Discussion

16 Developing Presentations in a Social Media Environment LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, you will be able to

1 Describe the tasks involved in analyzing the situation for a presentation and organizing a presentation.

2 Explain how to adapt to your audience and develop an effective opening, body, and close for a presentation.

3 Discuss five steps for delivering a successful presentation.

4 Explain the growing importance of the backchannel in presentations, and list six steps for giving effective presentations online.

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COMMUNICATION CLOSE-UP AT Barnett International

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Presentations have much in common with other business communication efforts, from analyzing the situation and defining your purpose to gathering information and crafting audience-focused messages. They have one major difference, of course: Presentations are performances, and a good message isn’t enough. How you perform in front of an audience has a major influence on how they respond to your message.

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Communication coach Gina Barnett advises speakers to learn how to read and use their body’s signals to become more relaxed, open, and engaging.

Max Gordon/Barnett International Inc.

From her years of experience in the theater, communication coach Gina Barnett knows that the performance makes or breaks the presentation. A strong performance makes any message more compelling, whereas a weak performance can undermine even the best messages.

While performance is vital, it’s a mistake to think that only actors or extroverts have some special performance gift. All business professionals can learn to use their bodies to perform more effectively while giving speeches and making presentations. Being mindful of your physical habits and mannerisms, from how you hold your head to the way you use your feet, can make you a more effective speaker. And there’s a bonus: You’ll enjoy it more, too. A body-mindful approach to speaking can help you control the anxiety that every presenter feels and harness that energy for a more natural and engaging experience.

In her performance-coaching work with corporate executives, Barnett helps presenters explore the key centers in the human body that regulate how speakers feel and how they come across to others, both visually and vocally. For example, it’s easy to think a smile is merely a reaction to a pleasant thought or experience, but smiles can also instigate positive thoughts. The physical act of smiling can trigger improvements in your own mood and in the moods of people watching you. A warm smile helps the audience connect with you and conveys your confidence in yourself and in your message. Smiling also forces you to relax your jaw and facial muscles, which helps to release pent-up stress and improve your vocal clarity and projection. With so many benefits to offer, the simple act of smiling as you step onto the stage can launch your presentation on a strong note.

Barnett tells speakers to think of their bodies as communication instruments and to use them to their full potential, in much the same way musicians use their instruments. Like a musical instrument, your body can be treated well or poorly and played with varying degrees of success.

Using your physical self to full advantage starts with understanding the signals your body is sending to you and the people in your audience. Tune in to your body and listen to its signals. If you are anxious leading up to a presentation, you may feel this signal in your shoulders, your jaw, or wherever you tend to “collect” stress. Explore that emotion and try to identify why you feel that way. You may identify some reasons that are real and relevant to the situation and some that are noise or distractions, at least as far as the immediate situation is concerned.

A real and extremely relevant reason might be that you haven’t prepared thoroughly and therefore lack confidence in your ability to present your message or respond to audience questions. Assuming you’ve given yourself enough time, you can address this source of anxiety by finishing your preparation. A less relevant source of stress might be a buried memory of being embarrassed in front of your class as a child. This emotional mishap might still be stuck in your memory at some deep level, but it doesn’t need to be part of who you are as a professional adult.

Barnett emphasizes that by dismissing irrelevant sources of stress and proactively dismantling relevant sources of stress, your mind can then tell your body that you’re ready to go. This

confidence will change the way you carry and present yourself on stage, it will give your voice fresh energy, and it will spread to your audience—your confidence in yourself will make them more confident in you, too. Rather than rushing through your presentation with your mind a nervous whirl, hoping only to make it through in one piece and get off the stage, you’ll enjoy being in the moment and sharing your ideas and inspiration.1