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Tips for Professional Presentations
by Amanda Myers
As librarians and information professionals, a major way we communicate new knowledge to our peers is through professional presentations. We know as audience members, though, that while our peers have dazzling intentions, the presentations can sometimes fizzle! Here, find some crucial laws of public speaking that can add polish to your next presentation.
- Know your audience.
A presenter's goal is to appeal to the logic and emotion of an audience. Therefore, base your presentation around what they already know, need to know, feel, and need to feel. The good news is that you probably are a peer to your audience and can start brainstorming your main points by answering the question, "What do I wish I had known about the topic when I began?" If you are not a direct peer, here are some other ideas for getting to know your audience:
- Brainstorm main points with co-workers who have varying degrees of knowledge on your topic.
- Propose your topic through questions on a related e-mail list.
- If you are presenting at a conference, talk to conference attendees in the days and hours leading up to your presentation.
Before you begin with your presentation, always greet and chat with the audience members filing in. Your presentation is a work in progress until "show time" and using examples straight from the audience will build your credibility.
- Practice quality, not quantity.
My high school band director, Dave Albert, used to remind us that "practice makes permanent, not perfect." Often, we feel crunched for practice time. However, how you practice is more important then how many times you run through the presentation. The best kind of practice is full rehearsal.
- Memorize your introduction and conclusion; the body of the speech should be notes.
- Reserve a space that resembles your presentation space.
- Wear your presentation outfit - or at least the shoes.
- Invite co-workers and/or record your rehearsal. If you are having a hard time with eyeless eye contact, Steve Mandel recommends placing sticky notes with smiley faces on the chairs ("Practice Eye Contact With Stand-ins," Presentations 17 (2003): 34).
- Critique your rehearsal and rehearse again.
All speakers complain of not enough practice, but a few full rehearsals are better than a hundred partial practices.
- Present quality, not quantity.
As librarians we have a unique capacity for remembering and working with details. Have you ever had a conversation with a co-worker where you lost interest because she launched into a play-by-play of her current project? When presenting your topic, limit the details to what is transferable or universally useful. For example, if you are presenting on integrating learning theory into the information literacy classroom, then do not include information on administering or marketing your information literacy program. As you review your speech outline, at every point and example ask yourself and your peers: Does this point support/clarify/illustrate my main idea? Finally, be prepared to answer and redirect audience questions that stray from your main idea.
- Develop a theme.
How many times have you heard a new song and are immediately able to hum the chorus back to yourself? When we learn through hearing, we need a more repetitive, lyrical, creative language. The most effective presentations do not just recite knowledge, but weave it into a metaphor. Just look at ALAO's conference theme for 2006, "Recipes for Library Success: Ingredients, Process and Product," and in the February 2006 edition of C&RL News where Candice Benjes-Small and Blair Brainard introduced an "a la carte menu" for serving course library instruction to faculty. If your presentation is process-oriented, create a mnemonic device to help the audience remember. To help patrons remember web page evaluation, LaSalle University uses "CARDS:" credibility, accuracy, relevancy, dates and sources (Bernetta Robinson Doane, "The Big6 (tm) at La Salle University." Big6 eNewsletter E2 (2002), http://www.big6.com/showenewsarticle.php?id=292 (accessed March 15, 2006)). Use metaphors, mnemonic devices, and alliteration to help your audience hear and remember your message.
- Avoid PowerPoint servitude.
The largest faux pas a speaker can make in mid-speech is to say, "I'm going to pick up the pace because we need to get through these slides." Visual aids support your oration; they do not set the pace of the presentation. The general rule for PowerPoint is at least two minutes per slide. On each slide there should be no more than three bullets and five words for each bullet point.
Since audiences can read faster than they can interpret your speech, you should display the bullet point just after you begin to speak. This way, if someone did not hear you, then they can catch up, but your voice is directing the pace of the presentation. Also, this trick will keep you, the speaker, from reading from the slide. While PowerPoint bullets and charts dominate professional presentations today, do not forget about other visual aids like props, short video and audio clips, and pictures. Just remember, no matter what kind of visual aid you choose, the aid should match the theme and main idea of your presentation.
For opportunities to practice outside of impending presentation deadlines, look into public speaking and leadership organizations like Toastmasters International. Public speaking is a craft, not an intuitive skill. Remember that the comfort and openness of your audience is the most important factor of your presentation, and you will be well on your way to a truly successful presentation.
Amanda Myers is a reference/instruction librarian and public speaking instructor at Mary Baldwin College. She is active member and sometime presenter in the American Library Association and the Virginia Library Association.