One of the key skills a manager must master is to have the ability to communicate effectively. This skill is invaluable when it comes to giving presentations.

When you watched the great speakers of our time they stepped up to the podium with an air of confidence. They then, proceeded to deliver an amazing spellbinding speech that ends with a rapturous applause. They make it look so easy. Even for the greatest speakers of our time this ability to communicate effectively did not happen overnight. It was a skill that they honed and prepared for.

Therefore, if you want to be an effective speaker and presenter you will been need to prepare and practice. The following tips will help you do this:

1. Identify your audience

This is the most important point as what you say and how you say it will be determined by the audience you are presenting to. The information that you are presenting must be relevant to them or else it will be a waste of time for everyone.

2. Determine your objective

Work out what you want to achieve with the presentation. For example, are you trying to influence potential clients to give you a new account or persuading the Managing Director to give you a bigger budget. Your objective will define the approach that you need to take. Begin by writing down the main purpose, the main points relating to the purpose, your target audience and structure the presentation to give it the greatest impact.

3. How you present

This will be determined a lot by the amount of time that you have available to present. If you have more time then you can include more details. However, with longer presentations you need to work harder at keeping your audience’s attention. Therefore, you may need to break your presentation in to sections and combine visuals or a video to prevent people’s minds from wandering.

4. Presentation structure

Outline the main points of your presentation and under these main points include any supporting evidence. At this point you may want to think about how you can include graphs are photographs to support certain points. When you have this completed you can then develop the introduction and the conclusion of your presentation. Your introduction should set the tone of the presentation and communicate to the audience what they will learn from it. Your conclusion should sum up the main points and reinforce the main purpose of your presentation.

It is a wise thing to plan what you will be saying and doing before your presentation starts. Even more important be cognizant of what is going on in the customers’ mind during the presentation. You want to make the prospect want to own what you are presenting. During the presentation keep these things in mind and be aware of them.

Try to find out what their needs are:

You must find out the hot button, the most important motive that would cause the prospect to buy. Is it convenience, pride of ownership, accuracy etc.?
What is the prospects biggest headache or his greatest weakness in what he is doing now?
How is he doing what he is doing now?

Explain Benefits
Here you show clearly how each of the major benefits applies to his business. How will what you are presenting benefit him, help him obtain more profits, provide greater convenience, perhaps more or better information.

Proof- Offer it.
Are your claims backed up by evidence? Does what you are demonstrating fit his needs? You can use testimonials, user lists, literature, portfolios.
Is there anyone near that the prospect can call or visit to support your claims? ( Careful here, before you do this make sure the person you recommend is on your side and will support, not hinder you.)
Can you compare the present way things are being done to what you are presenting. Emphasize the benefits of using what you are presenting and prove it? Try the split T method, Column A what is being done now. Column B how it will be improved.

Close-Ask for the order
A gentleman who was old, wise and monumentally successful when I was just starting out would say one thing to me while I passed his desk on the way out of the office “Do not forget to ask for the order”. Did you get agreement on several points or on the main point – did you hit the hot buttons?
Did you answer all questions and handle all objections that were raised?
A good way to close is to sum up each of the agreed upon points and ask for the order.

Trying to envision these things before the presentation starts is helpful but keeping them in mind during the presentation is what will give you the best chance for success.

Oh and let me add this,” Do not forget to ask for the order”.

When I give a presentation, should I use my notes?

This is a commonly posed question. Let me start by saying there is nothing wrong with using notes, although if you watch a TED Talks speaker you will notice they present without the use of slides, visual aids or notes. However, not all of us are aiming to be a world class speaker. In my opinion, using notes is far preferable to memorizing your speech. If something unexpected happens and you lose your place, you can find yourself in a ‘panic’ situation where everything you ever knew about your topic flies out of your head. It can also be difficult to come across as authentic if you are repeating the same message, word for word.

If you are going to use notes, there are some things you should think about.

1. Don’t try to hide the fact that you are using notes, but don’t necessarily draw attention to it either. Type in large font. The last thing you want to do is fumble with your glasses, so you can see what your notes say.

2. Keep to one page or one index card so you don’t need to shuffle or rearrange them.

3. Put your notes on a lectern or table. This way you can pause to refer to them without anyone knowing what you are doing.

4. Be comfortable with pausing. You may find yourself distanced from your notes and have to walk over to the lectern.

5. If you don’t have a table or lectern at your disposal, put your paper on a portfolio or heavy notebook and carry that. It is common to feel nervous when talking in front of people and it is common to find yourself shaking. The tiniest movement will be easy to see if you are holding only a piece of paper. This is not the way to instill confidence. The weight of the portfolio will help to keep your notes still.

6. Never speak while you are glancing at your notes, unless you are reading a quote or statistics Notes can limit interaction and eye contact with your audience, so pause when you are looking down and then resume speaking when you can re-establish eye contact.

7. Be wary of using slides as your notes. When you are nervous you may find yourself turning towards your slides and beginning to read them. Slides are meant to support you not the other way around.

The system I follow when creating a presentation is as follows.

1. Write the speech word for word.

I like to read what I’ve written as I go along. What works fine on the printed page for our eyes, doesn’t necessarily sound good to our ears.

2. Rearrange the ideas if they don’t seem to flow, or fail to make logical sense.

3. Highlight key words for idea and story prompts.

4. Create PowerPoint slides if they are needed.

5. Practice, practice, practice.

6. If you choose to use notes create them from the key words you highlighted.

If you decide not to use notes, it is much better to memorize the flow of your presentation, as well as key stories and then talk from the heart choosing your wording and phrasing as you go.

Notes can be an important safety net. Taking a moment to collect your thoughts, sip some water and glance at your notes won’t take anything away from your presentation, or your credibility as a speaker.

Should you use notes? The decision is yours. But if you do, use them wisely.