STEP 5

Avoid Common Presentation Pitfalls

Overview

• Overcome venue malfunctions.

• Monitor your body language.

• Hit the mark of your speech.

• Allow your visual aids to shine.

Imagine that your presentation is going perfectly. You have the rapt attention of every audience member. Your voice is clear, you’re nailing your main points, and your jokes have all hit their target. Then your laptop, on which you’re depending to project your visual aids, dies.

This is where experienced presenters differentiate themselves from the rookies.

Every presentation planner has horror stories they would rather forget. Everyone who conducts meetings, conferences, or training programs is going to make a few mistakes, but the goal is to get tripped up as little as possible. Almost all pitfalls can fall under the headline “Failing to Prepare.” Seriously, if you want to suffer all possible calamities (outside forces of nature), just show up the day of your presentation and wing it.

Research conducted by Meeting Planners International indicates that there are 12 presenting “sins” that prompt attendees to walk out, criticize programs harshly, send letters of complaint, or ask for their money back. All of these are within your control and can be avoided:

• appearing unprepared

• not starting off quickly with impact

• not establishing personal rapport

• appearing disorganized

• not involving attendees

• apologizing for self or organization

• being unaware of current public information in your field

• using unprofessional audiovisual aids

• using sexist or racist comments, ethnic slurs, or inappropriate humor

• seeming to be off-schedule—especially failing to end on time

• handling questions inappropriately

• selling from the professional platform.

The secret to avoiding all of these pitfalls—and more—is to be prepared. First and foremost, follow the steps outlined in this book. When you understand your role and your audience, plan for the venue, conduct your research, and carefully compose your presentation, you automatically eliminate many potential setbacks. But you can’t think of every eventuality, so this chapter covers the big ones. And, if something does go wrong, consider it a great lesson for the future.

Pitfall 1: Venue Mishaps

Have you ever been to a presentation and heard the words “bear with me here” as the presenter fumbles with cords, the microphone, the projector, the lights, or any number of other equipment? It’s not a great start.

Even with all the room logistics planned, scheduled, and double checked, some venue emergencies can still arise. One way to head off these emergencies is to check to make sure your equipment can be used in the room. If you’re projecting images from your laptop, see if all the necessary cords and adaptors are available whether you need to download any software. Also make sure all your software is up to date. More than one presenter has found themselves panicking as their computer restarted and began automatically updating the operating system (which can sometimes take hours).

In addition, if it’s within your control:

• Avoid meeting rooms that are ornately decorated. Sometimes hotels offer rooms with busy, flocked wallpaper, or mirrors and large pictures covering the walls. These can distract participants from the presentation content.

• Beware of beautiful views. When difficult subject matter requires concentration, using a room with a panoramic view can be quite counterproductive. It is a lot more fun to stare out the window than to focus on charts and graphs.

• Avoid holding presentations in basement rooms where participants might feel trapped.

• Do not conduct a presentation in a long, narrow room if a lot of participant movement is required.

• If you are presenting to C-level executives, choose upscale facilities. In general, hold sessions in rooms that have an environment similar to the workplace.

Pitfall 2: Bad Body Language

Master presenters know that the audience responds not just to their words but also to their nonverbal actions throughout the presentation. They also know that while most verbal communication is conscious, nonverbal communication tends to be unconscious, with presenters falling back into bad habits. Good body language will help you appear confident and knowledgeable. Poor body language can ruin all your presentation planning and rehearsing in one fell swoop.

The right body language can keep the audience engaged. Appropriate movement can help keep your voice natural and help the audience feel your excitement for the topic. Chances are it will keep their interest, too.

Eye contact is also important. Don’t pick out one audience member and stare, but let your eyes move around the room, and try to make eye contact with as many people as you can, if only for a few seconds at a time. Eye contact creates a personal connection and keeps the audience engaged. If eye contact is too intimidating for you, look at people’s foreheads or shoulders instead. The point is to make sure you’re not staring at your feet, your notes, or—worse—the slides you are projecting, turning your back to the audience.

The best way to avoid bad body language is to try to act as naturally as possible. Watch videos of other people delivering presentations and pay attention to how they move their bodies. Most likely they move, but not too wildly. They’re not frozen to one spot, nor are they pacing like a caged animal across the stage, staring hungrily at the audience. As with everything else, practice speaking while standing and moving across the room as if you were in front of an audience.

