Presentation Training Skills

Presentations Skills Training Seminars

Presentations training seminars are provided across the country via public open enrollment presentation training seminars in major metropolitan areas and can also be delivered on-site via private training sessions. Our presentations training seminars can be provided as off-the-shelf sessions, ready to be delivered to a diverse audience or can be specifically customized to provide a tailored and personalized approach based on client needs. All presentations training seminars are limited to a maximum of twelve participants so as to increase seminar effectiveness and provide the individual level of coaching and interaction that is associated with the Presentations Training Seminar Center.

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Outsmarting the Sprites: Preparing for a Presentations Seminar Disaster

In Medieval times people believed that when mischievous sprites heard you wish for
something they would make the opposite happen. Many show biz professionals still
believe in them. I can attest to their existence. I have seen them in action.

One time, when I was attending an American Society for Training and Development
International Conference and Exposition, a featured speaker began by saying that
this opportunity to present in front of his/her colleagues was the completion of a
lifelong dream. It was a bad choice of words. The audience responded
enthusiastically. The sprites responding by freezing the presenter's laptop.

The presenter apologized and asked permission to reboot. As the computer tried to
recover, the presenter stalled. 10,000 people waited ... and waited ... and waited.
After 10 minutes and a different computer hookup, the presentation finally began.

I had been forgiving up to that point. After all, the sprites can attack anyone. It is
what occurred next that astounded me. The presenter could have continued without
waiting for the PowerPoint to reload, but had not prepared for a sprite attack.

I've seen the sprites attack other presenters too. At the 2002 ASTD conference a
famous presenter was discussing the proper usage of PowerPoint slides. Again the
sprites pounced. There was a misspelling on a slide and a participant told the
presenter so. The presenter interrupted the presentation and changed the slide as
the entire audience waited. The sprite no doubt laughed.

In 2003 I was the presenter attacked. As I began a discussion of the distractions cell
phones cause during modern training programs, a sprite commanded my computer
to download software. I was forced to, like those presenters before me, halt my
presentation and deal with a sprite.

All three examples are true. All put the presenter on the spot. All inconvenienced
the audience. All were avoidable. In this article, I hope to help you outsmart the
sprites by examining the extensive preparations show biz professionals practice. In
fact the acronym for those preparations is P.R.E.P.A.R.E. We will discuss each of the
steps in the acronym sequentially, beginning with Plan.

Plan
The Plan is the most critical part of any performance but the least noticed by the
audience. To gain insight into the length Hollywood goes when planning a movie,
consider the current movie phenomenon The Lord of the Rings. The extended DVD
version of The Fellowship of the Ring features hours of material showcasing the
years of planning that went into that production including concept development,
scripting, storyboarding, scenic selection, character development, music creation
and actor casting. All these details added to the success of the film. Any one of
them handled poorly could have ruined it.

Presentations, although not as involved, still require planning. That planning often
starts with a concept that is developed into a script. I realize that some presenters
prefer an outline. Outlines do offer spontaneity. But what they lack is specificity. A
show biz production contains a myriad of details not readily apparent in an outline.
The very act of scripting places a discipline on the performance that cannot be
obtained in any other way.

For an example where the stakes can literally be life or death, consider the legal
profession. Lawyers script their opening and closing arguments, witnesses script
their testimony, and judges script the explanations of their rulings. They plan what
they will say in the courtroom so that it will be factually correct and logically
thought through.

Scripting forces you to determine exactly what you mean, how what you mean
connects with what you've already said, and how what you will say leads inevitably
to a grand finale where every detail of the performance connects. So therefore, the
first step in foiling the sprites is to capture it all on paper.

Rehearse
In entertainment you can spot the true professionals. They Rehearse so much that
they look unrehearsed. They "flow." Flow occurs when you know something so
completely that concentration is no longer required (much like our daily commutes:
we've rehearsed that drive for months).

Constant, repetitious, mind-numbing rehearsal beyond endurance is the price
performers pay to achieve flow. They examine the script line by line to plot the
logistics of the performance. They determine where the props should be placed,
how each item and person will get from point "A" to point "B" and correct
disconnects in the script. These run-throughs, although tedious and time
consuming, eliminate many of the flaws that attract sprites. As a result the
performer becomes one with the presentation.

Explore
With practice and repetition behind you and flow in front of you, the sprites must
seek another opening. They look for the unexpected. Accordingly, you should take
time to Explore all the potential unplanned challenges. Some people accuse me of
being an "Eeyore" on this subject because I over-think potential calamities.

It is true that I spend a great deal of time exploring what could go wrong. I ask
myself a number of questions:

* What technology issues could pop up?

* What questions might the audience ask?

* What would a heckler say?

* Are there any electrical wires to trip over?

* What health problems could someone in the audience have during presentation?

I explore these potential dangers not because I am a pessimist, but because the
more emergencies I envision, the less likely the sprites are to surprise me.

Protect

Once you have identified a potential challenge, you should Protect yourself from it
by devising a solution. You should then protect yourself again by devising a solution
for the solution. You should ask yourself, "What's the backup plan?" Then ask
yourself, "What's the backup plan for the backup plan?" Finally, ask yourself, "What's
the backup plan for the backup backup plan?"

For example, consider technology issues and ask yourself, "What if the laptop
crashed?" Then determine to bring backup overhead slides just in case. Next ask
yourself, "What if the overhead projector light bulb blows?" Then resolve to bring an
extra light bulb with you. Finally ask yourself, "What if that light doesn't work?"
Then learn to present without your slides just in case.

Here's an example from my own experience. In My Training With A Beat
presentation, I demonstrate the various uses for music in learning environments.
Without music there can be no presentation. I have protected my clients (and
myself) by integrating the music into the PowerPoint presentation. I then travel with
the music on a backup CD-ROM and a back-up audiocassette. As an extra
precaution, I have recorded the music onto a VHS tape so that, even if all the usual
audio channels are unavailable to me, I can play the music on a TV. On the remote
chance that all these mediums should become demagnetized, I also carry several
emergency musical CDs.

In improv training, comedians are taught to welcome the unexpected, to treat sprite
surprises as gifts. These gifts lead to new discoveries. I will never forget the time, as
a magician performing the linking rings (eight rings link and unlink at will), a mike
stand got in the way. Much to my surprise, the sprites linked a ring to the mike
stand! Even more surprising was the audience reaction. They applauded! That bit
immediately became a part of my act.

It is an axiom among magicians that the magician has greater power because the
audience never knows what is coming. Chances are that when something
unexpected happens, the audience will, as they did with my link to the mike stand,
regard the occurrence as planned. This fact gives the performer a decided
advantage. If you Accept whatever happens as a gift, the audience will likely never
know the sprites struck.

React

Accepting is not the same as compliance. Even when something unexpected occurs,
you should still take charge. React with an aura of confidence knowing that you are
prepared. Ironically, the amount of preparation you have engaged in will rebound to
your advantage. Your client will be impressed by the amount of preparation you
went to the deliver for them. In this perverse sense you should welcome the sprites.
Your reaction to their mischief will only make you look more professional.

Enjoy

You've planned, rehearsed, explored, protected, accepted and reacted. The final
step is to simply Enjoy whatever happens. You control the dynamic so relax and
place your focus where it belongs, on your audience. This focus will drive the sprites
crazy.

A Show Biz Tradition

So, remember to P-R-E-P-A-R-E. And as a wish for luck (and in case the sprites are
listening), break a leg!

Source: Lenn Millbower link

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