Newsletter January 03

Why it’s useful to S.T.A.Y.

Many moons ago when I started my first job as a careers adviser, I was horrified to discover that part of my work involved giving presentations to groups of people. And large groups of peoples at that! Sometimes several hundred people.

Back in those days, my goal when giving a talk was to get through the allotted number of minutes … and still be ALIVE at the end of it.

The main part of my job was one-on-one interviews, which caused me no concern at all, even though I often gave the same information as I did in a presentation.

So what’s the difference?

There are a number of differences of course, but let’s look at one of them: S.T.A.Y. - Stop Thinking About Yourself

When I was doing one-on-one interviews I found I could easily focus on the other person and their needs. But once I was in front of a group, all I could focus on was ME:

What if I forgot what I was going to say?

Or dropped my notes on the floor?

Or blushed?

Meeting the audience’s needs didn’t feature in my thinking at all.

The purpose of a presentation is to get your message across - in the best possible way.

So if you find you’re focusing on yourself and not the audience, ask yourself “Am I getting my message across in the best possible way?”, tell yourself to STAY, and work through the following issues:

• Research your audience. Who are they? What are their needs?
• Structure. Does your presentation have a logical, easy-to-follow structure?
• Content. Does it have a simple, clear message?
• Delivery. How is your delivery style? (Videoing yourself or asking others for feedback are useful ways of finding out). Does it allow people to focus on your message?
• Do you speak slowly and clearly?
• Do you have variety to keep people’s attention, eg variety of voice, movement, visuals. Do you vary the way you impart information, eg showing a video, doing a demonstration, asking people to do an exercise, inviting audience participation …
• Do you have distracting mannerisms?

So please S.T.A.Y., focus on your audience’s needs, and you’ll find you are more likely to keep the group with you and get your message across. It can take time, but is a very empowering experience!