While rehearsing, consider these body language don’ts:

• Don’t stand in place the whole time, with a poker-straight or immobile posture. This means avoiding leaning on or gripping the lectern if the venue has one. You want to avoid leaning into the microphone too. On the other hand, don’t rock or sway back and forth.

• Don’t use obviously practiced, stilted, or exaggerated gestures. But don’t overcompensate by using a single gesture repeatedly or crossing your arms in front of your chest.

• Don’t distract or fidget. That includes clicking or tapping a pen, pencil, or pointer profusely; jangling change or keys; shuffling notes unnecessarily; or playing with your clothing.

• Don’t ignore your audience. This includes turning your back on them for extended periods of time and forgetting to smile when the moment is right.

• Don’t show up underdressed or act too casual. This includes not dressing inappropriately for your audience, chewing gum or eating candy, examining or biting your fingernails, and cracking your knuckles.

Your nonverbal communication can make or break your presentation just as much as stumbling over your words or presenting a point out of order.

Pitfall 3: Missing the Mark of Your Speech

Ultimately, your job is to deliver a message to a specific audience. Failure to do this will be remembered as a misstep. While your credentials on this topic can be stellar and the content of your speech really exciting, you have to help your audience follow along and stay focused.

First and foremost, at the beginning of your presentation, explain its structure. For example:

As you go through each portion of your presentation, summarize each point before moving to the next. And then announce that you’re moving to the next point. This helps the audience to understand where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going—in other words, how much information is left before the presentation is over. It helps orient the audience, provide context, and keep them tuned in. Announcing each new subtopic, too, is a transition point—an opportunity for the audience to take a quick mental refresh or tune back in if their minds have accidentally wandered.

You can miss the mark of your presentation by doing the following:

Trying to cover too much. When crafting your presentation, sometimes less is more. Remember that adults can only retain three to five points in any one chunk of time. Some presenters believe they have to offer their audience the complete works on their given topic or else they will feel cheated. But that’s just not the case. Audiences are more likely to understand and retain your message if you stick to several key points. Explain why you have selected these key points to cover in your presentation. Then, you can direct them to additional resources or state clearly the additional points you did not have time to cover. Leave them wanting more, not less.

Going beyond your allotted time. Everyone has somewhere to be after your presentation, whether you’re delivering at a conference, during a meeting, or to your class. As fascinating as it may be, your audience will be grateful if you respect their time. If you’ve been scheduled to present for an hour, allow for several minutes to get started and 10–15 minutes for questions at the end.

Failing to give examples. People can only process so much information before they need a “For instance …” to bring it to life. Use illustrations as visual aids where possible. And when a picture just isn’t enough, tell a story. (By the way, many presenters include “give example” in their notes, hoping a perfect anecdote will spontaneously come to them during the presentation. Unless you’re a gifted storyteller, plan and rehearse examples just like every other part of your presentation.)

Using too much jargon. Even if your audience consists of people in the same industry, try to speak straightforwardly, without too many terms of art. And, if you suspect that even one or two people might not know the acronyms and industry terms you’re using, stick with “civilian” language.

Apologizing for yourself. If you’re standing in front of an audience about to deliver a presentation, they assume you’re qualified to do it. Don’t begin your presentation with a meek, “I’m sorry, I’m sure most of you know more about this than I do. … I’m not sure why I was asked to deliver. … This is the first time I’ve given a presentation like this.” If you need a confidence boost, ask a friend. But don’t begin your presentation by lowering the expectations of your audience. It’s not fair to them or to you.

Panicking during the Q&A. It’s always possible an audience member will throw you a curveball question that you’re unable to answer. It’s OK to say, “That’s a great question. Let me find out the answer and get back to you.” It’s much better than trying to dance around it, or worse, lie.

Not articulating. Speak clearly. Don’t shout at your audience, don’t talk too fast, and don’t mumble. Don’t drone on in a monotonous tone. Pretend your mother is in the audience and do what she says. And stand up straight.

Forgoing the audience analysis. Even if you’ve given the speech before, respect the audience in front of you enough to do a bit of a background check—in advance if possible. Most likely you will learn something that will make your presentation better or avoid a major pitfall.

Pausing the presentation to look for a bottle of water. Or a cord, your notes, the remote to change the slides, or any number of other things you will need to get through your presentation. Arrive early, stand at the podium, and imagine going through your presentation. What will you need? Put it in place before you begin.

