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Understanding Audience, Why It Is Important for Your Presentation

September 24, 2013 by Muhammad Noer 2 Comments

Who is your audience?

Presentation is made to be presented in front of the audience. A specific audience. Every presentation has its own specific and different audience. You need to deal with them differently.

Understanding your audience—people who will come to attend and listen to you—will help you to understand how they process the information and what they want to hear from a presentation.

This is very important, not only in constructing the content, but also in making adjustments to the entire design of the presentation, to help you influencing the audience effectively.

If we look at the three interrelated components in a presentation, one of the most important key in a presentation is the audience. You are there to give a presentation and create a communication process for them.

Recognizing Your Audience is Very Important

Understanding your audience is a key to create and deliver a great presentation. You cannot offer something interesting to your audience unless you know who they are. You have to know what they need and want from your presentation.

Its hard to expect an effective communication process if you don’t know their point of view when they are listening to you.

As presenter, you will find it difficult to relate yourself with them. Your audience will also have difficulties to understand you.

It can create a situation that will leads to frustration: You are frustrated because you can not make them understand, and they are frustrated because it is difficult to understand you.

You will not encounter this situation if you know your audience well. Your job will be much easier, because you know exactly what they want. You can choose which information should get across and which one is not necessary. Convincing the audience will becomes much easier too, because you understand what factors that influences them to take action.

Recognizing the audience is not just knowing that they are your boss, co-workers, students, or a group of society. Knowing the audience includes knowing their name, their position in the organization, what decision they make, and what they need from your presentation. And, more importantly, why they come to your presentation.

Recognize your audience. This is what distinguishes a great presenter from an ordinary one.

The first thing a great presenter will do is identifying their audience. Then use these valuable information to design a relevant and effective presentation.

Ordinary presenters, that often deliver a monotonous and ineffective presentation feel that it is not important to find out in detail who their audience is. They simply give the same presentation to different audiences.

Every communication is unique. And presentation is a communication. Your audience and the situation surrounding the communication process will influence it’s effectiveness.

Who is the Audience of your presentation?

Before starting to prepare a presentation, find out who will present in your presentation. More information you have will help your readiness to act in a presentation.

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “He who knows his enemy and himself well will not be defeated in a hundred battles. He who knows himself but not his enemy, will have an even chance of victory. He who does not know himself and his enemy, is bound to suffer defeat in all battles.”

In short, Sun Tzu said: “A person who recognize himself, recognize his opponent and recognize the battlefield, will win in every battle.”

A presentation is a battlefield of communications. You want the audience to accept and understand your message as good as possible.

That’s why you have to recognize your strength as a presenter, recognize your opponent (audience and what they expect), and recognize the battlefield (media communication, situation surrounding the presentation, and the specific approach that you may need). With all of this you are ready to win every presentation.

What You Need To Know From the Audience?

We have summarized here several things you need to know about your audience:

Who will present to your presentation?
What is their position in the organization?
What is their educational background, or their job?
What is their level of knowledge about the topic you will deliver?
What is their learning style?
What they like to hear and what they don’t?
What is their purpose in listening to your presentation?
Why they need to listen to you?

Now, you know why understanding the audience is so crucial in a presentation.

Don’t forget that the first thing you have to do every time you prepare a presentation is recognizing your audience. It will help you a lot in creating content and designing the most appropriate communication for them.

What is Presentation?

July 31, 2013 by Muhammad Noer 4 Comments

You have heard many times about presentation.

But do you know what exactly presentation is?

Presentation is a form of communication. In presentation, you communicate a message in an integrated way by using voice, image, and body language.

Hovland, Janis and Kelly define communication as follows:

“The process by which an individual (the communicator) transmits stimuli (usually verbal) to modify the behavior of other individuals (the audience)”

Three Components of Communication

Based on that definition, there are three key components in delivering a good communication:

Communicator
The message and media used
Receiver (audience)

A good communicator needs to craft a good message, using the right media in order to enable the receiver get it.

Successful Communication

Successful communication occurs when the audience accepts and understands a message exactly the same as what is intended by the communicator.

