L. Eric Culverson - www.TheCompetenceMyth.com
This discussion series is an excerpt of my book: The Competence Myth - Why your technical skills are no longer enough and what you can do about it ( based on 7 Steps to an Awesome Technical Presentation)
The next three steps in the overall 7 steps to creating your awesome technical presentation is practice, practice, practice…literally. But this is not practice for the sake of memorization per se, no there are some specific ingredients to a great presentation that we want to focus on, and when we combine those elements, it’s much more powerful that simple memorization.
I mean really, think about it.. if it was not a good presentation to begin with, then who cares if you memorized it, because chances are, your audience won’t remember much of what you said, and they certainly will not be motivated by whatever your call to action was.
So again, steps 3, 4, 5 are related to actual practice and rehearsal. In other words, you simply cannot read, and re-read the materials. This has nothing to do with you actually presenting the material, you need to take the time, to actually speak it, out load, preferably in front of a mirror. See your self the way the audience will see. Also, word for word memorization is not necessary and can actually have negative effects, because if you forget some portion of what you have memorized, you’re much more likely to struggle in that moment, trying to remember exactly what you intended to say, as opposed to just delivering the message that you are obviously are capable of doing.
In step 3, the first stage of your physical practice, focus on your nailing down your opening and closing statements. Your opening engages your audience and sets the stage for what comes next. Meanwhile, people inherently remember the last thing they hear. Take time to practice and perfect your opening and closing.
Step 4, as you continue to practice, you’ll start to see where your flow and logical sequence need adjusting. Always be prepared to edit and make it better. Don’t be stubborn! Don’t take the attitude, “They should get it!” Refine your content for clarity.
In step 5, you’re ready to take your practice to a higher level, You can now concentrate on the subtle mechanics of your delivery. Make an attempt to employ vocal variety to keep your audience engaged and listening to your message. If you’re not sure what vocal variety means, well the opposite of that would be a flat, monotone delivery that would leave your audience dying for a cigarette break, even those people who don’t actually smoke. Don’t be that person, look for key places to pause for emphasis, raise and lower your voice, show energy and enthusiasm, or add appropriate motions or gestures. Regardless of the technical content, practice being personable, open and engaging.
That’s it for now, see ya next time.