Here are some quick tips and tricks for what to do if:

You perspire profusely—wipe your face with a handkerchief. Do it firmly, do not dab. Avoid using a tissue because it may shred and stick to your face.

Your hands shake—rest them on the lectern, but don’t put a death grip on it!

Your knees wobble—do nothing. If you’re behind a lectern, no one can see. If you’re at the head of a runway, walk around a bit; the shaking will stop.

You need to cough, sneeze, or clear your throat—turn away from the mike; go ahead and cough. If necessary, take a sip of water before you begin again. Say “Excuse me. As I was saying …”

Your nose starts to run—Say “Excuse me,” turn from the mike, and blow your nose. Don’t be dainty or you’ll just have to do it again, and soon. Turn back to the mike and continue your speech. Bring tissues with you, just in case.

You notice the audience’s chairs aren’t facing the lectern—if the chairs aren’t bolted down, start by saying, “I think you’ll be more comfortable if your chairs are facing the speaker’s stand. So, before I get started, why don’t you turn them around?” Wait until the hubbub dies down, then start as you planned.

Members of the audience know more than you—knowing how much experience or expertise your audience has regarding the subject of your presentation will affect its breadth and depth. At times, you might not have a good feel for this until you are meeting and greeting some of the audience members. You will have to determine if the audience needs to hear everything you are prepared to present or if you should keep it simple. If the audience expertise varies widely, try to approach the topic from a middle-ground perspective so that you provide vital information to novices and sprinkle in more advanced information to offer something new to those who already have baseline knowledge of the topic. You can always adjust the pace and depth of the presentation downward, to ensure you are reaching as many people as possible. If several audience members possess PhDs and they have garnered accolades from peers or the industry on the topic, don’t panic. When appropriate, solicit opinions and try to draw some of these experts into the discussion. Don’t give control over to them—but by recognizing their expertise and opinions, you can build potential allies.

You are presenting to organizational superiors—if the audience includes your superiors or C-level executives, involve them by asking them to share personal experiences about the topic—for example, which qualities they look for when hiring someone new. By including these senior audience members, you build credibility, show off your skills, and take the pressure off yourself for being the sole source of content and ideas.

Pitfall 4: Visual Aids That Flop

Visual aids can offer huge support throughout your presentation. They give the audience something to focus on other than you, and they help to clarify your points. But they can also go wrong. Most people use presentation software slides; but many don’t design them properly. When designing slides, avoid having:

• Too many slides. Allow your audience time to absorb one slide before you move on to the next.

• Crowded text. Don’t try to cram 100 pages of information onto 15 slides. You want the audience to listen to you and look to your slides for clarity. Aim for several words per bullet point, and three or four bullets per slide.

• Loud colors, too many fonts, or unusual or difficult-to-read typography. If the slide is too busy your audience won’t be able to understand your points. Keep it simple. Call out verbally what you want to emphasize, rather than using competing graphics.

• Too many visual aids. The use of visual aids should support your presentation but not be your presentation. Avoid overdoing the visuals at the expense of the message.

• Unrelated visual aids. Don’t feel the need to include visual aids for the sake of including visual aids. Visuals should reinforce and support the message and be of high enough quality to be clearly seen and understood.

The Contingency Toolkit

Every presenter will face at least one day when disaster strikes. Nobody can anticipate everything that might go wrong, but having a contingency plan in place is the first step to managing and mitigating this risk.

So what should you consider when developing your contingency plan and risk-management toolkit? Tool 5-1 offers pitfall scenarios and solutions. Read it carefully, and consider how you might handle each situation in case things do not go as expected. Taking the time to develop this contingency plan can make the difference between calmly and systematically addressing the issue in front of an audience and utter embarrassment.

The Next Step

Even the best presenter runs into the occasional mishap, whether with the venue, their body language, their presentation, or a wonky visual aid. Luckily, because you’ve prepared so well, you will be ready to respond to anythink that happens to you during your presentation. Just to be sure, however, it’s necessary to devote some time to practicing. No matter how much you’ve planned or prepared, practice will help you iron out any kinks in your presentation. It’s also a great opportunity to get feedback during a trial run to adjust for the pitfalls covered in this chapter.

TOOL 5-1

PRESENTER’S CONTINGENCY TOOLKIT