If you know your material well and you are happy with what you are presenting this is a good start. However please remember that you want to get the KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS over to the audience and the structure, content and presentation have to ALL come together to leave that lasting impression of quality.

My favourite method is what I call the "NEWS AT TEN METHOD". Put simply, take all the key points:-

Understanding good colour relationships IS VITAL in developing a successful presentation. But don't get carried away with the millions of colours available in today's applications. Using too many lessens the impact of each colour and confuses your audience. Drowning your slide in vibrant colour may produce the opposite reaction of what you intended Keep it simple. Limit your colour choices to two or three on a contrasting background, and keep them consistent throughout. Plan the colour scheme for the whole presentation before choosing colours for individual elements. Use distinctive contrast between text and background. The most effective method is to use your company’s colour scheme to all the "Corporate Image" stamp.

• Bar graph - shows relationship between specific time periods. You can compare amounts of several items in a series, with each quantity represented by an individual column that indicates by its height the number of units being counted.
• Pictograph Icons, rather than columns, used in bar graphs.
• Line graph shows change of one or more variables over a period of time.
• Flow chart - shows the specific steps in a process, or certain relationships.
• Pie chart shows the components of a 360-degree whole, segmented into "slices" which represent a percentage of the whole. Pie chart data must add up to 100 percent.
• Table shows relational data in a precise form

Most presentation software comes with a variety of professionally drawn pictures or clip art, which you can easily add to your slides. You can also import pictures from other sources. For example, by using a scanner with special software, you can scan your organisation’s logo in a bitmap (.bmp) or PCX format, and include it in every frame. Photographs can be scanned or downloaded from many of the stock photography sources. PowerPoint in the Office 97 Version has a comprehensive range of pictures included (Assuming that they have been installed on your hard disk).

A variety of multimedia effects and applications are now available, including full-motion video and portable CD-quality sound, which can captivate your audience. But multimedia is only as good as the planning and content that go into it. A little goes a long way-be aware of your audience and determine whether the effects will enhance or distract from the message you're trying to convey. Most projectors offered have a video capability option, which lets you toggle, via the remote that comes with the projector, between a VCR and your computer data presentation. It's a very simple way to add video to your presentations and doesn't drain memory resources from your computer.

SOUND

Sound adds mood to your presentation and is a great attention-getter. Sound cards are available for recording voice, sound effects and music at near CD-quality levels, but they are resource-intensive. Sound recording, or sampling, can take up to 10 MB of hard disk space for one minute of sound, which isn't practical for general presentation use. Try using lower-quality sound files or much shorter sound bites in your presentation to avoid problems. The common sound file standard has the *~WAV QNaveform) file extension

Music, when used sparingly and tastefully, is a welcome element in a professional multimedia presentation. When adding any kind of music, be aware of copyright issues. There are many top-quality production music libraries you can use to keep your organisation within the law. You will also find a large selection of shareware with sound effects that can be used.

Before your audience arrives, check the room layout to make sure everything is in place lectern, microphone, and audio-visual equipment. Find out where you will be seated prior to your presentation, and the path you will take to get to the podium. Set the lectern back a few feet so you can walk in front of it. Check the height and adjust, if necessary

Make sure it's not so tall that only your head shows! Place your notes on the lectern in advance (also keep an extra copy with you), and keep a glass of water at the lectern. You may want to have someone act as trouble-shooter to round up extra chairs, adjust lighting, keep noise down, and usher latecomers.

You want to make a real connection with your audience. Try to avoid stages that are so high you intimidate your audience. Have the first row set close to the stage. Too much space between the speaker and the first row creates a lack of chemistry with the audience. One trick for getting the audience to fill the front rows is to mark off back rows with masking tape.

If using on-site equipment, discuss your needs with a technical person who knows the required interfacing. If a LCD panel is provided, ask in advance about the type of overhead projector; it must be transmissive, one with the light coming from the bottom. You can't use the reflective type with the flat bottom and the light in the head. Make sure there is a screen or a light-coloured, flat wall to project your image. The screen should be positioned at an angle off to one side. Carry two copies of your presentation on disks; have one set up for printing to a colour printer or film recorder, if an emergency requires you to change to another medium.

Allow yourself plenty of set-up time. A couple of hours is usually adequate, although a trial run the day before can't hurt test the microphone, speakers and other sound equipment-never wait until you start to determine sound levels. Sound checks distract and irritate the audience If possible, assign responsibility for the sound system,

lighting, and visual aids to an assistant.

PRESENTATION

Most people who give presentations agree the number one rule to remember is know your subject. Inside and out. Your audience expects no less. Prepare thoroughly; the more you do, the more confidence you'll have in your content, methods and skills-and the better your results will be.

You may know your subject and believe in it, but if you don't present it effectively, all of that can be lost. So practice, practice; practice! For a polished delivery, rehearse your material, but don't memorise it. Good speakers rehearse enough so they get up with ease, giving the impression they are speaking extemporaneously. Get comfortable with the timing.

Be positive. Imagine the audience giving you rousing applause. Picture them cheering you for the best presentation they've ever heard. Your audience really does want you to succeed. Most people understand how difficult it is to appear in front of a group and they appreciate your efforts:-

• Warm up your vocal cords with simple drills.
• A warm beverage works wonders in relaxing the throat and vocal chords.
• Eat some chocolate, it produces natural endorphins in your body that can relieve stress.
• Force yourself to yawn, which stimulates the salivary glands and relieves dry mouth.
• Do some stretching to relieve the tension in your neck, shoulders and hands.

