One of the best ways to grab an audience’s attention at the start of a presentation is to deliver a startling statistic or fact. These need to be relevant to the presentation topic and back-up the point a presenter is trying to make. Some of the best sources for statistics are Sunday newspapers. Have a guess at filling in the answers to the statistics below. They were taken from the Observer newspaper on 2^nd February 2003. The answers to these are at the bottom of this newsletter.

• In 1997 US citizens spent $……… billion on soft drinks.

• One in ………. US citizens will visit a fast food restaurant in any given day.

• In the UK the average teenager consumes ………litres of soft drink per year.

• In the UK ……….. cars are left abandoned every year.

• There are over …………….. million unwanted mobile phones in the UK

• Viagra has a worldwide market worth of $....... billion.

• Eskimos have over ………….. different words for water.

• The makes of car most likely to break down in the UK are ………….. and least likely are ………………

• Children in the UK receive an average of £           per week pocket money.

The purpose of an opening or introduction is to capture your audience's attention and keep it. You have three objectives to accomplish:

• Make the audience sit up and listen to your presentation
• Introduce the subject of your presentation
• Establish your credibility quickly

Vital ingredients of an effective opening

• Attention-grabbing statements
• Key points highlighting the topic
• Benefits to the audience (why should they listen to you?)

 Here are some things you could include in your introduction to make it interesting

• Quotations
• Rhetorical questions
• Interesting facts
• Relevant statistics
• Bold statements
• Current events
• Stories and anecdotes

 Here are some examples of opening statements for the following topic:

The objective of my talk is.....

………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………............................

………………………………………………………...…………………………………………………….............................

Who am I talking to? ………………………….………………………………….........................................................................................

………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………..............................

What does the audience need/want to hear?…………….…………………………..…………………………………………………………..….............................

………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………............................

Opening words? (How am I going to get their interest?)

………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………...........................

………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………........................

Prevent objections? (What objections will there be. How will I identify, acknowledge, handle, answer them?)

………………………………………………………...……………………………………………………............................

 Close? (How will I end my talk?)

n    by summarising? …………………………………………………………………………….………..

n    by a quote, statistic etc? …………………………………………………………………………….

n    by directly asking for action? ………………………………………………………………………...

n    by proposing/recommending?………………………………………………………………………...

n    by suggesting alternatives?…………………………………………………………………………...

……………………………………………………………………………………………………...........

Remember to:

n    smile - you may feel nervous but help you to look confident

n    keep eye contact with your audience

n    start well, get better as you end

n    end positively on a high note

n    write your talk as a check list with bullet points

n    keep your visual aids simple but effective

n    stand still and avoid distractions

A General Checklist For Making Presentations

 o  What sort of audience do you expect?                    Numbers................

                                                                                  Type.....................

o  Date of the meeting itself

              of rehearsals

              of preliminary discussions

o  When must your cue cards be ready

o  By when are the handouts required

o  Visual aid details for preparation

o  Practical arrangements

o  Room(s) booked

o  Laptop and computer projector

o  Slide Projector

o  Overhead Projector

o  Different screens

o  Flip charts

o  Paper for Flip Charts

o  Pens for flip charts

o  Pens for Overhead Projector

o  Blackboard/white board

o  Chalks/Felt pens

o  Have we asked what other speakers may require?

o  Room layout agreed

o  Chairs, tables in place

o  Notepads, pencils, ball points, water, glasses, programme of the day, handouts, notes

o  Equipment: microphones and loud speakers tape recorder, video equipment, camera, TV monitor play back recorder (VCR) is this compatible? Cables long enough?

o  Lighting adequate? Controllable, by whom? Can the room be darkened?

o  Ventilation, air conditioning working? Noisy? Comfortable?

o  Coffee breaks, lunches, accommodation for delegates/for speakers

Delivering the Presentation: Your Visual Image.

Your voice never conveys your whole message, nor does your choice of words. A critical part of your presentation success is your visual image: your posture, eye contact, facial expressions, head movements, gestures and dress.

Three parts to a professional image

• Sound like a professional

• Speak like a professional

• Look like a professional

Avoiding distractions in your presentation is essential. Many times I have attended presentations where the presenter had annoying or distracting mannerisms that took my attention away from the ‘message’ and had me concentrating more on the ‘messenger’. Here are some examples:

• Swaying or rocking motion
• Pacing too much
• Dress not appropriate to the situation
• Thumping or tapping on lectern or flipchart
• Staring at notes, floor or ceiling
• Tugging at ear
• Jingling coins in pocket
• Pointing finger at audience
• Slouching or slumped shoulders
• Clinging for life to the lectern

Body Language Tips

• The best way to eliminate negative body language is to be aware of what we do. We should try to be conscious at all times of using positive body language.
• It helps to practise body language.
• For example, practise your stance. Stand with your feet less than shoulder width apart. Don’t lean into the audience, but don’t turn your body away either.
• Use an open posture. Stand upright and not slouched. Keep your shoulders back but keep them relaxed. Don’t fold your arms across your body, or put your hands across your face. Never put your hands in your pockets.
• Make positive eye-contact. Keep regular eye-contact with the audience, but don’t stare at any one individual.
• Practise smiling and using friendly expressions. Get a happy medium - you don’t want to scowl or look too serious, but you don’t want to look inane either.
• Use open gestures. Hand gestures should be made with up-turned open palms.
• Make sure your gestures, movements or facial expressions are natural. Nerves can make us exaggerate our body language which creates the wrong effect.
• If you can, take the opportunity to see yourself perform on video. This is a useful way of getting a critical look at the body language you are using and practise improvements. Alternatively, practise in front of a mirror or in front of a trusted friend.

Body language - some simple rules

• easy eye contact across the whole audience
• relaxed posture
• head up but not tilted at an angle
• face the audience
• arms comfortable
• open gestures with arms/hands
• smile/friendly expression

Answers to Startling Statistics