Presentation Training Skills

Presentations Skills Training Courses

Presentations training courses are provided across the United States and Canada. Participants have three options to attend and participate in our presentation training. Presentations are delivered via public open enrollment courses in all major metropolitan areas and are also available to be delivered on-site via private courses. The 3rd option is to attend Online Webinar Presentations Skills Workshops. Our face to face presentation training courses can be provided as off-the-shelf sessions, ready to be delivered to a diverse audience or can be customized to provide a tailored and personalized presentation training approach based on client needs. All presentations courses are limited to a maximum of twelve participants so as to increase presentation course effectiveness and provide the individual level of face to face or online coaching and interaction that is associated with the Presentations Training Skills Center.

For more information on our presentations skills training courses please contact us.

Effective Business Presentations Courses: Avoiding Blunders

I was at a luncheon meeting recently of a professional association where the president of the association made what I consider some of the biggest and most annoying blunders that anyone can make from the front of the room.

She stood up at the front table (not on the platform, not with the microphone) and announced after the speaker was finished:

"Does anyone have any questions or experiences they would like to share?"

To the presentations audience of over 200 people in a large ballroom. Several people did have experiences they wanted to share (this was not a shy group). The few who did stood up at their tables and spoke.

Here are the blunders of the scenario:

1. Everyone's attention was on the podium which was on the stage/platform. The podium remained empty when the president stood up at her table and spoke. She could not be seen by everyone because she was not at the focal point of the room - the podium.

2. She could not be heard by all as she did not use the microphone.

3. When presentations audience members stood and spoke from their tables, they also couldn't be seen or heard clearly.

This went on for about 10 minutes and completely took away from the professional atmosphere of the meeting. It looked like an afterthought, was unprofessional and didn't work.

I've also been at large meetings where the speaker takes questions from the presentations audience members during the presentation.

See if this scenario sounds familiar to you.

Someone in the presentations audience asks a question, the questioner is on the other side of the room and you don't hear the question. The speaker hears the question and goes ahead and answers it. You are sitting there trying to make sense of the answer - but you still have no idea what the question was. You feel frustrated. Then the speaker goes ahead and does it again!

So what should the speaker do?

Here's the answer:
Repeat the question. What was that?
Repeat the question.

And, if possible give the questioner a microphone so that everyone can hear, but still repeat the question before responding to it.

Repeating the question not only makes sure that your presentations audience members heard the question, but it also allows you to make sure that you heard the question correctly. And it gives you a little bit of time to think before answering the question.

I recently participated in a skill practice activity with a Speaker's Forum group that I lead. We were each asked a question and had to answer spontaneously. A little later we did a second round where we were each asked the same question again. The difference this time was that we had to repeat the question back to the questioner before answering it. We found that this time our answers were clearer and more succinct. I found that the first time I had only answered half of the question. My mind was already in answer mode as I listened to the question, so I didn't hear the whole question. The second time I heard both parts of the question and I answered both parts.

Try this activity the next time you are rehearsing a presentation with colleagues or leading a meeting. Ask that everyone who is asked a question repeat it back before answering. I think that you too will find that people don't always hear the full question, or even answer the right question.

Next time you give a presentation to a large group and an presentations audience member asks you a question, do yourself and your presentations audience a favor and repeat the question before answering.

Source: Dana Bristol-Smith link

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