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Have to Give Online Presentation? Here are the Tips

February 20, 2019 by Muhammad Noer

This is the era of digital transformation and you still have no clue how to deliver online presentation? Oh-oh. What if next week you have to manage a large project and it requires support from many people, but they are spread in cities or places far away from your workplace?

The easiest way to engage with this kind of working team is through online presentation or online meeting using digital applications or software. Online presentations are very effective media to make everyone from different spot can work together collaboratively without leaving their places.

In this article, we are not going to give you the step by step on how to make an online presentation from scratch, but more on how to make it effective, efficient, and correct. Well, here we go.

1. Choose the right device

Using the right tool to provide online presentations is the most important thing of all. Make sure your team has installed online meeting software to their devices, such as GoToMeeting, join.me, and so on. These software allow you to monitor who is online and communicate about the same points. Send meeting notifications via e-mail. You should be able to make sure everyone engaged with your presentation receives an e-mail and confirms their presence.

2. Be on time

Make sure that each team member is present in the online meeting room at scheduled time. It is pretty irritated if we can’t start the presentation just because one or two people are late. To make it easier for you and your team, set a calendar along with an alarm that can be sent via e-mail as a reminder. For team members who really can’t attend the online meeting, let them see the meeting video record every time they have time. Online meeting software usually includes this recorder feature.

3. Simple

Simplicity is not only applies to offline presentations. Online presentations are also better delivered through simple slides. Too much text will confuse and going to be difficult for your team members to read. They also won’t remember long sentence or definition. Make simple headlines, with three or four points as explanation or supporter. The fewer, the better.

4. Clear and efficient

Just do a short online presentation. At the very least, make one slide to represent three or four materials. Limit your presentation duration 10 minutes at the most. If there is a lot of material that you want to convey, divide them into several parts during the meeting. It’s much better than to stuff your team member with so many information at one time.

5. Practice, practice, and practice

Everyone knew practice makes perfect. Make sure you deliver an online presentation with the right order and good articulation, also with normal speech speed. Your voice must be heard clearly by each member of the team through the device. After the presentation, you can review your online presentation through the video recorder feature.

6. Be visual

Images represent many words. Therefore, rather than lengthy with sentences, it is better to choose images, photos, or short videos that represent what you want to convey in the presentation. If not everyone can access the video, give them the URL, so they can download it whenever they have time.

7. Entertaining

Yes, business meeting is a serious situation, but working should be fun too sometimes, right? A business presentation certainly contains a lot of factual and informative things. It is possible for your team members to feel bored quickly, especially when they have to follow the presentation through their device screens. So, spread a little sprinkle to your presentation. Stories or humor are good stuff. Your team members will tend to listen to you carefully. Plus, they will remember more of what you said to them.

8. Fair and strict moderation

Though it’s online meeting, make it possible for team members to ask questions and chat with you or other team members after the presentation. There are online meeting software feature that allowed moderator to manage conversation and Q & A session, to let one team member talk, while others can only listen (muted), because it will sound annoying, if one speaks and the other immediately responds. Set the time that will be used for the Q & A session and discussion.

9. Planning a follow up

Write down points of follow-up that you will take from online meeting. The you can add up with other points came up from the meeting. This preparation of follow-up points is important to cut down meeting time. It will also help you and team member to get conclusions and follow-up plans.

10. Finish it on time

Finish it on time. If it starts on time, then you have to end your presentation on time, too. Your team members are busy people and they may also have appointments or other activities. Respect their time and tell them they can always be connected to you to submit questions that have not yet been reviewed in your online presentation or if they would like to gain more information.

Wow, there are a lot of points! But actually these preparation is similar as the one you do for an offline presentation. The difference is probably only in the use of software and time efficiency. Have a practice and good luck with your online presentation. (*)

Evaluate Your Own Presentation to Give Better Ones: A New Year’s Resolution

January 23, 2019 by Muhammad Noer

Entering 2019, many hopes spark, including having a better job, a rising career, or maybe just improving the way we work for the better. Evaluating what we have done in the previous year and not being satisfied about it is normal. This is what distinguish between people who will continue to grow and succeed with those who are stagnant.

Last year you probably did a lot of work presentations. The more often you make presentations, the more proficient you are doing it. But there are things that haven’t made you satisfied. You know you’re are good, but not good enough. But what is it? What needs to be improved? How do I evaluate that?

