WHAT MAKES A GOOD PRESENTATION?

I attend an awful lot of meetings, in addition to a number of conferences and workshops. By their very nature these events often involve experts, lecturers and industry spokespeople giving presentations.

To make the most of my time, and the cost of attending these events, I am keen to get as much out of the sessions on offer as possible.

In measuring the success of such events, in terms of the balance between my time and the knowledge and inspiration gained, the topics to be covered are usually, on the surface at least, interesting. Oh, how I wish that remained the case. On almost all occasions I am left frustrated and disappointed.

I do a fair bit of public speaking and presenting myself. Although I am far from perfect, I like to think that I understand, and have gained a degree of competence, in getting to grips with the basics of what makes a good presentation; especially when it comes to using visual slides (their quantity, quality and content), engaging and gauging the response of my audience, pacing myself, and keeping to time.

The advent of increasingly sophisticated technology, has its downside, bringing with it the danger of ‘Death by Powerpoint’. Sadly, this is all too evident, even at the most sophisticated events, with high level international speakers. One speaker recently attempted to cover his topic with 34 slides(?!) in the 12-minute slot allocated, many of which had quite complicated equations and statistical notations; he failed miserably in getting across the key points in a concise and meaningful way.

At a recent international event, even with many of the presentations being held in tandem, I managed to sit in on 37 different sessions; despite having lost the will to live by the end of the first morning. The standard of speakers was, almost without exception, truly appalling. I only wish this was the exception rather than the norm.

What I fail to understand is why it is, that if someone is representing an organisation, and presumably hoping to influence an audience, they pay scant attention to the quality and content of what they are delivering. 

Prior preparation does almost always prevent poor performance, and most of us have access to support in the form of someone who can offer an objective view on the content and clarity. I prefer to speak without notes, as I feel that the delivery is stilted when a script is used, but if asked to present for a certain length of time I always check my timings; for me, it is a point of pride to get it right. If the option is available, one of the best ways to assess one’s performance is to be video-d; a sobering experience if ever there was one, as you see yourself waving your arms around, scratching your head and ‘umming’ for all it is worth!   

It may be stating the obvious, but it is apparent that those with academic clout and who hold positions of high esteem do not always make the best speakers or presenters.

It is an art, one that I am striving to master.