Is it possible to transfer a message 100% similar to what was intended by the communicator?

In theory, of course it is possible.

Well, this could be achieved if the communicator using the right media, the right delivery method, and at the right time. All of this required to minimizes the possibility of information deviation.

But that’s in theory.

In practice, it is impossible. In reality, there are so many variables that make a message or idea is not received 100% the same by the receiver. During the transfer of the message, part of information would be lost in the process.

Therefore, your job as a good communicator and presenter is to minimize the information distortion. To make the information well received by the listeners.

What is The Purpose of A Presentation?

What is the purpose of a presentation?

At least there are two main purpose of presentation: to inform and to persuade.

1. To Inform

We present something to share information. To make people understand what they didn’t know before. Presentation to inform will need to be delivered using a good and clear message. A message that is easily understood by the audience.

2. To Persuade

Most presentation falls in this area. We present something to convince other people to do, buy, or take action that we want.

A sales person will use his presentation to convince other people to buy products or services he sells.

A fundraiser will use his presentation to convince prospective donor to donate their money.

A politician will present to convince people to take action and choose him for the next election.

When you use presentation to persuade or convince, then you need to touch not only the logic, but also the emotion of the audience.

Do it right and you will make the audience taking action that you want.

Presentation Slides

What’s on your mind when you heard about “presentation”?

If you are like most people, you might think about slides. Don’t get trapped into the fallacy that presentation is slide and slide is a presentation.

In modern world, people use slide as a visual aid during presentation. Slides has become the most common tools for a presentation.

But remember, you are the presenter, not the slide.

The slide is only the aid. There are many other tools you can use such as: flipchart, sample of product, demonstration etc.

So, please design a good slide, but don’t forget it is your job to make sure the message get across effectively to the audience.

Presentation and Business

If you are a professional in business, you might use presentation in frequently basis. You need to make a slide deck to report a project. You need to give a presentation in front of key decision maker.

Good presentation skills will help a lot in your success in professional life. Therefore, master the skills of presentation starting from structuring your idea, creating a visual slide, and to deliver it in a convincing way.

How To Make A Good Presentation

If presentation is very important, then how to make a good presentation?

The answer is easy. Make sure your audience understand your message and take action after attending your presentation.

There are three component to make a good presentation: content, design, and delivery.

1. Content

Presentation is about structuring your thought and share it to other people. Make sure you understand what you want to communicate and why. This will help you to define what message to be included and how to deliver it.

Think about your subject and prepare a good structure that help people to understand what is the problem and why they should listen to you and take action on your advice.

2. Design

Since most presentation nowadays will be accompanied by using PowerPoint slides, it will be really helpful if you are able to design a good slide.

How to make a good slide design?

The answer it makes it Keep It Simple and Straight.

Put on thought on a slide, use a strong visual such as picture or diagram, and create a focus so people will understand easily what you are trying to convey.

3. Delivery

Last one, a presentation is made to be delivered to the audience. Learn how to deliver it in a convincing way. If you have good content and good design, this job will be a lot easier.

Practice your presentation so you are able to deliver it smoothly. Great presenter like Steve Jobs practice a lot before the actual session. Practice some technique from public speaking to help you connect with the audience.

Definition of Presentation

Back to the first question, what is presentation?

After reading this article, you can now confidently tell people that presentation is communication.

It is an integrated communications made through sound, image and body language to inform and persuade your audience.

The Best Presentation Books That Can Make You a World Class Presenter

July 26, 2013 by Muhammad Noer Leave a Comment

People often ask me about what books they should read to enhance their presentation. Books that will help them to be a world class presenter.

After reading so many books, I confidently recommend 9 of the best books in presentation for your reference. Learn the book and practice the lessons from these best books. Undoubtedly, your presentation skills will improve and you will be a remarkable presenter that will impress your audience.

1. The Non Designer’s Presentation Book – Robin Williams

The main reason why I begin with Robin Williams’ book is because of its simplicity. In this book, Robin explains the basic principles of a good design and how to apply it on creating good slides.