The following are some steps you can take to identify what is still lacking in your presentation and how to improve that.

[Read more…]

How to Prepare An Effective Presentation?

November 28, 2018 by Muhammad Noer

For many people, giving a presentation can be stressful or scary. Speaking in public sometimes makes you feel like being tortured by the way the look of you audience at you, their gestures, or their questions await at the end of presentation. You are afraid not being able to bring your presentation to be as good as expected.

However, presentation is a medium to show your capacity and a way to develop yourself. By giving a presentation, more people will understand your ideas and the key to deliver these ideas effectively in presentation is a careful preparation.

There are several things that really need to be prepared, but most people only focus on preparing the materials, such as making slides or videos, which are considered to make the presentation more interesting.

Setting up presentation materials is essential, but it is also important to prepare the non-materials to deliver an effective presentation.

Here they are:

1. Getting to know your audience better

It’s the most important thing to do before drafting your presentation. Knowing your audience gives yourself a better understanding of their needs. By putting yourself in their shoes, you can set a presentation that suits them.

You don’t have to meet your audience one by one. Learn about them from their current positions. For example, if you have to make a presentation in front of managers, you can find out areas they handle, number of their subordinates, or their educational backgrounds.

The more information you get, the easier for you to set the right presentation. Presentation materials for financial managers are certainly different from the ones for human resource managers. You need different approach to deliver information to people with different backgrounds.

When the audiences come in the same level, for example fellow managers or fellow students, it can be easier for you to make the preparation. But, how if they come from different circles? Well, when this happens, you have to find information about things that unites them. If these kind of audience are willing to attend your presentation, there must be something that unites them.

2. Making structured presentation material

The next step is to prepare clear and structured material. For example, if you want to open a presentation with a story, then you should be able to maintain your audience attention to your story during the presentation to make a connected sequence.

By making such structured and connected presentation, you will more easily direct the audience to the purpose and objectives of your presentation.

3. Preparing visual aids

There is nothing worse than boring presentation. Using visual aids not only delighting your audience, but also helping them to understand the materials you presented. Use slides or videos to make your presentations more interesting.

For slides, make ones that are not too full of sentences. Summarize the important points of your presentation. Do not forget to give contrast and supporting images.

If you need to present data, make it in an interesting tables, diagrams, or infographics.

Most importantly, make slides that are easy for the audience to read and understand. Use the right font size and make sure the composition between writing and drawing is balanced.

4. Use simple and daily words

When giving presentations, use simple words that can be easily understood by the audience. Assuming that you are Indonesian, use everyday Indonesian language. Of course you need to use the good and correct Indonesian, but inserting slang words in your presentation is fine, as long as it helps you direct your audience to the purpose and purpose of your presentation.

5. Practice

Though you have done several presentations, it is still recommended that you continue honing your skills. Practice in front of mirror on how you speak, your standing position, and proper body language.

After that, try to give presentation in front of closest people, such as family or friends. Evaluate. See if they understand what you are saying or not. Ask them for opinions about how you present your presentation. If there are shortcomings, then you still have time to correct these deficiencies before the real presentation.

By doing these tips, hopefully your presentation can be more effective. However, if you feel you still bad at presentation, take a training course from qualified and reputable organization.

Presentation is indeed tense, but it can all be overcome. There are techniques for that. All you need to do is dig and learn.

If you want to know more about a great presentation, you can download the e-book “Killer Presentation: How To Create and Deliver a Wow Presentation” here.

Know Your Audience Is Important for Your Presentation

October 31, 2018 by Muhammad Noer

Audience is the people who will listen your presentation. In other words, your presentation is made to be presented in front of your audience. Here, you need to make them happy with your presentation. If it’s boring, then your audience will be busy with themselves, maybe with their gadget or whatsoever.

So, you need to deal with your audience. How? By knowing them, understanding them. If you do, then they will listen to you. It’s very important to adjust your presentation with your audience. Not only in constructing content, but also with the slides, the entire design of the presentation itself.

It’s Very Important to Recognizing Your Audience

The key to create and deliver a great presentation is understanding your audience. You cannot offer something interesting to your audience unless you know who they are. You have to know what they need and want from your presentation.

It’s not easy to expect an effective communication process if you don’t know their point of view when they are listening to you. As a presenter, if you will find it difficult to relate yourself with them, then your audience will also have difficulties to understand you.

