G.Inspired Meetings…..
I’m in China this week. I love these trips. Spending time in Asia makes me think. I learn about technology, and at the same time I enjoy the people. Friendly, open, with a certain drive for the customer….Except when it comes to presentations.
Most presentations are boring, static and hard to understand sometimes. Of course because of the language (I do respect the fact that they try to speak English), but mostly because they don’t seem to take the time to tailor a presentation towards the audience they are speaking to.
So sitting through a particular difficult one (ok, the jetlag played a role and it was early morning), I started thinking about what a good presentation looks like to me.
- Prepare. Think about who you are going to present to. You can use a standard company presentation, but add or adapt some slides that speak specifically to the people in the room. A company presentation towards sales people is very different than towards a room full of engineers.
- Smile. Relax. I personally like to tell stories while doing a presentation. Think about one to start of with. Maybe about yourself. A strong opening makes all the difference, it grabs the attention of the room, and it relaxes yourself so you get into the flow easier.
- Stand up. Move, don’t stay in your seat. Make eye contact with your audience. And show passion! It makes such a difference…but that also means you have to:
- Make the presentation interactive. In two ways. First, Slide through your slides on the screen, not from your computer. Make notes. Add information while you are presenting. Second, ask questions. Make the audience participate.
- And most of all: enjoy! Be yourself. Remember that we all are the same.
Of course, good presentation equipment helps. Like we are building @i3-technologies (wink…). Simple to use, so you can focus on what is important: you!