How to effectively present in English in the 21st Century

There is a debate going on in the world of presenting about whether the use of “umm”, “errm” “kind of” and “I mean” etc in a presentation is good or bad. Some say that the use of these ‘filler’ sounds or words demonstrates a lack of preparation and sounds unprofessional, while others say that the use of these words help to make the presentation more ‘human’ and natural sounding.

Personally, I feel that as a presenter it is important to connect with your audience, to make your audience feel that you are having a conversation with them rather than lecturing them or talking at them. This means that I am in favour of you using words that you would naturally use when you are having a conversation in English with another person in a more social setting.

Dr Simon Raybould of the TellingPeople blog I feel has hit the nail on the head. In two recent posts. (part one here and part 2 here) Dr Raybould writes about this not really being that important and that in some cases it can help to humanise your presentation. In part two he talks about how you can overcome this problem (if you really want to) but that in trying to overcome this problem you can end up “becoming formalistic and scripted”.

So I say use the filler words, make your presentation more human and less scripted and have a real conversation with your audience. If you practice enough then these will come out naturally, but be careful of over practicing and sounding wooden and boring.

(HT to Dr Simon Raybould for his excellent posts)

A long time ago, I visited the Spanish island of Ibiza. For those of you who do not know, Ibiza is known as the nightclub capital of the world.

I spent a week there, clubbing, drinking and eating vast quantities of unhealthy food. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I came away inspired by the DJs in the clubs. They were professional – no alcohol drinking, they were entertaining and they knew exactly what their audiences wanted and when to give it to them.

I came away so inspired that I began a mobile disco with one of my best friends and spent the next three years going round weddings, Christmas and birthday parties doing discos. It was one of the best times of my life.

Since then I have had a very big love for dance music and in particular with house music. I can listen to it any time of the day.

All professional DJs know about giving audiences what they want. They know how to begin a ‘set’ – the name they give to giving a performance – and they know when to build up to the climax of their particular set.

DJs also know what to play at different times of the night. If they are doing the early set, then they play slower music, building up the beats per minute towards midnight when the music becomes high tempo and their audiences are on the dance floor dancing and chanting.

As presenters we need to know how to ‘play’ to our audiences. We need to know when to give our audience the highlight of our presentation and we need to know when to slow things down or speed things up.

How do DJs do this? They practice. Almost all DJs I know, whether they are amateur, like I was, or professional like the DJ pictured about (David Guetta – one of my favourites) they spend all week practicing before an event – checking that the music mixes well and practicing set after set to make sure everything just works.

What we can learn from these DJs is how to get our audience’s attention with the right kind of information at the right time. maybe you want to begin your presentation slowly and build up to the climax, or perhaps you want to begin with something big and surprise your audience.

Whichever way you choose, as a presenter you have the power, but you also need the energy. It is no good just standing there behind a lectern or podium not moving. You have to show your audience you care, you have to show your energy and you have to show your passion for what you are presenting about. That is what makes the superstar DJs like David Guetta so successful. It is their energy and they knowledge of what their audiences want.

For those of you who enjoy a little dance music – take a look at the video below of David Guetta doing a set at le Redlight Nightclub in Paris. It is just so inspiring.

One more thing…

With all that technology they use, things do go wrong from time to time. All DJs I know have back up systems ready and waiting to start – just in case something goes wrong. Do you have a backup system ready and waiting?

Stage fright or “podium fear” is probably the one reason people hate doing presentations. It is the reason for all those sleepless nights, loss of appetite and hatred for your boss and or job. But stage fright is nothing new, you are not alone when you experience it. Every presenter, actor, TV star and musician face it every day. Stage fright is what makes your performance brilliant. Stage fright should be embraced and worked with.

