How to effectively present in English in the 21st Century

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.

In the final part of how to turn a presentation in to a great presentation I want to focus on 5 tips you can use that will help you with the language you should be using when you present.

So, here are the five language tips you can use that will help turn your next presentation in to a great presentation.

1. Use short sentences.

In modern day English, the trend is for us to use short, simple sentences. The reason for this is that shorter sentences are easier to follow and also helps your presentation feel like it is flowing faster. Another advantage of using short sentences is that it helps you, a non-native English speaker, to remember the key phrases and sentences you need to use.

2. Use Action words

English is an action language, not a descriptive language. So always try to use an action verb or action phrase. Doing this will keep your audience interest high. For example. Use words like:

Developed, produced, created, designed, sold and shipped

Notice how Steve Jobs always begins his presentations with an ‘update’. By doing this he allows himself to begin his presentation with positive, action words that get his audience excited and amazed.

3. Tell personal stories

One of the biggest criticisms I hear from native English speakers when talking about how Korean people present in that Korean presenters always sound inhumane. It is as if they are not human. One way round this is to tell stories from your own life. It is possible that you are taught from an early age that you should not mix your personal life with your professional life. This is just BS! Business is human. Doing business is about human relationships and contacts. So, tell stories from your personal life.

Before is an example of a speaker at TED telling a personal story to begin his presentation. Doing this makes him sound much more human and allows him to connect with his audience

4. Use positive adjectives

In English we like to hear positive words. Positive words stimulate our minds and keeps our attention. A presentation full of negative adjectives is likely to send us to sleep. So, when you are preparing your presentation, check through it carefully to make sure that the majority of words you are using are positive. Examples of positive words are:
Brilliant, cool, excellent, fantastic, great.

WARNING! - Do not keep using the same words over and over again. If you do, you create a Mark Anthony situation (This situation comes from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar where Mark Anthony repeated the words “for they are honourable men” over and over again during his speech following the murder of Julius Caesar, to the point where his audience began not to believe these words – they became sarcastic)
5. Use Emotional words

The best presentations create emotion. The emotion they create does not matter, it can be funny or sad. It really does not matter. Presentations that evoke emotion are always memorable and always get talked about.
To create emotion in a presentation get your audience to imagine a situation. For example:
“Imagine how you feel when you are stuck in a huge traffic jam and you are five minutes away from the most important interview of your life”

By asking your audience to ‘imagine’ how they would feel in a given situation, allows your audience to feel the emotion you want them to feel. It’s a great trick and it keeps your audience involved in your presentation.
By following the advice given here and in my previous two posts you can turn any presentation in to a great presentation. Good luck and stay positive.