Giving a Presentation Tomorrow

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Any advice?

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get some sleep

Think of all of them naked. And fricking you for your terrible PowerPoint performance.


Jk. I'm terrible at presenting too, can circles around most everyone in my daily performance but can't speak to a crowd to save my life. Just think of how much it'll help you out to do well. No pressure.

I'm in Japan, taking the mighty P-8 Poseidon on it's maiden voyage. I'm giving a brief on the radar its equipped with and its limits and functions.

Practice the hell out if that preso. Know it like the back of your hand.

You've got the right attitude... YOU are the expert. They need to know what YOU have to say.

Want to be there and want to tell them what you are there to tell them.

Relax and enjoy it.

Hope this helps, but it is nothing more than feeling prepared and excited to do it. Good luck.

One more tidbit of advice that helps me a lot. If you can, do some very light exercise or stretching before your preso. Maybe walk around the building or stretch really good before the meeting. Sounds crazy, but it helps. Everyone... Even the most polished presenters get butterflies.

This lady is a presentation coach for our company and she is incredible. Here is an article on stage fright and just how common and ordinary it is - LINK

Presentation Skills

I love speaking in front of groups - as long as I'm prepared. Like someone said, practice over and over. Base what you say on your slides but don't just stand there and stare at the projected slide and read it. Print out the PPT slides and write short (2-3 words) notes on them to remind you of your practiced script. The trick is to make it sound spontaneous but it really isn't.

Be confident when you talk. I try to avoid eye contact with the group because you'll always focus on the one guy who hates being there. I like to focus on the back of the room and occasionally tilt my head down and scan the folks in the front so they feel included and stay interested.

quote:

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Practice the hell out if that preso. Know it like the back of your hand.

You've got the right attitude... YOU are the expert. They need to know what YOU have to say.

Want to be there and want to tell them what you are there to tell them.

Relax and enjoy it.

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Great stuff. I was going to type something similar.

Plus run through you presentation quickly as if someone were giving it to you. What questions pop into your head? Make sure you have those answers ready if possible, or at least plan your response to them.

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Any advice?

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Don't get bogged down talking about technical details, unless that is what the presentation is about. Big wigs want to know about efficiency and saving money.

Put on your best suit, practice what you are going to say, but don't memorize it. If you need to point something out, do it with an open palm while remaining open to your audience (never show them your back, it's disrespectful and will subliminally piss people off).

All in all, be yourself. If they didn't want to see you, they could have just read all of this in a report. By extension, that means they want to see you, not some robot wearing your clothes and stealing your voice, so it's ok to be human. You will probably stumble over a word, it's ok.

Oh, and make sure to give your supervisor credit for helping you. It doesn't matter if they did or didn't, it looks good, and reflects well.