However, stage fright in its extreme form can cause you to ‘freeze up’, and when that happens it is not good. So how can you overcome this extreme form of stage fright? Here are a list of strategies that have always helped me and I hope can help you:

1. Arrive early and claim the room

By arriving early, setting up your computer / whiteboard / OHP etc you are becoming familiar with the room. After setting up your computer walk around the room, get a real feel for its dimensions and layout. Part of the problem we have when we present is that we are not familiar with the room in which we are presenting and therefore we naturally feel uncomfortable. By arriving early, and before your audience arrives, you allow yourself time to become familiar with the room and to ‘own’ it. Once you ‘own’ the room it becomes your territory and then you will feel much more comfortable. Imagine how you feel talking to a stranger at your desk or in your office – you do not feel nervous then do you? That is because it is your territory.

2. Prepare and practice

If you do not practice and prepare before hand then you are going to be very nervous. By practicing your presentation, going through it with your slides and not just reading and reading a paper script you will gradually feel more confident. By being confident you will overcome to worst of the nerves. Again, you need to do this with your slides as this gives your practice and rehearsal a more realistic feel and it also prevents you from losing your place in the middle of your presentation.

3. Greet your audience when they arrive

There is a subconscious factor working when you are standing at the door of the presentation room greeting your audience when they arrive. It gives you an air of power and control. It also gives you the chance to see that your audience are not angry monsters wanting to kill you, but nice, friendly people interesting in what you have to say. Hiding away at the back of the room is going to intensify your nerves. Being out there at the door greeting your audience is going to help you forget that you are nervous – after all what is more natural than meeting people?

4. Don’t change your presentation last minute

I still cannot believe that people do this – they spend weeks preparing for a big presentation, they practice many hours and then on the night before or even the morning before they change their presentation. Never do this! Changing your presentation hours before delivering it is going to intensify your fears. Set a cut off of one week before your presentation and then do not change it. You will be tempted to do it, but do not. Once you have your boss’s OK then stick with what you have got and then practice it. If you have practiced the presentation well enough, made no changes you will be confident and your fear will be less intense.

5. Visualise

Olympic athletes, stage actors and musicians all use this trick to enhance their performance. They visualise performing fantastically and winning the gold medal or receiving loud applause. As you are practicing your presentation visualise everything going well – visualise looking at the audience, clicking through your slides seamlessly and answering questions effectively. While most people find it difficult to see how this can work, trust me when I tell you that it really does. It prepares your body and mind and it helps you to perform brilliantly.

I hope these little tips help you when you next do your presentation – try them, they have be tried and tested by many great speakers over the years and they have been proven to work.

때때로 발표자들이 프레젠테이션에 지나치게 격식을 차리고 너무 딱딱한 방식으로 진행하는 경우가 있습니다. 이런 프레젠테이션 방식은 지루하고, 재미도 없고 전하고자 하는 메세지에 대한 발표자의 열정도 없어 보입니다.

가장 훌륭한 프레젠테이션은, 발표자가 마치 청중과 대화하듯 교감을 이루는 프레젠테이션입니다. 상사가 시켜서 직업상 어쩔 수 없이 하는 것이 아니라, 발표자가 자신이 이야기 하고자 하는 것에 진정한 열정을 가지고 있는 그런 프레젠테이션이 바로 훌륭한 프레젠테이션입니다.

위 사진은, 2002년 TED에서 Bill Strickland의 프레젠테이션 중 촬영된 것입니다. 그는 프레젠이션 오프닝에서, 청중들에게 자신은 노트나 스크립트 없이 그저 몇 분간 그들과 이야기 하고 싶다고 이야기합니다.

It’s a great honor to be here with you. The good news is I’m very aware of my responsibilities to get you out of here because I’m the only thing standing between you and the bar. (Laughter) And the good news is I don’t have a prepared speech, but I have a box of slides. I have some pictures that represent my life and what I do for a living. I’ve learned through experience that people remember pictures long after they’ve forgotten words. And so I hope you’ll remember some of the pictures I’m going to share with you for just a few minutes.