You don’t have to be a designer to be able to design attractive and communicative slides.

In The Non – Designer’s Presentation Book – Principles for Effective Presentation Design, Robin explain CRAP approach (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity). This concept is very powerful. You can easily remember and implement it directly when creating your presentation slides.

If you are interested in learning more, I also suggest you to read “The Non Designer’s Design Book – Design and Topographic Principles for the Visual Novice”. This is Robin’s most famous and the best book, which explains basic principle in design for those who are not designers like you and me. Additionally, you can learn the typography aspects such as choosing the right font, size and using colors.

Get The Non- Designer’s Presentation Book at Amazon.Com

2. Slideology – Nancy Duarte

If you have watched The Inconvenient Truth, you must certainly agree that Al Gore has delivered a remarkable presentation. In this film, Al Gore was able to bring up an issue and make it very important.

The team who designed presentation for Al Gore was Nancy Duarte, the writer of Slideology –The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentation

This book summarizes almost the entire Nancy’s experiences as a communication consultant at Duarte Design. Interestingly, Nancy has been able to incorporate the corporate presentation approach which is mostly boring with the aesthetical design that makes the message comprehensible and visually beautiful.

Nancy teaches us how to focus on ideas rather than on slides. This book also guides you how to create diagram and present data in an interesting way. You will learn how to present a complex business issue and make it visually simple and understandable.

Get The Slideology at Amazon.com

3. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs – Carmine Gallo

Steve Jobs is one of my favorite presenters. He is the founder of Apple and also known as the great inventor in the 21^st century for many phenomenal products such as iPod, iPhone and iPad that people use every day.

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs – How to be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience shows you the secrets behind Job’s great presentation.

Carmine Gallo conscientiously analyses all presentations delivered by Steve Jobs during his entire career. He writes down the techniques used by this great presenter. The way how Jobs creates headline, how he divides story into three sections, incorporates the demonstration into presentation, and generates momentum to amaze the audience.

I strongly recommended this book, particularly if you hold a high position in the company and you wish to deliver an inspirational corporate presentation like Jobs.

Get The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs at Amazon.com

4. Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds

I shall pay respect to Garr Reynolds who has influenced my way of thinking on presentation. He teaches us how to present slides from different angle, rather than the ordinary way. He also persistently goes against the traditional point of view about slides.

Garr who owns the Presentation Zen Blog, explains the philosophy and the culture principles practiced in Japan and Zen, particularly on design approach.

In his book of Presentation Zen- Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, Garr points out the importance of simplicity, visual strength and harmony.

Frankly, I might say that this book is slightly difficult compare to the Robin Williams’ one which is simple and to the point. But, if you want to grasp the aesthetical art and to learn how to make presentation slides like the world class designer, then I suggest reading this book.

You can learn more from Presentation Zen Design – Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations which is also written by Garr Reynolds who resides in Japan.

Get Presentation Zen (2nd Edition) at Amazon.com

5. Presentation Secrets – Alexei Kapterev

Presentation Secrets – Do What You Never Thought Possible with Your Presentation by Alexei Kapterev is one of my favorite books. This book explains completely about presentation from many approaches, starts from the story, slides and the how to convey it.

Alexei is not a designer such as several writers mentioned previously. He even started to focus on presentation in the last few years. However, the book he has written describes how to create and to convey a good presentation.

In this book he tells his recent and previous experiences. Moreover, Alexei is known as the writer of the famous “Death by PowerPoint” which also talks about presentation. He is now working as a consultant and teaching visual communication in Graduate School of Business Administration, at Moscow State University.

Get the Presentation Secrets at Amazon.com

6. Beyond Bullet Points – Cliff Atkinson

Could you make a presentation without using boring bullet points? Hence, this book will prove that you can do it.

One of the strength of this book is it explain presentation structure as unity. You can also separate your slides if you intend to convey your presentation completely or only as a summary.

In Beyond Bullet Points – Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate and Inspire, Cliff teaches us the simple way to observe flow of presentation from the audience point of view. He encourages you to create story based on the audience’s perception. Then move the audience from current condition to the better one.

