PRESENTATION TIPS

A large proportion of the presentation skills masterclasses we carry out in-company tend to be for individuals within a team.  These individuals want to give their presentation skills a serious overhaul to bring them to the next level.  Or in some instances, individuals on the team are giving their own presentation at a conference, all hands, quarterly business review or other internal or external event and want to be at their absolute best.
However, more and more, we find clients approaching us to work with teams of people who would not ordinarily present.
Why so?
Well, the main reason is that quite often clients, or prospective clients, want to see more than a salesperson.  They want to see the people who they will deal with, day to day and week to week, in the course of transacting their business.  Whether that is an outsourced IT team, auditors or a creative team.
Presenting as a group raises certain issues that you need to address so that your team comes across as a cohesive T...

Many people have an ambition to deliver a TEDx talk – it is a wonderful ambition to have!  It was an ambition I had, and managed to fulfill in October 2016.  I was thrilled to be able to share my message that “you probably are more intelligent than you think you are” in my talk.  This is a personal topic that is about my eldest daughter Katie.  She struggled academically and yet was super intelligent in other ways.
You would think that, as a TEDx speaker coach since 2014 and a high impact presentations facilitator since 2001 I would have found it super easy to put together my own talk.
Not so!  I have to confess, I did struggle to hone my talk – typical of the shoemaker and shoes!  This talk is so different to training or speaking at an event, areas in which I am totally within my comfort zone.  Many of the speakers I coach say the same thing, it really is a different type of talk altogether.
Recently I did a Live Stream with Lottie Hearn of  #LIVEWithLottie ConfidenceO...

We are huge TED fans here at On Your Feet.  We’re constantly reading the TED blog, watching their talks and picking up tips on presenting, speaking and communication which we then share with our own clients, and you!
One of the TED speaker coaches we admire is Gina Barnett.  Gina has been a TED speaker coach since 2011 and is the author of Play the Part: Master Body Signals to Connect and Communicate for Business Success.
She shares her tips on preparing for TED Talks and communication techniques.
In this blog post we thought we would share the link to one of our favourite articles by Gina… in case you hadn’t come across it:
A TED speaker coach shares 11 tips for right before you go on stage.
We hope you pick up some useful pointers you can use next time you give a presentation, and if you want further tips check out our earlier blog where Barbara shares her tips following her own experience of giving a TEDx Talk....

With the advancement of technology, the world has suddenly become a very small place.
Whether you’re a small business using remote workers, or a large company with offices globally, it’s now a lot quicker and easier to reach people in different countries and timezones using virtual presentations!
The demand for virtual presentations is increasing and we are being asked about them more and more during our in-company Presentation Skills Masterclasses.  Many of our clients are using them for not only team meetings, but also client meetings and sales pitches.
We ourselves regularly deliver coaching to clients in other locations using Zoom or Skype.
Just as you would expect in a standard face-to-face presentation, preparation is key! Below are our top 3 areas to focus on when preparing for a virtual presentation.
 
1.  Software / technology
If you’re presenting to a client, make sure you let them know what software you’ll be using when you arrange the appointment.  The chanc...

Sharon works with us on the admin end of our business.  She is a font of efficiency and knowledge on all things relating to running your business.  On top of that, she is a whizz on all the Microsoft Office products, in particular PowerPoint.  Below she shares some of her tips on making your PowerPoint presentations look more professional.

I often help my coaches with their PowerPoint presentations ready for their training workshops or networking meetings/pitches.  I usually help with setting up their master slide templates and checking for spelling, inconsistency etc.  Below are some of my top tips to think about next time you’re setting up your own slides…
1. Be Consistent
Consistency is key to helping your presentation look professional.  Make sure the same fonts are used throughout – if you use one font for the header and a different one for the main body text then make sure this is the same on every slide. One quick way of doing this is to set up your Master Slide ...

We all know that we shouldn’t read a presentation or speech. It’s not ideal and you could end up disconnecting from your audience; it is better to deliver a presentation as a conversation.
However, sometimes for legal, policy or other reasons it is necessary to read verbatim.
The presentation tips below have been selected from a longer list and mainly focus on the ones that enable you to maintain eye contact, which is arguably the principal challenge when reading a speech.
 
1. Type the speech on the upper 2/3 of the page. This will make eye contact easier as you have a shorter distance to raise your head.
 
2. Begin with first 2 pages side by side. As you reach the end of the first page slide the 2nd page on top of the first.  This prevents the paper from shuffling and becoming a distraction.
 
3. Pace your looking down and looking up. Always ensure that your eyes are up at the end of a sentence.
 
4. Avoid breaking sentences over pages.  This will al...

As a member of the Professional Speakers Association UK + Ireland – I am fortunate enough to be exposed to fantastic speakers with fantastic tips.  The annual annual UK + Ireland conference was held recently in Reading.  The speakers were not just from Ireland and the UK but we also had speakers from Canada, USA, South Africa and New Zealand.  We were also privileged to have the company of  two Global Speaking Federation Presidents, from the USA (NSA – National Speakers Association) and Asia (GSF -Global Speakers Federation).  So we were in great company for the 3 days.
Below are tips from some of the speakers – as relevant here as they are in their own countries!
Tip 1 – customise your content
This first tip came from David Newman of doitmarketing.com.  As we were in the UK, he had references to cups of tea vs cups of coffee which he would refer to in his native USA.
Several of his slides had obviously been tailored for a UK audience.  For instance, he spoke about g...