Presenting and public speaking toolkit Part one: How (and why) to prepare
Preparation is absolutely key to delivering an effective talk or presentation. But where should you start? This article is created from a three-part course I have run at Immediate Media, based on years of doing all kinds of presenting and public speaking. In part one, we will look at how to prepare for any kind of talk or presentation. Part two outlines a number of methods for practising to help you get it spot on. In the third part of the course, participants gave a talk that they had prepared and rehearsed.
The overall objective is to provide you with a toolkit for preparing presentations, which you can embrace, adapt, reject or add to, so that public speaking is something you can approach with confidence and even enjoy. There are three pillars to presenting, and preparation is first (followed by practise and actually presenting). This section aims to help you answer the questions: ‘Where do I start?’ and ‘How do I put a talk together that I can feel confident about?’
I should be clear though, that there are three things I definitely cannot do:
- I can’t stop the panic. But, just because we feel the symptoms of stress doesn’t mean that something is ‘bad’. (There is a really interesting segment in the Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy podcast where Flintoff explains his approach to dealing with the symptoms of nerves, and Matthew Syed talks about the huge preparation he undertook to get good at public speaking). Knowing you have prepared and rehearsed will help you tap into an inner calm and mitigate the stress. There are lots of good tips for overcoming nerves out there.
- I can’t ensure the unexpected will not happen. But, being prepared can help you move through any issues and feel more confident that you can cope. For example, I once turned up at a conference and all digital forms of my presentation were missing. Luckily I had a paper copy and had rehearsed well enough to be able to give the talk without the slides (with only a short piece of interpretive dance required to explain a chart).
- I can’t help you make great slides (I’m awful at it). But there are lots of amazing, creative people out there who can help, and plenty of information online, like this article with 11 tips on slide design or this one on Apple’s ‘one number per slide’ rule.
Why prepare?
Some people wing it — and good for them if that’s their approach. If they fail they can say ‘I was winging it anyway’; if they succeed they can say ‘hey I just winged it’ — it’s a protection from making the effort. For me, the key to an effective talk (by which I mean the audience understands and takes away your key points) is preparation. And many ‘winged’ stories may have more thought behind them than it appears (a classic example is Jeremy Vine’s experience of Boris Johnson).
The toolkit
Tool 1: The 4-Mat
The 4-Mat, created by Bernice McCarthy, is something we’re taught about on the Immediate Leadership & Management Programmes. Your audience will be made up of different types of people — those who constantly ask ‘why’, those who want to understand ‘what’ is needed so they can crack on, those who focus on the ‘how’ of the process and those who want to understand the ‘so what’, the benefits for themselves or the business. To engage an audience, use the 4-Mat to make sure you cover all angles so each segment is catered for. It is a great way to plot out the main points of your presentation, to see which sectors they fall into, and give you a sense of the balance of your message.
Tool 2: Storyboarding
I think this is the most underrated and important tool you can use. Even if you ignore all the others, have a go at storyboarding. Every talk tells a story, and the story board:
- Makes sure there is a beginning, middle and end
- Map out if there are points where you can interact with the audience; being involved really helps with engagement levels
- Makes sure key points are included
- Keeps a logical sequence
- Keeps you on track!
Your storyboard an be digital, paper, whatever. The blocks don’t have to match up to your slides (if you use slides) they are just the story itself and as much detail as you want to add. Films, in particular animated films, are the masters of this approach. Take a look at how Pixar do storyboards.
Tool 3: Map your key points
Unlike an elephant, your audience will not remember all of your talk. It’s absolutely vital that you focus on delivering your key points so they actually get your message. First, you need to decide, what are the key points? And most importantly, what are the key points for your audience? What do you actually want them to remember? Is it appropriate to their level of understanding? (Particularly if you are speaking to a non-specialist audience about any kind of technical subject: think carefully about jargon and assuming knowledge.) Do they map to the 4-Mat?
Plan these key points, and the evidence for them, throughout your storyboard.
Reinforce them through closing — plan in a recap at the end.
Don’t drown your audience in details (if you can avoid it). This tragic tale is a salutary warning about making sure the key facts are fully understood.
Tool 4: Slides
Slides are a visual aid not a handbook.
This is a challenge with some detailed presentations, but even then, what are the key points?
Prepare your talk before your slides. They are the supporting act, not the main event.
The slides should showcase, highlight and support your key points in a way that is appropriate for your audience
Tool 5: Prepare for disaster
Most talks go just fine, but it’s worth thinking in advance about any issues that could come up, so that if they do, you’re one step ahead.
It’s worth making sure you have an offline backup. I’ve seen digital presentations go wrong in a number of ways, but the best speakers are able to manage without slides. If you’re planning a live demo, it’s worth having a video of the demo saved as backup. Even Microsoft keynotes have seen demos go wrong!
If you use notes or index cards, put numbers on them so you know the sequence. I dropped mine at a talk once, and then had to work out which order to put them into! From that moment on I used numbering.
Be transparent with the audience — they are human too. If the technology has gone wrong, or you got soaked in the rain on the way there, they are likely to feel more sympathy than anything else. Just take them on the journey with you.
Tool 6: Don’t wing it on the details
Getting ready for a talk is about more than the words you’re going to say. it’s important you take a holistic view to preparation, and structure your talk accordingly.
For example, think about the venue. If it’s external, where is it? Can you get there? How will you get there? Do you need to transport any materials as part of your talk? If it’s internal, do you have a room? A screen? Enough chairs?
Additionally, it’s vital you think about what kind of talk you’re giving. A wedding speech? A corporate update? A sales pitch? A school event? The kind of event will have a massive impact on considerations like how much humour to inject, what kind of language is appropriate and how much interaction with the audience you should plan in.
As you think about what you’re going to say, make sure you understand who the audience is likely to be (it’s perfectly fine to ask an event organiser for an overview of the audience of a business event so you’re prepared in advance). Who are they? What do they understand? What are their expectations?
What are the facilities available? Is there a screen? Stage? Microphone? Podium? Live demo? Internet? Back-up video?
And don’t forget to prepare yourself! Can you get there? Can you get enough sleep the night before? Do you need to take food? Water? Is there a particular outfit/shoes you need to have ready? (This ties into rehearsal as well).
Tool 7: Think about the time
It’s critically important that you know how long you’re going to need to speak for (and that timing is a maximum, not a minimum or an absolute requirement you have to pad out your talk to fill, in most cases.)
Just in case, it can be worth having an express version ready. And make sure you front-load the talk with the ‘so what’, so that your audience understands early on what they are going to take away, which helps hook them in and keep them listening.
And this does really relate to the next section of the course, but practice with a timer so you have a sense of how long what you are planning will actually take. With experience you’ll know how many words you deliver in a minute, but early on it’s well worth reading through — out loud — over and over again to get a sense of your own cadence
Tool 8: Recap and close
Make sure your presentation has a beginning, middle and end — like any good story. Your storyboard will help you plan in when to recap your key points so that the audience is clear on what they will need to remember, and to make sure that you plan your closing statements, so that you don’t just drift to a finish.
Hopefully these tips will help you plan out your next talk in a way that increases your public-speaking confidence levels. Part two, different ways to rehearse, will follow shortly. If you have other tips, it’d be great to hear them in the comments below.
