Dear {{FirstName}}

1. Presenting Without Fear - All You Need To Know.

Profile - Trudi

If you've attended our presentation skills training lately and I was not facilitating personally, you will be familiar with the professional manner in which Trudi has guided you through your paces to become a better, more skilled and persuasive presenter.

She combines her expertise in education and training, and her qualifications as a SAQA registered Assessor, Moderator and Verifier, with extensive experience in business (sales, marketing and management) to ensure that delegates are able to understand the theory, apply and internalise it and leaves as vastly improved presenters.

"I cannot tell you the kick it gives me to see the difference in people before and after the initial two days. I don't think there is a programme around that produces such tangible results."

Trudi will be facilitating the November/December year-end round of "Mind Blowing Presentations" programmes.

2. What will they think of me if I fail?

*feature presentation skills article November 2007*

This question rests in the back of every speaker's mind before they deliver a presentation. And if it's not there, you can be sure that disaster is not far away. Having conducted hundreds of speaking engagements, I know that no matter how well prepared you are, there are dozens of possible ways that your presentation can be undone or affected. Here are just a few examples:

• Delegates eating, intoxicated or drinking alcohol
• Waiters clearing plates while you're speaking
• Poor lighting on speaker (this can be in a number of guises, like a bright floodlight in the face, too dim etc)
• Light on the screen making visual presentation difficult to see
• Poor sound quality from microphone, or feedback (any number of ways this can happen)
• Large audience and no amplification
• Audience seats uncomfortable
• Seating configuration inappropriate (round tables or pillars in the room)
• Access to venue provided late, hence rushed set up
• Vital equipment missing (extensions, cables or adaptors)
• PA system arriving late
• People walking in and out during preserntation.
• Interruptions
• Power outage
• Outside noise like heavy trucks driving past or aircraft taking off nearby
• Venue near or around a building site

Some of these circumstances are beyond the speaker's control, and can have a harrowing effect on the speaker's equilibrium, especially if it is a new presentation resulting in normal levels of anxiety in the speaker. Some occur before, and others during the presentation. The most critical response is to remain calm, and resolve to not let these problems get to you. Be firm in your requirements and do not focus the audience's attention on the problems you are encountering. Then provide honest, unemotional feedback afterwards.

But some of these potential pitfalls are well within your control., and you need to ensure that you have them covered, by proper planning up front. However, it is more often than not a presenters self imposed fears that create the most pressure.

Your very first obstacle, one which is primarily rooted in fear, is the obsession we humans have with what others think of us. It is an obstacle so huge and powerful that even the most seasoned speakers remain stricken, and sensitive to the opinions of others, particularly when reviewing feedback afterwards.

Assuming you are the world’s best and most engaging speaker, it is likely that approximately 3% of the people that see you will not like at least some aspect of what you say or do. This opinion stems from extensive research of speakers, trainers and presenters which indicates that consistent ratings of over 96% are rare, and 97% or more virtually unheard of. One is thereby released, along with everyone else, from the burden of being perfect.

In most cases, you will be presenting on a topic in which you have expertise, therefore if you have structured your presentation adequately, you are prepared, and you've rehearsed a few times, you will already have a good idea of the possibility of success prior to going live.

It is also important to obtain information on the audience you will be addressing, so that you can put your presentation in context - this step applies to both well rehearsed presentations and new ones.

Whether you are using PowerPoint or not, I recommend that you practise with cue cards so as to become familiar with your flow. You can then decide whether or not you need them in the presentation itself. If you do need notes during your live presentation, cue cards look far more professional than struggling with sheets of A4 paper flapping about!

Avoid cramming your presentation with too much information. Rather have a few key points and cover them properly than have too many and have to rush through all of them - this equates to a poor and unconvincing presentation and therefore a waste of everyone's time, including your own! The perfume principle coined by Coco Chanel applies here - "Less is More!"