Cliff is also a speaker and a consultant who has been helping many prominent lawyers and Fortune 500 companies. He created a presentation design which had successfully convinced the Juries in a court and won the file suit that was worth of $ 253 million, in 2005.

Get the Beyond Bullet Points Book at Amazon.com

7. Sticky Presentation – Ang Tian Teck

This book explains how to create an effective presentation design, so that, it will give lasting impressionfor the audience. Ang Tian Tek is a Singaporean who becomes a consultant and trainer for many companies in this city country.

Sticky Presentation – A Different Approach to Presentation Design and Delivery will teach you the concept and the “sticky” approach. It shows you how to convey ideas that could stick and get into the mind of your audience.

This book is unique, because it does not follow the usual format. Reading this book feels like watching a set of slides and practical tips presented in interesting designs.

Get the Sticky Presentation at Kinokuniya Singapore

8. The Visual Slide Revolution – Dave Paradi

Those who use presentation to sell ideas, products or services to decision makers, I highly recommend Dave Paradi’s book The Visual Slide Revolution – Transforming Overload Text Slides Into Persuasive Presentations. Dave Paradi is a professional and a speaker who has been invited frequently by Fortune 500 companies. This book would be useful for businessperson who deals everyday with data and numbers or for a manager who makes a presentation every week. This book tells you how to design powerful slides using a clear and simple technique. Most of the samples are coming from the corporate world.

Perhaps the slides used as examples are not as attractive as those in other books. But don’t make a wrong conclusion; you will learn so many useful things from this book. For instance, you will learn how to show data changes visually, how to explain complex process in a simple way, and how to choose the right diagram to explain complicated data.

Get The Visual Slide Revolution at Amazon.com

9. Presentasi Memukau (Amazing Presentation) – Muhammad Noer

Not many good books about presentation available in Indonesian language. You could find books that show you how to make slide, but it focus merely on the technical aspect of using PowerPoint. There are other books that teach you technically how to speak in public, but they don’t explain how to make use of visual communication in a presentation when you are in front of the audience.

To overcome this issue, I wrote a book which contains thorough explanation about presentation. This book had been prepared after having accomplished necessary matters. Such as doing research based on valuable resources relating to presentation subject, watching the video of remarkable presentations by great presenters and delivering presentations including the one at the TEDx Jakarta. Hence, I specially present this book for all the loyal visitors of Presentasi.net.

Presentasi Memukau (Amazing Presentation) – Bagaimana Menciptakan Presentasi Luar Biasa (How to Create a Remarkable Presentation) explains comprehensively the aspects that you should acknowledge in order to deliver a great presentation.

You can freely download this book, but other books will require payment. This intention is for good cause, which aims to educate anyone. Hopefully, this book will be a valuable inspiration for presenters in Indonesia to be able to deliver a world class presentation. We are in the process of translating this book into English so you can also enjoy it.

Those are the selected books about presentation that I recommend. Collect and read those best books in presentation. You will learn many things to be a capable presenter who could make a world class design and perform like presenters at TED.

How to Make a Good and Convincing Presentation?

July 4, 2013 by Muhammad Noer 3 Comments

Are you a student who often has to give presentations in front of your teacher or professor? Or an employee who often has to give presentations in front of your clients or your boss?

Well, whoever you are, I am sure you have experienced nervous or anxious when you have to give a presentation or speaking in front of the public.

A public opinion poll about fear reveals that fear of death stand at the second place of the list after the fear of public speaking that stand at the first place. A result that shows us about just how many people who afraid to speak in front of the public.

Actually, giving a presentation or speaking in front of a public is not as scary as many people imagine. As long as you prepare the presentation properly and willing to practice sufficiently, you will be a able to make a good, convincing and memorable presentation.

Here are some tips that you can use to make a convincing presentation. These tips are based on my experience in giving presentations and public speaking, as well as some presentations training I have attended.

