Speaker Etiquette

This is not an exhaustive list of subjects speakers should watch out for by any means. It's just a few things I've been thinking about lately after watching a speaker slip up at a recent event.

Remember Who's Running the Meeting

A good friend of mine was invited to speak to a group of local businessmen. Jeff, the leader of the group and also a friend of mine, asked if I'd like to come. I said sure. We met at the Golden Corral in Spartanburg.

When everyone got there, they went and got their food and sat down to eat. Part way into the meal (and just before the leader stood up) my friend blurts out, "So Jeff, how about we all introduce ourselves before I start my talk." You could see Jeff seethe for just a moment before he politely said, "We'll get to that in just a moment." This should be obvious, but when you are "invited" to speak, wait to be introduced before you take the floor.

Don't Pat Yourself on the Back Too Much

One of my main jobs is training sharpeners. I'm not the only person who does this in the states, but as you can imagine we are few and far between. I put together a show once for a large group of professional sharpeners in Richmond Virginia. One of my speakers, a very well known sharpener and excellent trainer, talked about all the sharpening awards he'd won in the past as he started his presentation. He even when so far as to say, "I may even be the most accredited sharpener in the world."

As soon as these words left his mouth one of the attendees grabbed me and pulled me out into the hall. He said, "Did you hear what he just said? He said he's the best sharpener in the world!" I said, "No he didn't," and then repeated what he said, but it was too late, he had already lost that sharpeners attention. How many more people did he loose in that audience with that one statement? Choose your words wisely.

Don't Be Stupid Like Me

Trust me, I'm no better! I had a similar foot in mouth incident to the one the sharpener in the last example had. I was asked to speak at a NASA Convention in Memphis. (The National Appliance Service Association, not the real NASA!) I had teamed up with another trainer friend of mine and we were each going to speak about our products for 30 minutes. Long story short, my friend lost track of time and spoke for fifty minutes. I was hot, but condensed my presentation into the five minutes we had let after I set up my equipment. Unfortunately, I was rather impressed with myself that I was able to pull the presentation off despite the lack of time. So when I finished speaking I foolishly said, "Give me a hand, I did a great job." As soon as I said that, I heard an older gentleman in the front row say, "Arrogant, " as he shook his head.

That made a big impression on me! I've strived to walk that fine line between confidence and arrogance ever since. Hopefully I've avoided stepping over that line more times than not.

You Only Get One Chance to Make a Good First Impression

Don't make the leader mad! Don't put yourself on a pedestal and make your audience feel "beneath" you, and certainly don't do like I did! You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Once you lose your audience it's over. Remember, it's not about you, it's about them.

Image: rightantler

Lessons All Around

These past few weeks, when I've had the time, I've been refreshing myself on presenting; one of my favorite subjects. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post titled, It's Not About the Slides. It focused mainly on what not to do when presenting; particularly when it comes to presenting with Power Point. Today I came across a great YouTube video of Garr Reynolds teaching a presentation class at Google on Six Pixels of Separation. It's long (just over an hour), but it is packed with great information.

One of my favorite points Garr made was if we open our eyes, we'll see great examples of slides (or marketing, or color schemes and so on) all around us. Look at bill board ads, magazine ads, signs in shops and restaurants. The examples are many! When you see good examples of advertising, take a moment and make note of it. Write it down or take a picture if you have a camera on your cell phone, then build a file. These examples will prove invaluable when you design that next ad or presentation.

When you get a chance, take some time and watch Garr's presentation. He goes over many of the points in his book, Presentation Zen. Just remember, it's long!

It's Not About the Slides!

A presentation is a sale. Whether you're selling a product, a service or an idea it's all the same; it's a sale. What we need to understand is people don't buy what you're selling, they buy you. That's why you need to make sure you design your slides around your presentation, instead of your presentation around your slides. The slides are not there to be your notes, or worse; your cue cards. They are there to complement what you're saying. Put too much focus on the slides and you'll wreck your presentation.

This came up with a friend of mine. He was interviewing for a new job and had to put together a power point presentation to show his stuff. The head hunter that got him the interview reviewed his slides and said they needed more color. My friend called me in a panic and asked if I could come by and help him dress them up. I said sure, but can I ask a question? Why do they need more color? My friend said that the head hunter just said they did. I asked if they fit the presentation? My friend said yes. So I told him I'd be glad to come and help him with his color scheme, but the company isn't going to hire his slides, they're going to hire him.

The point? It's not about the slides, it's about the presenter. Do a great job presenting and you won't even need the slides. Add a poorly designed power point presentation to that same presentation and it could flop. Let me give you an example. We've all heard of JFK's famous inaugural address in 1961. Here's an example of a bad power point presentation to go along with it:



If you really want to have some fun, watch this comedian pick bad power point apart:



If you want an example of how to use power point well, click here.

Remember, design a good presentation first; add slides later!

Thanks to Garr Reynolds for two of these links that led to the inspiration for this post. Garr wrote the book on presentations, Presentation Zen.

PS - My friend got the job by the way, and without adding color. :)

If you liked this post, be sure to visit my other blog: Jim Sharp

Public Speaking Pointers

This is exciting! I get to combine three if my favorite things in one post. They are:

1. Public Speaking
2. Sir Ken Robinson
3. The book: Presentation Zen

I am one of those weird people that actually likes to speak publicly. I've spent a lot of time studying public speaking and one of my favorite speakers is Sir Ken Robinson. His ideas on education and creativity fall right in line with mine and he is just fun to listen to.

The Presentation Zen Blog is one of the blogs I follow, and the other day Garr Reynolds wrote a post about Sir Ken Robinson. It was based on a podcast he had heard, during which, Mr. Robinson talked about public speaking. Garr included a link to the podcast in his post, but the audio quality is quite poor. What Garr took the time to do though was write a summery of what Mr. Robinson said. I want you to go take a look. They are important points anyone interested in public speaking should read and consider.

PS - Garr Reynolds' book is the best I've found on the proper use of power point and building presentations! Be sure to take some time and watch the video of Sir Ken Robinson speaking at TED in Garr's post. You'll see why I love his speaking style!

If you liked this post, be sure to visit my other blog: Jim Sharp