Make your presentation interesting and varied. Spending too much time on one point and then not enough on another creates imbalance, especially if you waffle on. In your quest to do well, ask yourself how you would feel, sitting in the audience and listening to you. Try videoing your presentation and playing it back to yourself - you'll soon have the answer - and some additional practice.

You also need to remind yourself that there will always be someone with a better voice, a more clever structure or even a superior product to you. When a football team wins the league, they seldom do so without losing a few matches along the way. Although the losses hurt, they keep us sharp. Fortunately, this is not a competition.

If your last presentation bombed and you didn’t get the business, there’ll be another day, another audience and another presentation. People get over you quite quickly and move on. You should do the same, but not without learning from the experience and applying your lessons to next time. Releasing yourself from others opinions is a major step towards speaking and presenting confidently. You will get better the more you persevere.

You need to protect your confidence and your resolve to get up and do it again and again. Only this way will you be able to eventually present like a true professional. Is there any other way to go...?

Paul du Toit

Professional Speaker, Mindset Shifter, Presentation Skills Expert, Facilitator, Coach, Long Distance Runner... and addicted to Dadhood.

3. The Year-end Presentation Skills Schedule

Mind Blowing Presentations, our 2-day introductory presentation skills course will be facilitated countrywide from mid November to mid December 2007. For online enquiries or bookings go here. We take a maximum of 12 delegates per programme. These are the dates and venues:

• Johannesburg 14-15 November, the Conference Park, Rivonia, Sandton
• Gaborone 21-22 November, the Grand Palm Hotel
• Cape Town 26-27 November, Central CT, venue being finalised
• Windhoek 27-28 November, the Safari Hotel & Conference Centre
• Durban 28-29 November, the Elangeni Holiday Inn, Snell Parade
• Port Elizabeth 3-4 December, the Summerstrand Hotel
• East London 5-6 December, the BLue Lagoon Hotel, Beacon Bay
• Bloemfontein 10-11 December, Kopano Nokeng
• Johannesburg 12-13 December, the Conference Park, Rivonia, Sandton

Our next "Day 3" will be on 12 November at the Conference Park, Rivonia, Sandton - we have just a few places left.

Congruence Training (Pty) Ltd is a recognised national leader in presentation skills training. For more info including in-house rates, please visit www.presentationskills.co.za

4. Professional Presentations Using PowerPoint 19 November Sandton

Facilitated by Dion Rachelson, this course focuses on using the features in PowerPoint to articulate points in an exciting, short and relevant manner. It is aimed at individuals who are either giving presentations (so they can understand the capabilities of PowerPoint and know what features are available) as well as those who are putting presentations together (so thaey can get the practical skills to do so).

The aim of this course is to allow you to develop memorable and impactful presentations which are:

• High quality - relevance, understanding of target audience, right emphasis etc.
• Professional - technically presented in the required businesslike fashion.
• Impactful - leave the audience with something to remember.

The course is highly interactive and includes:

1. Planning / presentation tips
2. Starting a New Presentation
3. Design templates and Slide Master
4. Adding a New Slide
5. Adding Text / Pictures / Sound / Movies
6. The Three Views
7. Creating Speaker notes
8. Inserting diagrams and Shapes
9. Arranging slides
10. Slide Transitions
11. Animations
12. Linking an Excel Chart / Spreadsheet
13. Printing handouts and notes
14. Running a slide show
15. Tips and tricks

Venue: The Conference Park, 43 Homestead Road, Rivonia, Sandton. To enquire please phone us on 0860 503 191 or +27118043520 if from outside RSA.

5. Resources: what you'll find at www.presentationskills.co.za

• Bite size 25 second presentation tips
• Articles covering various aspects of presenting
• Programmes on learning how to present including course outlines
• Public course schedule
• Enquiries/booking form
• The Congruence approach
• Day 3 prework
• Links to other useful sites

If you've seen someone deliver a "less than convincing" presentation lately, this edition of the Congruence Newsletter is a good one to forward to them. Don't be shy - they may thank you!