Warning over pitfalls of presentations

Even when you are at the top of your game professionally, making presentations at conferences and seminars is something to be “worked at”, according to Alan Shortt, a comedian turned media skills trainer.

Speaking at a Network Cork event, Mr Shortt outlined the pitfalls most regularly made by businesspeople speaking in public.

First up is “death by PowerPoint”. “There is nothing worse than a presentation where the person making the pitch reads every word from an overhead and then just looks back and forth from the overhead to the audience. That will not make your presentation memorable, nor will it sell your company or your story,” Mr Shortt said.

Neither should one “just read out a speech”.

Mr Shortt said: “A great many businesspeople just go in and read great tranches of a speech, They don’t engage with the audience, they don’t build a relationship with the audience.

“A far better idea is to write out a list of key words and then just speak to the audience, having practised what you will say in advance.”

Mr Shortt also took aim at ‘verbal fillers’ such as ‘ehm’, ‘er’, and, particularly in Cork, ‘like’.

“You have to remove this by practice. Just pick an object near you as you sit at your desk, as you are driving or out for a walk and discuss it out loud for 30 seconds. Keep doing this with different things until you wipe out those verbal fillers.

“Also when speaking, use your breath wisely: Speak slowly with lots of pauses to breathe. It will make you clearer and rein in any panic”.

Mr Shortt also warned prospective speakers to “prepare for failure”.

“If there is a question that you don’t want to hear or a controversy you don’t want to discuss, have a response prepared. That way, no matter what happens, you’re ready.”