Carol McManus

Because I spent so much of my career in front of an audience I have been asked to write a Tip to help others become more comfortable and effective themselves. The good news is there is no real magic as long as you remind yourself that each and every person sitting in front of you is as human as you are and suffers from their own anxieties in life.

My own personal mantra is to remind myself that each person put their pants (or pantyhose) on one leg at a time that day before they arrived. My second personal trick is to remind myself that they came to hear me because they thought I had something to say. Therefore, it is my responsibility to give them what they came for! The third and most important reminder to myself is that no one is perfect, stuff happens, and it is okay to be human and not be perfect.

Having said all that, let me share a few tips on the topic around the rules I personally follow when I am preparing for a presentation.

1. Make Sure I am Organized

a. Be clear about your objectives - What is the purpose of the session and what should happen when people leave the room

b. Use a handout, PowerPoint presentation, or other media to reinforce the message

c. Check equipment in advance to insure that everything is working

d. Be set up and ready to go before the audience arrives so that you can spend a few minutes introducing yourself to people and begin to establish rapport

2. Keep My Focus on the Audience

a. Build in questions, activities or workshops to keep the audience engaged and actively participating

b. Keep personal war stories to a minimum; keep them short; and make sure they are relevant to the material

c. Determine (in advance if possible) where the audience is coming from and speak to their needs, concerns, and perspectives

3. Don't Try to Include Too Much Information

a. Adults have a short attention span; usually 18-20 minutes. Structure your program so that there is a change in delivery, physical activity, two-way interaction, or media every 20 minutes to avoid boredom

b. Use stories, anecdotes and humor to make your points. It reinforces clinical information in a way that people will remember (and also enjoy) more

c. Keep the amount of information to be conveyed appropriate for the length of the program. (see 5-c below)

4. Be Prepared for Questions and Challenges

a. Anticipate in advance what you think people will ask and be prepared with the answers

b. Assume that you will be challenged and use that as an opportunity to enhance the learning; do not get defensive

c. Rephrase the question to make sure you understand and the rest of the audience has heard the speaker. "So what I hear you saying/asking is..."

d. Include the audience by redirecting the question. "So what do the rest of you think about that?"

e. Never be afraid to say "I don't know."

5. Never Apologize

a. Don't apologize for things you can't control (the lighting, the heat/air conditioning, the parking, etc).

b. Don't draw attention to your mistakes (you skip a slide, you lose a slide, there's a typo on a slide, the flip chart pen doesn't work). Just move forward and correct the problem as discretely as you can. This reinforces the need to be prepared/organized

c. Don't apologize for not covering all the material. If you are properly prepared and you have rehearsed how you will cover the material, you won't run out of time.

d. If you don't know something (see 4-e above), don't apologize for it. Either offer to find out the answer or suggest a possible source where the person asking the question can get their answer.

So what's the real message here? It's simple: we are all here on this earth together to engage, communicate, share, entertain, support, and teach. The best way to do it when you are the one holding a microphone is to take a deep breath, laugh out loud and go out there and have FUN!

If you would like a great resource to help you, I recommend In the Spotlight, Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing by Janet Esposito.

As always, give me your feedback, your suggestions, or your requests. I love to hear from you!