to test the "acceptability" of your humor.

Quotations
Appropriate quotations can make a noticeable impact on your audience. It's not always possible to find quotes that are directly relevant to your presentation, but it is often easy to find a series of quotes that complement or promote concepts that are part of your presentation.

One presenter I know, in the Multi-level marketing business, likes to put a series of quotes from computer "visionaries" including Thomas Watson (IBM), Ken Olson (DEC), Bill Gates (Microsoft)...in his presentations.

These quotes go back many years:

Thomas Watson (former Chairman of IBM, didn't think computers would ever be popular.

Ken Olson (founder and former president o DEC) couldn't figure out why anyone would want a computer at home.

Bill Gates thought that 640K of memory would be enough for everyone.
With the less than stellar credibility much of multi-level marketing is perceived to have, these quotes which are all "way off the mark" provide a cautionary tale that tells you that perceptions are not always right.

Better still, after the first couple of quotes, the audience is "looking" for more -- they are having an impact on the audience.

Bottom line: Make your Quotations relevant -- and interesting!