PRESENTA TION SKILL S

 
 
The Triangle is a skill that allows you to structure content concisely for a short talk, update,
executive summary or introduction. It is based on Aristotle’s philosophy: tell them what you’re
going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them. It takes a very short amount of
time to prepare and will make you look thoughtful and prepared. Most importantly, your
audience will remember your key points. It’s all about the rule of three. Here’s the process:
• Draw a triangle and write the topic in the center.
• At each point of the triangle, write one of your 3 key messages about the topic.
• When you introduce the topic, list the 3 key messages you will deliver.
• Talk through each of the 3 key messages
• To close, repeat the topic and the 3 key messages.
• You can add sub bullets under each point if you’d like to use them for notes.
• Remember, if you have time to prepare your triangle talk ahead of time, choose the
three key messages you want the audience to walk away with.

Example:

SUPERHERO
WRITER

CLARK KENT

KRYPTON

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Ladies and Gentlemen, our speaker today is one of the most celebrated men in history: Clark
Kent. He is a superhero by nature, a writer by trade, and is the sole survivor of the lost planet
Krypton.

A superhero by nature, Clark Kent’s alter-ego is Superman – a true fighter for Truth and Justice.
He uses his superhuman abilities to uphold good by capturing criminals and rescuing people in
danger. His physical strength can only be matched by his strong sense of morals.

A costumed superhero can’t remain on duty all the time. Clark graduated from Metropolis
University with a degree in Journalism and went on to have a successful career as a writer.

Not only is he a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper reporter at the Daily Planet, but he has also
published several books.

And he does have quite a story to tell. Clark’s roots go back to Krypton—a lost planet that
exploded as a result of a nuclear chain reaction. As a baby, Clark narrowly escaped the
explosion in a rocket ship built by his father.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Clark Kent: superhero, writer, and sole survivor of Krypton.

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PHYSICAL SKILLS
Connect with your audience.
Connect with your audience using eye contact. We define eye contact as establishing eye-to-
eye contact with one person, staying with that person for the length of a thought, and then in
silence moving to a new pair of eyes and continuing to speak. A “thought” is defined by
punctuation – a period, comma, or semicolon.
There are many benefits to using good eye contact. You look and feel more confident and
credible. You clear your thinking process because you’re not taking in extra visual information.
This makes it easier for you to focus on what you want to say. Most importantly, when you use
good eye contact, you connect with the people in your audience. You can pick up on non-
verbal cues – you can see who’s engaged, who’s bored, or who looks like they might have a
question. Staying connected to your audience is a key aspect of presenting.

Hold your ground.

There is nothing wrong with moving around during a presentation or while running a meeting –
as long as the movement has a purpose. Unnecessary weight shifting or pacing makes you look
nervous. To stay focused and avoid shifting, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your
weight balanced. Remember, it’s a skill to be able to stand still.

Emphasize your message.

In this neutral stance, your arms should hang loosely by your sides. With your arms at your
sides, you’re more likely to gesture naturally. Gestures add emphasis to your presentation, but
it’s almost impossible to make planned gestures look genuine. Your gestures should be
appropriate for the space you’re in.
Be careful that your gestures don’t become repetitive or distracting to your audience. If you
feel yourself making the same motion over and over, drop your arms back to your sides.

Crank up your energy.

A vital element of giving a compelling presentation is volume. On a scale of 1–10, with 1 being
a whisper and 10 being a shout, remember that your goal is to stay at a 7 or an 8.
Keeping your volume up isn’t just about ensuring that the audience can hear you. Increased
volume translates to increased energy—helping with inflection and adding animation to your
face and gestures. Volume is a quick and easy way to bring your personality to the foreground
and keep your audience engaged.

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WORKING WITH VISUALS

Audience attention to the speaker.
When a new slide goes up, the audiences’ attention automatically goes to that slide – which
means they stop listening to you. By taking the news value out of the slide – using “clearing
statements” – you can quickly and easily regain the audiences’ attention. Clearing statements
simply tell the audience what they are looking at. Once the slide is cleared, then you have free
reign to tell the audience all the other important things he/she wants them to know, usually
starting with a thesis statement.

Speaker attention to the audience.

If you remember eye contact, you know you can only talk if you have a pair of eyes. As a
presenter using visuals, the skill is to turn in silence to the visual or your notes, pick up the
information, and only start delivering your thought when you’re looking at an audience
member. Two or three seconds of silence feels like an eternity for you, but it’s only two or
three seconds for an audience.