It can create a situation that will leads to frustration: You are frustrated because you can not make them understand, and they are frustrated because it is difficult to understand you.

The only way is you have to know your audience well. Your job will be easier, because you know exactly what they want. You can choose which information should get across and which one is not necessary. By knowing your audience, you will convincing them easier, too because you understand what factors that influences them to take action.

Knowing or recognizing your audience means you know their name, their position, their interests, their group of society, what decision they make, what they need from your presentation, and why they come to listen to you.

Of course, it’s hard to remember each name of your audience. But, you can use the nametag. Ask them to write down their name on it.

The most important thing to do is to identifying your audience. Use the valuable information to design a relevant and effective presentation. Every communication or every presentation is unique. If you design your presentation just for your unique audience, then your presentation will be more effective.

Who Is Your Audience?

Find out about who will attend your presentation before preparing it. Every information about your audience will help your readiness to act on stage. Like Sun Tzu said, “He who knows his enemy and himself well will not be defeated in a hundred battles. He who doesn’t know himself and his enemy is bound to suffer defeat in all battles.”

Your presentation is your battle, your battlefield of communication. You want them to accept and understand your message as good as possible.

So, once again, you have to know your audience. How are you supposed to do that? By gathering all information about your audience, such as:

Who will present to your presentation?
What is their position in the organization?
What is their educational background, or their job?
What is their level of knowledge about the topic you will deliver?
What is their learning style?
What they like to hear and what they don’t?
What is their purpose in listening to your presentation?
Why they need to listen to you?

By knowing those information, you can prepare or create a right presentation for them. By knowing your audience, it will help you a lot in creating content and designing the most appropriate communication for them.

An Excellent Presentation’s Closing

October 17, 2018 by Muhammad Noer

Almost every people only concern about the opening of their presentation. But, not everybody remember that the presentation’s closing is as important as the opening.

So, how to close your presentation properly?

1. Summarizing the main message

This is the easiest add fastest way to close your presentation.

Each presentation must have a main message. In this way, you summarize the main points of your presentation you have delivered. “As a closing, I want you to have the main skill a manager should have.

First, communication. As a manager, you will be judged by how you communicate. Make sure you communicate coherently and clearly so that people understand what you deliver.

Second, motivation. A good manager needs to master motivation techniques. If your employee is well motivated, it is easy to direct each employee to the common goal.

Third, delegation. Remember! A manager is not a superman. You need to learn to delegate task to the most proper person. By that way, the result will be multiply.

A good manager can create a better leader. Teach your team, know the their talents and weaknesses and help them to progress well.

If you master those four skills, I am sure you will be a great manager who can direct a great team.”

2. Using statements or quotations

A statement or a quotation is very good to use for closing your presentation. Arrange a good statement which fits to the main idea of your presentation. You can also quote sentences from the famous figure who is well known to your audiences.

In a presentation in TEDx Jakarta with topic “How to Read 52 Books in a Year” I used the quotation technique to close my presentation.

Here is the closing sentences.

“And if you are a learner in life, fast reading will help you to love reading activities. It will help you learn so many new skills and you will finally become a excellent person.

By that way, you will become a person who will develop our beloved Indonesia now and in the future.

Therefore, if one day there is someone asks you how man books you read in a year, you will proudly answer, ‘I read 52 books in a year because I am a fast reader.’”

3. Using call to action

Call to action is an invitation to command an act.

Remember, the audiences don’t always understand what you expect from them. That is why in call to action, you deliver what action the audiences need to take.

Call to action is very important especially for the persuasive presentation where you want to sell some products, services, or in order your idea be approved and affirmed by the audiences.

This is the examples:

“You all know that family cars are diverse. But, only few cars can answer all your questions. Family car must be comfortable and fit to be used by all family members. That car must be economical so that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to refill the gas. And lastly, the price of your car must be fit with the benefits you will get from the car you buy. And that car is now right in front of you.

I invite you all to register and do the test drive.

Don’t miss it! Because the test drive activity is held only today. Feel the greatness and the comfort of this car and be clever Indonesian family who buy the right family car.”

Those are 3 ways to close a presentation properly.

If you use one of them well, the audiences will remember your main idea. Besides, they will probably take an action as you expect they to do.

Therefore, you will be successful delivering an effective and impressive presentation.