The delivery makes the difference
Presentation skills – one of the regular staples of graduate induction programmes, especially in large corporates. Good ones inducing the pain of us having to watch ourselves present as our presentations are recorded. Hard to do, but in my experience the only way to really become aware of what we’re like when we present and understand how to improve. It’s a technique I use with some of my clients too!
If these skills are such a standard, core training area then why are so many people later on in their careers either highly fearful of presenting or really lack the skills to deliver their message effectively to engage their audience?
To take the first type of person, this fear affects all sorts, not just the people you suspect would be anxious about presenting. I know someone who is the life and soul of every social party and is first to join the work group going for drinks, yet she is absolutely petrified of presenting (even internally) and does not sleep in the run up to a presentation she is delivering.
In this instance it is a lot to do with the perceived gap in expectations – these people often build up in their minds an idea of what the audience is expecting and they fear they can’t deliver it - they are convinced they will fail. Moreover, they focus on delivering the content in a certain way rather than looking to deliver it in a way that they can be themselves somewhat. Often, if they could be more themselves the message would be delivered extremely effectively.
For the second group, they may not fear presenting but it is clear from watching them they could be better. I watched someone present a while back who looked the part as he walked up to present but once he got up there was twitchy and uncertain – the unfortunate outcome of this situation is that the audience loses confidence in the presenter, what they are saying and potentially the company they represent.
The shame was that the content of the presentation was excellent; it was well designed to engage the audience and to make the point. With a few key improvements, particularly to his body language, it could have been highly memorable.
That people can present their experience and expertise with confidence and even some pleasure, is really important to me. It’s such an important skill to have, it enables us to:
Showcase our area of knowledge
Invite discussion of topics we are working on
Influence others who we need to get on-side with our message
Increase our profile
All of these help us to achieve more at work – to get the recognition we deserve for work that may otherwise remain hidden or under exposed, be recommended for other roles we want to move into or onto projects we want to work on and even help us win new business. All of these personal career benefits help boost the success of organisations too. It is rare in professional service sectors that presentation skills are not required. Even if on a small scale, we all need to be able to present information to others effectively.
So how do you feel about presenting information and projects to others? Is it the minority in your organisation who are relied upon to present?
This is a skill that can be a real career enabler, it’s not one to shy away from.
If you’d like to understand how you or members of your team can be more confident, engaging and effective presenters, get in touch joanna.gaudoin@insideoutimage.co.uk
Tackling expectation differences and working on key skills to help people become more confident and engaging presenters are the places to start. It is no good working on the skills until there’s understanding about the source of the issue and awareness of what is being communicated.
Likewise, this knowledge is no use without then learning the skills to turn someone’s presenting style around.