Improve Your Presentation Skills

Funny how many things are simple, but also are either not easy to see, or not easy to change.

Improving your presentation skills can feel that way. Sometimes your presentation needs minor changes that are obvious to everyone but you. Other times you know what you need to do, but some habits can be a challenge to shake.

Remember: Small improvements make a HUGE impact on the power of your presentation. So every small adjustment is well worth it!

Physical and Verbal Ticks are some of the most common presentation challenges.
Ticks are like STATIC disrupting your message's delivery to the audience. They are a distraction and can detract from the meaning and importance behind every great point you make. People won't even necessarily know what they didn't like, or why they didn't fully connect, yet the damage is still done.     

It is also important to know that people will not likely tell you after your presentation: "Gee Kristin, that would have been great if you could just stopped saying Ummm and Uhhh so often. We got so distracted by it, we stopped listening and just started counting them!" 

Or "Boy Bob, the content was good but we were getting sea sick from your constant rocking. Plus it made you look so nervous that now we're all wondering if you really know what you're talking about!"

People won't tell you, so you need to be your own watchdog. These physical and verbal barriers will cause a disconnect between you and your client, boss, or large audience. So the more clear you can get your communication, the more successes you will have. In fact, a recent Wall Street Journal survey showed that 89% of corporate recruiters listed Communication Skills as a "very important"  key attributes for MBA job candidates.

ELIMINATE YOUR VERBAL AND PHYSICAL TICKS

RECORD, RECORD, RECORD
Record and/or video yourself regularly. Sometimes you are doing or saying something repetitively that you have no idea you are doing at all. The only way you will know is to check! The great thing about a recording is that is doesn't lie, and it can be painful to watch or listen to (yes, that is a great thing too).

You can use a small digital recorder in any situation from a sales call to a speech. I use an Olympus. It can fit into your pocket during a sales presentation or you can lay it on the podium as you deliver a speech. Its affordable, easy to use, and allows you to download the recordings onto your computer so that you can save them and review later. It also provides a nice way to observe your progress!

WHY RECORD?
Listen to yourself say RIGHT at the end of every other sentence for 45 minutes (like I once did) and you will first develop empathy for your most recent audience, and then you will probably want to rip your ears off. Good news is that this type of listening experience can be so painful that it makes it much easier to stop saying the thing you won't stop saying!

So go for it, you have nothing to lose, except that irritating tick!

ONE AT A TIME 
Choose one thing to work on at a time. Take it easy on yourself. You will make more progress, more quickly, by focusing on one change at a time than you will try to overhaul everything at once. 

INTO ACTION: Plan a regular schedule for when you will record and add it to your event reminder on your calendar.

LEARN more presentation skills tips and learn how you you can give presentations without any notes when you add memory training skills to your toolboxl

Learn more ways to imrpove your presentation skills:

http://www.presentationtrainingblog.com

http://www.presentationgravity.com