Power Point Sound

It is hard to believe but it is one of those peculiar urban facts that some people in surveys voted fear of public speaking a more terrifying prospect than the thought of death. The very idea of speaking up in front of an audience of 3 or 300 is enough to have us breaking out in a cold sweat and seeking the safety of the duvet. Even the poisoned chalice suddenly seems appetizing.

Yet giving presentations and conducting ourselves verbally is becoming an increasingly essential prerequisite of the modern executive. Whether it is representing yourself well in a weekly staff meeting or engaging and influencing a conference hall packed with international delegates the tone, content and message has to be effective.

There are so many minefields to tread through to ensure you come across as professional and credible. How can you be sure your intention is understood? Do you send out mixed messages via your choice of trousers? How can you get people to respond in the way you want them to?

More often than not delivering the message or "getting through it" is just not enough. You may have to educate and influence your audience, persuade or challenge their perceptions. And what about hecklers? Quite often dealing with difficult people and their questions is where style over steely nerves will give you the edge.

Nobody wants to listen to some corporate clone droning on about some interminable but worthy cause; it is guaranteed to have the audience turning off rather than tuning in. Neither do audiences want some would-be entertainer whose own ego blinds them to the fact that they'd never get past the first week of an X Factor audition, let alone hold a live audience's attention.

Although the best public speakers hone their craft via experience there are some highly effective and practical steps anyone can take to add mastery to their presentation skill performance.

Steps such as:

Researching the age/status and origins of your audience

Devising some attention grabbing introductions and thought provoking finales

Creating visual stimulation to break up different subjects

Using your voice as a tool to gain attention

Using powerful language

Being "in the moment"

Controlling your nerves

Connecting with your audience

Looking sharp and appropriate

Being yourself

The last point here is probably the most important one. You don't want to become a speaking-by-rote automaton but a real and engaging orator. When you are being at your best, speaking with authenticity and passion and with a genuine feel for the subject you instantly stand streets ahead of the over-rehearsed robot trotting out the company line. People listen because they like what you are saying.

Presentation skills mastery is key in raising the individual as well as an organization's profile, it adds a personal touch by bringing a human face to big business and it encourages confidence in both the presenter and the audience.

Susan Tomlinson provides bepoke solutions to improve the motivation and performance of managers and their teams. She specializes in helping women in business to build confidence, balance and success. Get her valuable tips and resources and the workbook "Speaking for Success" at http://www.realcoachingsolutions.co.uk/productsandservices/success.htm

A text box is an object that you can add to your 2007 Microsoft Office system document to emphasize or set off text. Check out the new demo at the bottom of the article to show you exactly how to delete a text box from your document.

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The degree of how effective a presentation is lies with the presenter and not with the all singing all dancing presentation enhancing technology available today. You could have the very best PowerPoint presentation along with absolutely fabulous audio-visuals to impress the targeted audience but if you still do not manage to deliver your message your efforts will be rendered totally ineffective. It is true to say that technology helps and is important in its own way, but only as a means of support for you to get your message across.

You probably have far too many slides to begin with so you should have a good look through them and select the ones most relevant. Once this is done, you can then successfully intertwine what you are trying to say with your slides, ensuring that your message is not overshadowed with technological materials.

Even though being in possession of many slides to choose from is a good thing, the priority has to be crafting the point you are trying to get across with the storyboard. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word storyboard as "a panel or series of panels of rough sketches and major changes of action or plot in a production to be shot on film or video". This is why you have to think of your presentation as a production of this type and put your story together first of all.

Throughout the development of your presentation you must take into consideration the objectives you are trying to achieve as an end result. Your storyboard can then be designed with this in mind. Working through it this way will make sure that anything else you add acts as a means of support to your message instead of drowning it out.

When you have your storyboard in order, and have selected the slides which are needed, if you find that multiple slides are required to put over what you want to say, then dig a little deeper and try to pull together just one or two slides which would act as a support for the main points of your message.

You may well look through all your slides and decide that none of them is particularly relevant to what you want to say and this could be a good time to prepare some new slides. Your initial effort is always reviewable and changes can be made wherever you feel it is necessary for the easy flow of the presentation. Keep focusing on your message and objectives and if certain aspects have to be dropped or altered, don't hold back, simply get the changes made.

Many people get carried away with all the gimmicky assistance which is available when putting together a presentation. Use of such features to add that extra impact to the presentation is great, as long as they do not become a burden to you.

An excellent method to find out if the presenter is more significant than the slides is to make your presentation without the use of slides. This way you know you are delivering a sincere and genuine presentation and that any other visuals you may have in use are there simply as a means of supporting you and planting a firm picture in the minds of the people in your audience.

When you are addressing your audience, look them directly in the eye and make sure you keep eye contact. Think about how you have felt in the past as part of the audience of a presentation where the presenter has little if any eye contact with the attendees, and just simply reads from the slides. You probably wondered why the presenter bothered to turn up to the presentation at all, as you could easily have read the slides and gleaned exactly the same information without him or her being present.

So, you have cut down the number of slides in your presentation and feel confident that you have the right message going out with the important visuals supporting what you have to say. You may now like to use some of the following simple tips to help you deliver an outstanding presentation to your audience.

First of all, give a little thought to why the people may find your presentation interesting. Bear in mind the saying about a picture painting a thousand words and present your information with pictures that the audience will connect with your message and keep in their minds.

Another way to communicate with people and their emotions is by storytelling. Individual pictures are created by the audience and are better remembered in the future as they are their own pictures. A story also makes an otherwise boring presentation of facts and figures far more personal and interesting.

With your presentation prepared and ready to go, take a little time out for a practice run. If you find during this process that any part of your plan is not running as smoothly as you first anticipated, say for example, you discover some of your visuals are not having the desired effect, then pull them out. However super they look, getting your message across has to be the most important part of your presentation.

It is always a good idea to have a fall back plan which does not rely on power supplied visuals. This way, if there should be such a drastic event as a power cut, you will be able to continue, deliver your message and successfully achieve your objectives at the end of your presentation, This is another way of being sure that your visuals were there merely as a support to help you get your message across.

It may well be simpler to rearrange a bunch of slides and save yourself some preparation time. However, you are sure to find that the little extra effort to add some individual touches and your own original thoughts will be rewarded ten fold by way of personal satisfaction, when you use technology in a smart way and dazzle everyone with your well prepared and professionally put together presentation.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of Be Successful News, a site that provides information and articles on how to succeed in your own home or small business.

This article now contains a new demo that shows you exactly how to apply a theme to your presentation. PowerPoint 2007 contains several built-in themes, which include theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects. Whether you use an existing built-in theme, create a new theme, or modify an existing built-in theme, follow this procedure to apply a theme to your presentation.

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