By Peter Bates

What are you scared of? Death? Snakes? Pit bulls? Clowns?

For some people, giving a presentation in front of a crowd of strangers ranks higher on the list than these other fears. The thought of an audience judging them and their product makes most people nervous, even seasoned professionals. However, there are techniques you can use to carve your way through this dense jungle—technical tips and personal style adjustments that anyone can learn.

Attitude
"Attitude is your most important tool," says Lou Murray of Waltham, Mass. Lou's agency is affiliated with New York Life and is licensed to broker other insurance companies. He often gives educational presentations to law and CPA firms, community organizations and other brokers.

"To prepare for a presentation, to convince people to take action, you have to wholeheartedly embrace the purpose of why you're up there. Believe in what you're doing and no matter how tired you are, how many times you've given the presentation, or how disruptive the audience is, you will succeed." Murray admits that when he began to speak in public, his first mistake was lacking confidence in his presentation abilities. He knew all the facts and had good PowerPoint shows, but he failed to control the situation because he did not have the correct attitude. "If your purpose is foremost, you will give an energetic, captivating and dynamic presentation."

"People are usually pretty understanding about quirky technology. But it's crucial that you have visual aids like handouts … to add another layer to your presentation." —Lou Murray

Walking around the room
Just as important as having confidence is conveying confidence. Some presenters develop so much dependency on their slides that they turn their backs to the audience to read them. They also stand as stiffly as statues, rarely moving from one spot.

"They'd be lost without a remote control [to advance the slides]," says Murray. He believes in developing a style that allows you to walk around the stage in a relaxed manner, sometimes even among the audience. "That way you present the image of a multidimensional person, not just a talking head behind a podium." He has also developed the ability to adjust to new rooms quickly and find out where the best vantage points are.

Many presenters suggest creating a "home base" by occupying a place to the left of the screen (from the audience perspective). "If you need to change a slide, time your talking so you can casually wander back to the projector; if you suddenly rush, your cadence and breathing will noticeably increase."

Preparation
Before giving a new presentation, Murray practices before other seasoned agents as well as his own family. "My wife often tells me that she doesn't understand a certain word or that I give short shrift to a topic that needs to be broken down more and explained. I take those points seriously."

Another part of preparation involves anticipating disaster. What does a good presenter do if his or her equipment goes south? PowerPoint presentations are infamous for breaking down. Either the laptop or the digital projector develops issues, or the software suddenly spawns a glitch. Murray has developed a backup strategy for these scenarios.

First, he habitually shows up two hours early to set up a presentation, so he can check out his equipment. If one of the components fails, he has a backup of the presentation on old-fashioned transparencies. "I can either call a colleague in a nearby town and ask for an overhead projector or rent one from a store." A truly prepared presenter has the phone numbers of rental stores in the cities he or she most frequents.

That's fine, but what if the equipment breaks down in the middle of a presentation? In that situation, you depend on the kindness of strangers. "People are usually pretty understanding about quirky technology. But it's crucial that you have visual aids like handouts, which you should have with you anyway to add another layer to your presentation."

Murray is not talking about a stapled printout of the entire presentation, but additional material, such as a more detailed analysis of a slide. People appreciate these extras because they can take them home and mull them over later. And, in the case of an equipment breakdown, they're a safety net that leads to discussion.

One unknown element many presenters fear is the obstreperous person in the audience: the skeptic, the heckler. If you treat their constant disruptions and objections as legitimate questions, you can lose the rest of the audience.

Murray has a strategy for these folks as well. "I usually say something like this: 'It's obvious that you know your subject matter well. You are raising issues that are so important that we should talk about them in detail after the presentation. I'm sure the rest of your colleagues would agree with me.'" The audience usually agrees or claps, and the person gets the message.

A presentation is one of the best ways to sell your ideas and services to an audience. Your prospects meet with you in a socially acceptable location and have a chance to air their questions and resolve their objections. If you handle it with preparation and confidence, you will have a good chance of getting your prospects' business.

Peter Bates runs Bates Communications, a marketing communications firm in the greater Boston area. You can contact him through pbates@batescommunications.net or his website at http://www.batescommunications.net.

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