How to present in English

When I was younger I always wanted to be a barrister. A barrister is a lawyer who represents his or her client in court. Essentially, a barrister speaks on behalf of his client in front of a judge and or jury. Barristers are found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries and the occupation dates back to the fifteenth century.

(Above is a still shot from the UK TV series Kavanagh QC starring the late John Thaw as James Kavanagh QC)

A Barrister can be defined as a professional speaker. Their job essentially is to convince a jury or a judge of the merits of their client’s case. To do this they need to be able to persuade, speak clearly and simply on very complex subjects related to law and do so in a way that a jury understands why their client is innocent or guilty.

In the 1990′s there was a barrister in the United Kingdom called George Carman QC. (QC stands for Queen’s Counsel – a senior barrister) George Carman became famous for his ability to persuade a jury of the merits of his client’s case. He used the techniques of repetition, image building in the minds of the jury and spoke with few notes – which gave him an air of naturalness. George Carman lost few cases, he had a great ability to read the jury, understand the jury and to put his case in such a manner that the jury were willing to do whatever George wanted them to do.

In a newspaper article in the Independent newspaper in 1992 they wrote:

George Carman’s success rests on meticulous hard work, a thorough preparation of his case aided by a prodigious memory that enables him to conduct a cross examination over many hours with only the sketchiest of notes. Nor is there much to criticise, say those who have worked closely with him, in his habits of work. He is rigorous and demanding, but juniors and solicitors chorus their appreciation of his fairness, generosity, lack of pomposity.

Barristers quite often have little or no time to prepare their cases, like presenters, they are often given their ‘subject’ a few days before the court hearing. Yet, they know that their client’s future rests on their ability to argue their case in court. When there is a lack of time, a barrister will give up his or her free time to make sure their cases are fully prepared and ready.

As a presenter, you need all the skills of a successful barrister. You need to know your subject inside out, you need to know how you will develop your subject, when to repeat important information and when and how to paint a picture in your audience’s minds. These skills do not come by preparing your presentation the night before you give it. These skills come from “meticulous hard work and a thorough preparation”.

As a presenter, you may not have a client’s future in your hands, but you will certainly have your future and quite possibly the future of you company’s latest project in your hands. Surely these are important enough to make sure that you prepare your presentation with care.

If you would like to read more about George Carman, his son wrote a biography of his father, called No Ordinary Man, A Life Of George Carman.

I have seen hundreds of presentations delivered in hundreds of locations over the years and there is one thing I have noticed above all else, that is no matter what the subject matter is, no matter what visual aids are used, the most successful and most powerful presentations are the ones delivered using a natural, conversational style.

The biggest obstacle to a conversational style is our mind. When we think presentation, we think formal, we think serious, we think business. Yet while to some degree these things may be true, we do not have to speak in a formal and boring way. However, when we write out our words and practice and practice and practice those same words over and over again we lose that conversational style.

When we talk with our colleagues we do not have to write what we want to say down on a piece of paper and read it to them. We never write out what we are going to say to our friends when we meet them for a few drinks or a coffee. And because we do not write out exactly what we want to say, we sound natural and human. We think mid sentence, we start a sentence then stop half way through speaking it. All these natural speaking habits create the conversational style.

When it comes to presenting, we do need to prepare. We do need to practice and we do need to have a good idea of what we are going to say. However, to create that conversational style we have to interact with our audience. Using rhetorical questions can help, moving around on the stage and looking at our audience also helps. there are so many ways to help you to create that natural, conversational style.

If you are one of the many presenters out there that have to write out your words, try a different approach. Get yourself a voice recorder, and during your preparation have a conversation with yourself. Imagine you are talking to someone about what you are going to say in your presentation. Think: “I am having a conversation”. Then, when you are happy with your words, transcribe the words onto paper.

The problem we have when we are writing out our words is that we naturally write formally. It is very difficult in English to write informally, therefore the words we write come out formally. To avoid this, it is far better to speak out your words and then transcribe those words. They will sound much more natural.

When you are out there doing your presentation, imagine that you are having a conversation with your audience, they are your friends, they are there to help you and they want to have fun.

Finally, below is a presentation from TED by Creativity Professor Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken Robinson is a great example of a presenter who when speaking has that fantastic conversational style. Notice how he asks a lot of rhetorical questions (“… am I right?”) and how he looks at the audience and laughs with them.

One of the biggest problems in the world of presenting today is that too many people put far too much information and detail into their slides. When you do this, you loose the focus of your presentation, and this ultimately leads to your audience becoming bored and finally to fall asleep.

Take a look at the video below from Holiday Inn Hotels. The wonderful simplicity of the advert would make brilliant presentation slides. There is an image (a relevant image) and just two simple words.

The picture captures the emotion and the words create the message. There is nothing complex, there are not bullet points, lists, charts or graphs. Just a simple image with a simple message. And that is all you need to do to create amazing presentations today. Sadly, too many presenters do not do this and that is why presentations today have such a bad name.

Too often when we think “presentation” we thing PowerPoint or Keynote, yet these fantastic pieces of software are not the only way to deliver a great presentation. Other ways could include the use of a flip chart, a white board or just you standing in front of your audience.

Below, is a great example of how you could use a whiteboard (or a flip chart) to create an amazing presentation.

Using a little creativity and daring can really transform your presentations into something wonderful. You really do not need to use PowerPoint or Keynote all the time

You do not have to be artistic. I cannot draw at all, yet I always have a go drawing something on the board, my poor artwork creates some very funny moments and this helps to maintain my audiences’ interest.

So go on have a go – try something different.

One of the best ways to get audiences to feel they are taking part in your presentation is to ask rhetorical questions. A rhetorical question is a question you ask, but expect no answer to. In effect you answer your own question.

For example:

“English language education is important in today’s world, but we have a problem don’t we?”

Here we see a statement, followed by a question. The question is not expected to be answered by the audience, instead the presenter answers his or her own question. Your presentation continues like this:

“English language education is important in today’s world, but we have a problem don’t we? We have a problem because ….”

When we use rhetorical questions in our presentation, it makes your audience feel they are participating, and unconsciously it brings you closer to your audience. It is a win win situation.

So, try using a few rhetorical questions in your next presentation and see the difference in your audience’s reactions.