CLEARING STATEMENTS
• Clearing statements are short introductory remarks that tell the audience what they are
actually looking at on the slide. Typically 1–2 sentences, their purpose is to take the
“news value” out of the visual.
• If it takes you more than 2–3 sentences to clear a slide, you have too much information on it.
• Different visuals will require different kinds of clearing statements.
• Graphs: You’ll need to define the axes / bars / sections of the graph, including the
legend (colors of bars, etc.).
• Bulleted Lists: You’ll need to give a range of the content with enough information to
diffuse the news value, giving people time to read and catch up with you.
• Architecture / Pictures: You’ll need to walk the audience through the architecture or
graphic at a high level.
• You’ll want to make sure that your clearing statements are conversational rather than
mechanical, and help you tell your story. For instance:
o “As you can see by the blue bars … ”
o “First, let’s go through the totals for each category … ”
o “Over here you’ll see the components of our new sales initiative … ”
o “What I have here is the critical path that every project should be following … ”
• Avoid saying, “On this slide you’re looking at … ” every time. It will become annoying.
You can start simply with, “This is … ” The goal is to address the various components of
the slide so the audience’s curiosity is addressed and their attention comes back to you
as the source of information.

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• For clearing statements, you’re addressing what the audience sees, rather than why
it’s important.

TRANSITION STATEMENTS
• A transition statement is the final statement you’ll make on the slide before moving
onto the next one. Properly written, a good transition statement ensures that when you
click on the new slide, you can begin with your clearing statement.
• The transition statement may also include the title of the next slide.
• The transition links the story to the clearing for the next slide.
• Transitions can be rhetorical questions.
• Since it doesn’t matter how long transition statements are, you can take information out
of the following clearing, if needed, to make that clearing shorter.

MAINTAINING CREDIBILITY DURING Q&A SESSIONS

The Question & Answer session – during or after your presentation – is one of the most critical
moments for you as the presenter. You prepared and rehearsed your content and visuals. You
know your presentation flow so there will be few, if any, surprises. But in Q&A,
the unexpected can happen and you may have to work harder to maintain your credibility.
One thing you can do to prepare is to think about the top 5 questions you’re hoping you don’t
get. It’s almost a guarantee that one or two of them will be asked.
Below are steps to help you control both yourself and your audience during Q&A. The steps
listed below are designed for use with an audience of 6 or more people (up to very large
groups).

1. Raise hand.
• This is your way of signaling that he/she is ready to take questions.
• It also sets the precedent for the Q&A session: it gives a non-verbal cue for questioners
to raise their hands to ask a question.

2. Select
With open palm versus pointed finger, select the person whose question you will take. Pointing
can be aggressive. The open-palm is more inviting.

3. Listen to the question.

• The first impulse most presenters have when an audience member asks a question is to
try and think of the answer. That’s a bad habit.

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• While trying to think of the answer, you stop listening to the question. The problem is
that people can ramble, and the question doesn’t come until the end.
• Instead maintain eye contact with the questioner and LISTEN to the entire question
before starting to think of your answer.

4. Break visually.
Once you understand the question, break visually from the questioner, and repeat / rephrase
the question to someone else in the audience.

5. Repeat or rephrase the question.

• While maintaining eye contact with an audience member, repeat or rephrase the
question by putting it into your own words.
• Repeat the question if it is short so you know everyone has heard it.
• Rephrase the question if it is a rambling or hostile question. If it’s long, you ensure the
audience knows what the question was. If it’s hostile, you can strip the emotion out of it
and stay neutral.
• Don’t say “The question is / was.” Start with the interrogative – Who, What, Where,
When, How.
• Try to avoid saying “Good question.” Qualifying a question is never good for the
person who asks the question before or after. And more often than not, people say this
when they’re stalling to come up with their answer.

6. Answer the question.

• As a courtesy to the questioner, begin your answer looking at him / her. Then, using
eye contact, include the entire audience when answering. It’s your job to include the
entire room, not have a 1:1 conversation.
• Bottom line your answer. If the answer is yes or no, say yes or no before giving
additional detail.

7. End or don’t end on the questioner.

• If you end looking at the questioner, he / she may ask you another question. If the
questioner is a key decision-maker, it might be a good idea to make sure you answered
sufficiently.
• If you end your answer on someone who just asked you a hostile question, he / she’s
likely going to come right back at you with another question.

8. Raise hand.
This signals that you have completed your answer and are ready for another question.