There is only a select group of people who present without any fear. You might get used to it, but everyone still suffers from healthy tension. Those few minutes before you must perform, your mind becomes a chaos of thoughts. This healthy tension can be reduced to the minimum. After all, you want to leave a good impression and inspire your audience. This can be done by a good preparation and handling a number of do’s and don’ts, called no go’s.
We have developed a number of no go’s for you to turn the stress into positive energy:
• Too much text
The most obvious. Everyone will mention “too much text” as a real no go. Yet we still see this in presentations customers deliver to us. Often it has already been reduced from one paragraph to two sentences. But this is still too long! A good presentation consists of keywords with a strong story told by the presenter.
• Reading
This no go is all about preparation. But even well-prepared people tend to read out. The nerves get the upper hand in such situations and make sure you can not think straight. It also makes you more insecure about your knowledge of the content of the presentation. When you use keywords in your PowerPoint, the opportunity to read out has been taken away.
• Proloning
Time your presentation well. Perform your presentation in advance for yourself with a stopwatch. In this way, you will know exactly how much time your presentation will take. It is indeed a great irritation factor for your audience when your presentation takes more time than scheduled. Take them and their agenda seriously and appreciate the time they have taken to come and listen to you.
• Static standing and hiding
For many people it feels safe to stand and hide behind a presentation desk.
Don’t do this! Stand in front of your desk and have direct contact with the public. Walk around, move freely and you will feel free. In this way, your stress is less visible and you are more exciting to watch for your audience!