1. Set the goal of your presentation

Every presentation must have a goal. You present a product to make your client buy it. You present business plan proposal to get support and approval from your boss. You explain a topic that you have mastered to make people understand it.

In general, the purpose of presentation is one of these two things: giving information (informative) or persuade the audience to do something (to persuasive).

Goal setting is important because it will determine the way you prepare and deliver the presentation. Presentation to inform will be different than presentation to convince.

An informative presentation need to be designed as informative as possible. The purpose is to help your audience who doesn’t know the topic at all before they attend your presentation become well informed after leaving your presentation.

A persuasive presentation should be able to touch the emotional side of the audience so they willing to change their attitudes as well as encourage them to do something such as: approve your idea, buy your product, or supporting what you’ve done or what you will do.

2. Know your audience

If you don’t know it you won’t love it, a saying that also applied in presentation. Take your time to find out who will come to your presentation. What is their position in the organization, what they expect from your presentation, what is their education background, what is their learning style, and so on.

This is important because basically a presentation is delivering some materials to an audience. Even if you think you have done the best, you can’t expect that the audience that hears you always have the same thought.

By identifying the audience you will be able to decide your presentation approach. Maybe one of your audiences is an important person in the organization who likes graphics and figures. Showing good graphics along with explanations for the numerical data will be a plus. Maybe your prospective audience is a visual learner. She will be pleased with images, diagrams and concrete examples. Then you can decide to add more images into your slides.

In another occasion you might have audience with kinesthetic learning style. Demonstrating something in front of people like this will give a stronger impact. If necessary, you can bring the product or anything you can use as a model during the presentation.

And if you find your audience consists of people with a mixture of learning style, just combine all approach proportionately.

3. Make a presentation framework

In general, a presentation consists of three parts; opening, content, and closing.

Opening part is a place where you can give an early description of the presentation topic and goal. Content is a part where you can explain your materials structure, starting with the background, problems, and solution you want to offer. And the closing part consist of your summary for the topic and a call for action to the audience, which could be buying your product, accepting your idea, or a better understanding about your topic.

As the first step in making the framework, you can create a mind map to describe the main ideas or keywords of anything you will explain in your presentation. Mind mapping will make you easier to see the whole description of your presentation and the main points that should be delivered so that the audience will completely understand and accept it.

In your mind map be sure to pay a lot more attention to the opening and closing part. These two parts is more important than the other, because it will be remembered most by the audience as well as the opportunity for you to get their attention. But it doesn’t mean that the other part is not important.

Some methods you can use in the opening part are asking question, giving a quote, statement, story, or humor. If you think it is necessary, you can memorize it. A good opening that flowing easily will build-up your self-confidence to go to next step of your presentation.

Closing part is a place where you summarize the substance of the whole presentation. This part is very important because it is your chance to give something that will always be remembered by the audience after they leave the room. Be sure to prepare it well.

4. Prepare presentation slides and other visual aids.

It is hardly to find a presentation without any PowerPoint slides or similar programs these days. To prepare a good slide there is only one principle, “Keep It Simple”. Why? Your audience wants to hear about a complicated things in a simple way. Not the other way around.

Please note that the slide presentation is a visual aid, not the presentation itself. “You are the presenter, not the slide.” It is you that will determine attractiveness of your presentation. As long as the visual aids are in line with the messages you give verbally, you can use it. But if this aid makes the audience more confused instead, don’t use it.

A principle you need to know in preparing slides is; display only the main and significant point. Never make a slide that display detailed information and put in everything you would say. This will make your audience get bored easily. They will prefer to read the slides and no need to hear your explanation anymore. Your presentation will miss the goal.

Here are some tips to make an effective slide:

Don’t use too much text on a slide
Use images, diagrams and tables to explain a concept, data and facts
Don’t make a complex design because it will be harder to understand in a short time and tends to make the audience weary and not focus on what you are saying.

I will explain about how to make an effective slide specifically in this posting.
Remember that slide is not the only aids in a presentation, there are many other tools that you can use such as: flipchart, product samples, videos, and even your own body language. If you decide to use it, just prepare it carefully.

