Presentation Skills - two day

Two-Day Presentation Course Programme

We tailor all our courses to reflect the needs of the delegates on the day. The course content may include many of the exercises listed below, and any additional material that the trainers feel is relevant.

Presentation Course Day One

Course Introduction

During the opening session, we combine a look at the fundamentals of presenting, with an assessment of each person's presenting experience and presentation skills and what they would now like to achieve from the course.

Much like our tailored presentation training, each course day is structured to reflect the needs and abilities of those attending on that day.

The Presentation Skills Challenge

We start with a good look at the dynamic in which people have to present.

This section gives an in-depth understanding of the arenas in which presenting takes place: the physical space, body language, audience interaction, etc.

It is based on the mnemonic

IMPACT

as an easy to remember guide to the main points of presenting.

The use of the Individual’s best skills to convey a clear Message, well Prepared, with good Audience interaction, presented with Conviction and supported by the right Technical backup.

First Presentation

Delegates will then make their first presentation of the day to camera. This experience is used to examine in some detail just what happens physically, psychologically and emotionally to all of us when we have to present.

This looks at what happens when people get in front of the camera. This point here is to re-create some of the pressure that happens to people within the presenting arena.

Next, we review the recordings looking specifically for positive factors about the presentation, things that are working and can be relied upon and developed. We are not interested in looking at what people don't do well; even though that's the first place people will look at when reviewing their own presentation.

When you identify what works about someone's style and develop that, the things that don't work very well diminish.

Issues covered here are:

• Feedback and Individual style
• The difference between how we think we are doing and how we really are doing
• Body language
• The psychology of presenting
• The myths and rules about what you are and are not allowed to do.

Prepared Presentations

Prepared presentations (this will be the non-business presentation) will be given by each in turn, assessed on the basis of the IMPACT model and worked with to begin developing the individual’s best use of the presentation medium. Here we will cover:

• How audiences and presenters interact
• How to make use of that interaction
• The real reasons for presenting
• Ways of getting ideas across that are entertaining and stimulating
• The relationship between nervous energy and expressive capacity
• A reinforcement of the reasons for presenting

This presentation and all the rest of the individual’s work during the day will be videoed. However, there will be no other play-back (other than the first, one-minute presentation). The video is for the delegates to take away for themselves. They will be asked to view the videos overnight (in the privacy of their own home!), but there will no other 'public showing'.

Stretching Exercises

A series of short exercises designed to stretch people's awareness and capacity:

• Presence - An exercise in audience contact
• Everyday objects - An exercise in overlaying an ordinary text with an extra-ordinary message
• Passion - An exercise in the use of passion to communicate
• Talking up and talking down
• Turning points - An exercise in using personal material to produce empathy and strong feeling in an audience

Business Presentations

Each delegate to present the business presentation they were asked to include in their preparation.

We will be working here to reinforce what is already working for each presenter and adding the ideas and concepts looked at earlier in the day.

Overnight Presentation Course Assignments

Participants are asked to view their videos at least twice (to get beyond the 'cringe' factor) and review what they do well.

Read the PowerPoint Survival Guide and practise!

Presentation Course Day Two

Each person reviews what it was like watching their videos and any thoughts and insights. They will pick three things they particularly like about their presenting style.

They will then make a short presentation featuring and demonstrating those qualities.

Location Location Location!

A brief discussion on the various arenas in which participants present. This is to get a picture of some of the challenges that arise in certain settings and with different audiences.

Presentations in a meeting setting

Here we look at the dynamics of 'working a table'. This will include the different types of questions you can ask, how to work the 'geography' of a table, how to open things up or close them down.

Use of Presentation Media and Structure

• An exercise that looks at the various media available during a presentation.
• A look at the uses of modular vs. linear structure

30 Second Presentation

This is a simple, easy to use model, that allows people to put across a powerful presentation in 30 seconds.

Creativity and 'out of the box' thinking

Putting ideas across in ways that create maximum impact. Here we look at the use of analogy and memorable images to enhance factual information.

Deliberate Misunderstanding

To demonstrate how effective analogies can be, we have a light-hearted exercise where people have to deal with being wrong-footed by the rest of the delegates who deliberately

Re-Presenting

Finally, participants have time to re-write and re-present their business presentations, looking to include anything from the two-day presentation course they found particularly useful.

Presentation Skills Summing up and Personal Take Out

We will spend a short time reviewing the work of the two day presentation course, reminding the participants of what was covered.

Each person to identify what they know they will take from the two days that they know they will use, what support or development they need over the coming months and what they need to do to ensure they practise.

We would highly recommend that people do some kind of presentation as soon as possible to reinforce the work of the course.

Participants are given a web link to their videos from the course

They also have access to a course web page containing

• Handouts used during the course
• New supportive material
• Impact Factory PDF documents
• Recommended reading
• Links to our favourite videos
• Photos of the day

Two-Day Presentation Course