Memorizing? Try structuring.

I remember back when I was young, my parents would come up to me and say, “Try memorize these words if you wanna talk to strangers!” And what they told me was about a set of lists on how to make a small talks like weather, football games, so on. It was fine for me, and now… that list is still running on my head. Okay and not okay, I should tell you all. Okay because I have premade topics, not okay because I need to refer that list every single time.

Would that be the same thing during presenting in front of people? Absolutely.

I agreed to what Chen said about taking off notes and memorizing for presentations. She experienced the “stagnancy” over her presentation skills until her previous instructor decided to ban all forms of notes. “No one can improve his/her presentation skills in that environment.” Chen wrote. In addition to that, memorizing what you’re trying to say would then create barrier, reducing creativity and therefore it will look unnatural to the audience…due to word-by-word being played back in one’s head.

Instead of breaking down per words, Chen’s instructor’s decision to not letting them bringing something to read brought a positive impact. “Then most of the presentations were going much better than past.” Even though she didn’t mention specific method on it, I’d point out possible scenario where Chen’s instructor told them to focus on key points and develop that by their own words. No scripts needed, more creativity, and hence, looks more natural and prepared to the audience!

To relate with my childhood story, yes, presenting in front of public would work the same way. Premade topics can be substituted to premade notes, and by constantly referring to that premade notes, you’d ended up keeping your presentation skills to a zero growth since you already confine yourself to that set of words.

Reference: Chen, J. (2018, March 01). Don’t read your note — Soft Skill — Presentation — Medium. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://medium.com/soft-skill-presentation/dont-read-your-note-d02c408d115d