Giving a Presentation…Scarier tha Death!

It makes grown ups cry, raises blood pressure, affects eating, causes people to sweat profusely, and makes for many sleepless nights. People have referred to it as being worst then facing death or dealing with dangerous reptiles like poisonous snakes. For many people the outcome is a diagnosis of a real illness or malady affecting their ability to work.

What is it that affects people like this? Answer: Giving a presentation.

The obvious question is why is giving a presentation so debilitating? Some research has shown inadequate preparation and lack of training as two key reasons for these reactions. According to many people who experienced these problems it is a fear of failure and the unknown for them.

Whatever the reasons, the problem is very real. Perhaps you have experienced the challenge of presenting. I know I still feel the woolies in my stomach to this day, but I have learned to quickly overcome them.

It is reported that even super stars like Carol Burnett and Bette Midler have their own woolies to deal with when they go on stage. Each has developed ways to help them overcome their fear and then go on to deliver great performances…and so can you.
What can you do to learn the keys to quality presentations and overcome fears?
The bottom line is to take a quality training program that allows you to learn correct presentation preparation, delivery skills & questions and answer techniques. Most importantly, such a program must provide time to deliver several presentations to a live audience. Ideally, you will also be videotaped so that you can see yourself and receive feedback on what did and did not work and what you can do to improve the next time.

Before we get to Impromptus, let’s close this portion out by reinforcing that if you want to present professionally you must be trained. Investing your time and money to be properly trained will give you a high return on your investment in terms of far less stress, more meaningful presentations and a reputation as a powerful communicator.

So far, I have touched on the issues many people face with any type of presentation. The real purpose of this article is to focus in on what to do if you are asked to give an impromptu presentation (one in which you have no time to prepare and without written notes). Most importantly I want to share some of the secrets to deliver impromptus in a professional and concise manner so that your audience will think you had time to prepare.

Does this interest you enough to read on? If so, let’s move forward.

The major difference between a planned presentation and an impromptu is the lack of time to prepare. Impromptus are sudden, last minute presentations delivered without benefit of having time to develop the content and support materials and lack of time to practice. My reaction to this is so what! So long as you are a properly trained presenter you can deliver an impactful impromptu.

What is the secret to delivering a quality impromptu? The answer is in the Rule of 3. Yes, the number 3.

Think about what is missing from an impromptu presentation that you have in a planned one? Structure is the answer. Well, the number 3 is going to be the key to having structure in the impromptu.

Let’s take a look at an example of an impromptu and how the number 3 can help you...

You are sitting in a staff meeting and your boss requests that you brief the group on the status of your project. Panic immediately starts to set in. In all the presentations you have delivered before, you had time to develop and practice. What do you do.? This is where the number 3 comes in handy
The “3” I refer to is using a three part pre-designed structure to formulate your presentation on the spur of the moment. Here are several possible “3s” you can use.

Past – Present - Future n 1-2-3 n Problem –Solution – Results n Beginning – Middle – End

So long as you have knowledge on the subject you can build the structure of your impromptu using one of the 3s. Let’s try one together. Use education as the topic and we will select Past – Present – Future as our 3s for the structure of our presentation.

Past - Let’s open by talking about education in the US in the past (e.g. one room school houses, a single teacher for all grades, students stopping their education in the 7th or 8th grades because of having to work the family farms, etc.)… n
Present - We can discuss education today where we have elementary education, secondary and higher education including college and graduate school. Furthermore we can discuss the use distributed education channels (e.g. separate buildings, remote campuses, and distance learning). Finally we can discuss how high school graduation rates now reach 70 – 80 percent and that more students go on to college than ever before in America’s history…

Future – Use of technology to deliver education anywhere and at anytime by highly experienced teachers. Imagine learning math from some of the world’s best teachers without the need to travel to them…

Take five minutes and think of one of your work or charitable topics and structure it using the “3” of your choice from above, or one of your own choosing. If you cannot think of a topic use one of these: n Education n Healthcare n Money n Family

How did that feel? Remember anything new is going to feel a little awkward. Practice makes perfect. I remember the first time I tried the “3’s” approach and how uncomfortable it felt. Today I invite participants in our workshops to throw out a general topic and I demonstrate the technique. It works every time, I promise.

A final benefit of using the Rule of “3” approach is that it gives you a starting and ending point for your impromptu. This one benefit alone is worth the time of learning this technique. for people will then want to listen to you because your presentation will be effective and efficient.

In summary here are my suggestions: n Take a professional workshop if you have not done so already n Learn and practice the Rule of 3s technique n Practice, practice, practice
Here is a quick reference for you to use. Cut it out, laminate it, and keep it in your day timer or portfolio.
Impromptu CAP

1. Composure – When asked to present unexpectedly, keep your composure. Remember you are trained, know how to create and deliver a quality presentation, and so do not panic.

2. Apply – Select one of the pre-designed structures below. The key is to keep it simple. Your audiences’ short-term memory can only store so many bits of information. Use a structure with no more then 3 parts.

The Rule of Three’s: n Problem -Solution- Results n Beginning – Middle - End n Past – Present - Future n 1 - 2 – 3

3. Present – Attend a presentation skills workshop and use the knowledge and skills learn.