정말 환상적인 오프닝이지 않습니까? 오프닝이 끝나자마자 청중들은 이 프레젠테이션이, 발표자가 관심도 없는 주제에 관해 스크립트 그대로를 죽죽 외워 말하는 그런 재미 없는 프레젠테이션이 되지 않을 것이라고 바로 알아차리게 됩니다. 이 간단한 오프닝만으로  청중들은 발표자가 뭔가 흥미로운 것을 말하게 될 것이라 생각하게 되고, 더욱 중요한 것은 청중들이 뭔가 들을만한 가치있는 것을 발표자가 이야기하게 될 것이라고 느끼게 되는 것입니다.

Bill Stickland의 프레젠테이션에 또 다른 독특한 점은 청중과 대화하듯 이루어진 진행 방식 뿐 아니라, 피아노 연주가 Herbie Hancock을 초청하여 자신이 말하는 동안 감미로운 음악을 연주하도록 하여씁니다. 강연장은 마치 정말 재즈바에서 여유롭게 담소를 나누는 듯한 분위기가 되었습니다. 그리고 더욱 더 놀라운 점은  Herbie가 그의 스토리 안에 등장한다는 것입니다.

프레젠테이션장의 분위기를 이끌어가는것이 때때로 여러분에게 어렵게 느껴질 수 있습니다. 프레젠테이션이 열리는 장소들은 대부분 차갑고 밋밋한 회색들로 둘러싸여 통풍도 잘 안되는 곳에 강한 조명만이 발표자를 비추곤 합니다. 하지만, 여기 Bill Strickland 프레젠테이션에서는, 조명의 밝기를 낮추고, 피아노 연주가 흐르면서 청중과 일대일 대화를 나누는 듯한 편안한 분위기를 완벽히 연출해 냈습니다.

자! 이제 아시겠습니까? 훌륭한 프레젠테이션의 비밀은, 눈에 띄는 파워포인트 슬라이드나, 완벽하게 스크립트를 외우는 것이 아니라, 여러분이 전하고자 하는 메세지에 대한 진정한 열정을 가지고, 청중 한분 한분과 대화하듯 그들과 교감을 이루며 메세지를 전달하는것에 있습니다. 물론 피아니스트까지 있다면 금상첨화겠지만 말이죠 ㅎㅎㅎ

아래의 동영상은 위 사진에서 보신 Bill Strickland의 프레젠테이션 동영상입니다. 전체 영문 스크립트를 함께 보시기 원하신다면, TED 웹싸이트를 방문해 보시기 바랍니다.

프레젠테이션에 있어서 여러분이 너무 긴장하고 두려워하게되면, 오프닝 부분이 전체 진행 과정 중 가장 어렵게 느껴질 때가 종종 있습니다.

프레젠테이션을 시작하는데는 다양한 방법들이 있습니다; 스티브 잡스처럼 “Good morning. Thank you for coming today”라는 말로 시작할 수도 있고, 다른 이로부터 자신을 소개받아 시작하는 것이라면, “ Thank you Mr/Ms XXX (소개 해준 이). Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen” 과 같이 좀 더 격식을 차려 이야기 할 수 있습니다.

어떤 방법으로 프레젠테이션 시작을 열어가시든, 강렬하고 자신감있게 시작하시는 것이 중요합니다.

무엇보다도 오프닝 부분을 사전에 충분히 연습하시는 것이 가장 중요합니다. 아래의 표들은 여러분들이 오프닝 때 사용하실 수 있는 예문들입니다. 어떤 것을 선택하여 사용하시든, 가장 중요한 것은 긴장 되지 않고 편안해 보이면서 여유롭게 프레젠테이션을 시작하는 것입니다.

이 간단한 오프닝들을 마음껏 사용해 보시고, 여러분께서 편하게 느끼시는 구문을 골라 오늘 바로 연습해 보시기 바랍니다.