5. Practice

Practice make perfect. This also apply in preparing an important presentation. The more you practice the more skilled you are. It will be a good idea to invite your friends to listen to your presentation. Ask them to give comment to your materials, your presentation style and get their feedback on which part still need improvement.

Practice will also help you to know about how well you’ve prepared and mastered the materials. Think about your audience stand point while practicing: do they know the materials, what is their concern to this presentation, what questions they might ask, and what they expect from the presentation. By answering these questions you will be well prepared.

6. Relax

Relax and enjoy your presentation. Most people get anxious once they start talking in front of people. It could happen to you, too. But you don’t have to be panic. Some level of nervous is normal. In fact, even a great public speaker also experiences this feeling. Use the nervous energy to help you focus on yourself and what you have to say in the presentation.

You have to relax to calm down yourself. In this condition, it will be easier to recall anything you’ve memorized and practice. And it will help you to deliver a good and convincing presentation.

A simple tips to reduce nervousness and get relax is close your eyes, take a deep breath, and releases it slowly. Do this several times, and you will feel fresher and more relax.

That’s the tips to prepare a convincing presentation. In next posting, I will explain about how to deliver the presentation, started from the opening (using humor, quotes, or questions as the opening part of presentation), content, and closing.

Do you have other tips in making a good presentation?

Don’t be shy. Please share your thought in the comment area.

Body Language Tips to Deliver Convincing Presentation

April 14, 2013 by Muhammad Noer 1 Comment

Giving a presentation is also about the ability to communicate to your audience. It comprises tone of voice, slides or body language.

A presentation would not be effective without the support of body language. Therefore, presenting the right body language is essential to make your presentation powerful. You must avoid using body language that contradicts your presentation.

Body language or gesture is a natural response of your body. It reflects your true feelings. If you feel nervous, anxious or unsure, these feelings will find manifestation in your body. As a good presenter, you should present your body language to your advantage by showing you are positive, open and confident.

Avoid Negative Body Language

You might have noticed somebody who crosses his legs, hands in his pockets, or hands held behind his back.

These are examples of wrong body languages you should avoid during a presentation.

Hands in the pockets

Putting your hands in the pockets shows that you are not truly open to your audience, and you look unsure of what you are saying. Try to avoid this gesture and keep your hands out of your pockets.

Hands behind your back

This posture has similar impression as putting your hands in the pockets. You will look reserved to your audience.

Unbalanced Stance by Leaning on One Foot

Sometimes you find a presenter delivering his presentation with unbalanced stance, leaning on one foot and letting the other one relaxed. This slouching posture is certainly unattractive. It gives the impression that he is not presenting seriously.

Scratching Nose or Head

Presenter often repeats the same gesture, such as scratching nose or head which is obviously unnecessary. This body language occurs because of lack of confidence. You should stop this kind of habit immediately if you are delivering a presentation.

Maintain Positive Body Language

Now let me explain how to manifest the right body language. Try to practice in front of a mirror. It would be helpful if you could record it, and evaluate how you present yourself.

Stand up straight but relaxed

If you stand up straight, it shows that you are self-confident and self-assured. Feet should be apart properly and both hands relaxed by your side. You can occasionally gesture with your hands in order to underscore a point or direct your audience’s attention towards something interesting. Chest up and head high. Be confident without showing any arrogance.

Use hand gesture appropriately

If you pay attention to great presenters, they use body language to their advantage in conveying the message. They will gesture their hands to make a big circle to explain something big. They move their hands upward to illustrate growth or progression. These are gestures that you could learn to make your presentation more powerful.

Imagine if you have visual slide, strong tone of voice, and positive body language. These actions will help you guide the audience to focus on your presentation, and leave them with a memorable presentation.

Positive body language will add energy, engagement and persuasive power to your presentation.

Smile

You should smile sincerely and naturally. This pleasant expression contributes positively to your presentation. Smiling shows that you are confident and comfortable with the message you are delivering. This will help the audience feel connected with you.

Photo Credit: Paramount Classic Pictures