Mar04Perspectives

For many people, standing up and talking before a crowd of people is about as inviting as stepping into the ring with Mike Tyson. White knuckles and sweaty palms are the usual responses. There is something about the act of presenting that makes some people’s knees turn to Jello. For others, getting us to sit down and shut up is the problem.

It should come as no surprise therefore to learn that for trainers, presenting to a group of people is part and parcel of our job. It is not that we are any better at it than anybody else, but once you have fallen on your face a couple of hundred times, one more bruise is not really all that noticeable. Oh, sure, there are many tricks you can learn to make your presentation look better: fancy overheads, laser pointers, PowerPoint. But every gizmo has its drawbacks: What if the overhead projector does not work correctly? (I was at a presentation at couple of years ago where the room was so hot it kept turning the overhead projector on and off at random. It made for a hilarious presentation and a very embarrassed presenter.) Coping with the stress of managing all your audio visual aids is enough to overwhelm even the most savvy presenter.

There is equally no shortage of how-to books: how to use flip charts, how to use quotations in presentations properly, etc., etc. With their heavy reliance on technology and technique, however, in my opinion, these publications miss a key point: psychology. Most people are on the presenter’s side. No one pays good money to go to a workshop or seminar thinking, “I hope this guy really messes up.” They want you to convey your message in a coherent way.

If you can remember that the crowd is on your side from the beginning, then you are halfway there. The occasional mishap with an audiovisual aid is irrelevant compared to the overall feel of the presentation.

One technique that is often not considered is improvisation, the ability to think on your feet. To be able to walk out of a sticky situation with aplomb is worth far more than an LCD projector. Consider the following two situations and ask yourself what you would have done.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
The presenter was in full flight, roaming the room with his wireless microphone, answering questions, making points (with his laser pointer), and holding everybody in thrall. The topic: Building a Successful Team. Then we took a 15-minute bathroom break. Some of us stayed behind when over the speakers came the sound of water, followed by the sound of tearing paper, and then the even more excruciating sound of someone trying to sing the opening to La Boheme. As the sounds died away, in walked our presenter and we all realized, he included, that he had left his wireless mike switched on!

I must be going now!
The trainer was ready for them. She had her handouts, her PowerPoint, her thought-provoking collection of visual aids (beanie baby, potato, and hacksaw). They arrived and she began her presentation on “Time Management: Keeping Your World in Order.” After about 20 minutes, a lone hand was raised. Sheepishly the trainee looked around for support and spoke: “I think this is the wrong presentation; we’re here to learn about “Shifting Paradigms and Cultural Diversity.” Quickly, the trainer gathered her things and left.

If your first thought to the above situations is to dig a large hole and bury yourself in it, you’re not alone. But in this case you should improvise. If necessity is the mother of invention, then calamity is its father. In the first example above, nothing has really changed between you and your audience—other than a little embarrassment. You still know your stuff, and your audience still wants to hear it. The presenter went straight into his presentation as if nothing had happened. When it came time to do one of his exercises, he changed the rules slightly and had the trainees look at embarrassing things that would inhibit their ability to work as a team. Needless to say, everyone made mention of the restroom faux pas, had a good laugh, and life went on.

In the second example, our trainer was even more brazen. Having found the correct seminar room, she waited outside until she was 30 minutes late. She then burst in, marched to the front of the room, and asked: “OK, so how does everybody feel?” After receiving the obvious negative responses, she began her presentation: “And that is why time is such a precious commodity and why we should use it wisely!”

What these two examples demonstrate is that presentations are all about people: talking to them, listening to them, and learning from them. The technology in a presentation is only a means to an end; it does not make the presentation for you. When things go wrong, remember the audience is on your side. They don’t want to see you humiliated; they want the problem fixed and their presentation to continue. If your equipment fails, get it fixed. If it’s a lost cause, improvise. The audience came to hear a presentation, not to watch you flounder.