Making an Impact

• Use quotes The best ones are short, memorable and applicable.
• Startle or surprise to draw attention to the point you are about to make.
• Tell a short story it lets the audience visualise the action of the story in their minds.
• People tend to remember stories long after forgetting most other things.
• Humour laughter can endear your audience to you, but be cautious. What's funny to one person can be offensive to another. Don't embarrass people by using ethnic, racial, or religious jokes, dialects, or ones with profanity. Unless you've previously tried the joke or anecdote with a similar audience and know it gets laughs, don't risk it.

Some examples that illustrate the points above:-

(Q) Imagine the power of the press on an alien coming to earth for the first time and listening to the radio/television and reading newspapers. What impression would they gain?

(A) Very poor all they would hear about is Crime, Murder, Scandal, Corruption, Global Warming and Economic Problems. Remember that you cannot believe everything that you hear as you seldom hear the good!

(Quote) Upset one customer and they will tell ten people. Do an outstanding job and you will be lucky to get three recommendations.

(Quote) 30% of advertising works – the problem is that nobody knows what what 30%!!

(Quote) If you do what you always did , you will get what you always got!

(Quote) 0.5% of people will only buy the most expensive, 13% of people will only buy the cheapest. The main market is "Value for Money"!!

(Story) Dealing with constant rejection is a major problem in telesales. Richard Denny a Management Consultant tells a story of how he got sales up in these circumstances where people were starting to go off sick, take longer breaks etc. and sales were falling.

He tells how the word "NO" was tuned into a positive. They gave prizes for the most rejections every day. Calls when up and rejections did as well – what fun but "ooh dear" occasionally a person insists on buying. End result more sales which shows that if you can overcome rejection the results will come through strongly.

Try to strive for the Five C's of platform excellence. You should look and sound:

• Confident
• Credible
• Competent
• Convincing
• Comfortable

Maintain good eye contact. Find a person in the audience and establish eye contact. Only talk when you're looking at someone. Maintain frequent eye contact with the entire audience; work the whole room, but don't do it mechanic never turn your back on them.

Vary your speaking volume. When you practice in an empty room, adjust your voice level accordingly for a full room. Deliver the presentation just slightly above the conversational mode, louder than you think you should. As you increase volume, you automatically increase inflection.

For effect, try lowering your voice, so people will strain to hear. Then repeat your point at normal or higher volume. Vary the pitch of your voice to keep your listeners interested. It will make you sound more enthusiastic. (Don't be afraid to exaggerate this.) Say a phrase and pause, then say a phrase and pause. Each pause gives you a chance to make eye contact, to breathe, or to take a moment to think. When you slow down, you gain control.

highlight points you want to make, and use them as memory joggers, not script.

An exception to this reading rule is when your words must be absolutely correct and you cannot risk a misstatement. In this case, try turning your reading into a special segment.

Make a connection. Successful presenters enjoy their topic and share their enjoyment with the audience. Establish a personal connection with your audience. Example, if you know a person's name, use it when you reference that person. If you nod your head to someone in the audience, they will probably nod back to you. Use phrases such as "Am I correct?" or "Do you agree?" to get the audience involved. You won't get enthusiasm from people unless you give enthusiasm to them. You can't get a smile unless you smile first.

Add body language. Body language, such as hand and arm movements, can reinforce your message and emphasise a point. Don't hide your hands from the audience or point a finger at them. Use natural hand gestures extend your palm outward to be friendly. If it's a large group, try more exaggerated movements than you're used to.

Timing is everything. Know your time limits and what is expected of you. Be sure you don't have too much material to get through. Don't look at your watch your audience might do the same and miss what you are saying. Instead, have a clock placed on the lectern so you can check your time. Highlight the points that have to be made. Md when you come to a transition point, try to be in mid-sentence as you move from one slide (screen) to the next. It adds smoothness and continuity to the presentation.

Don't read your presentation. When you write your presentation, make sure it's written for the ear with shorter sentences, action verbs and simple grammar. Get comfortable with your material so you aren't dependent on notes or reading a script. If you use notes, keep them short,

Good handouts enhance your audience's understanding and recall of your material. To avoid distractions, be sure to distribute handouts all at once, rather than throughout your presentation. My personal preference is to give them out at the end as the audience are not then looking down. You do however need to ensure that they have a pen an paper for notes. Powerpoint has a very good print facility which enables you to compress the slides and they can make notes alongside.

Here are some ideas:

• Provide an outline so your audience can take notes.
• Hand out a summary of your talk.
• Distribute brochures and fliers.
• Make available a copy on CD-ROM or disk.
• Provide speaker notes on each of the visuals for people who can't attend.
• Include your name and phone number on every page.
• Keep handouts simple and readable, and use dark type on a white background. Your audience is more likely to go back and review information if the amount of material doesn't overwhelm them. Skip the builds/reveals in your handouts-just provide the final versions with all relevant points. Have enough handouts to go around-that's where your pre-presentation research will prove valuable.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWER SESSIONS

Effective question and answer sessions can be choreographed right into your presentation and can help emphasise key points. For example, begin the Q & A session five minutes before the end of your talk, then transition from one of your answers to the real conclusion of your presentation. But limit Q & A sessions. Go over what questions might be asked so you are prepared to answer. Always repeat questions, so everyone can hear; it provides an opportunity to clear up any miscommunication.

SUMMARY

We hope that you find this section of use and we send you our best wishes for you presentation. All we ask is that you add this site to your favourites and let us have the opportunity to do business with you when you next need anything to do with a presentation. We are your "one stop shop" and as you will see we are available when many of our competitors are not.

We pledge for our part that we will not let you down – We are "Your friends in the Presentation Business".

Paula Thomas, Premier Presentation Services, Newport, South East Wales, UK.