I believe that the fastest way to improve your presentations is to get feedback on areas to improve and specific ideas to try, including watching video of yourself. And then, change! Try out the ideas and get more feedback so that you are continually improving.
While I strive to be encouraging in my coaching, I almost always will go light on praise and heavy on improvement areas. That’s why people hire me. They don’t just want to feel good. They want to change.
Below is a cut and paste from part of a coaching follow up email that I just sent to a client. We had had a 30-minute coaching session via Zoom in which he practiced a presentation he would be giving in a couple of weeks. The session was recorded, and he received an unlisted link to the video for self-review. I had given him longer verbal feedback in our session, and was recapping the points. This was our 7th of 8 sessions in my Public Speaking Success Coaching Program, in which the focus is on presenting with slides.
You were engaging, confident, comfortable, & offered valuable information, sometimes even injecting humor!
A few things I mentioned:
1. Biggest improvement area: Slide design (font too small on some slides, too much information on some slides). Reduce content, make fonts larger (at least 24 pt if you want them to read), have points come in one at a time.
2. When you start your first story, don’t have the “objective” slide showing. Consider adding a black slide to use as you start the story.
3. Use “you” language like you are having a conversation with one person. For example, “Have you . . . ?” instead of “how many of you . . . ?”
4. Don’t ask your audience if they have questions during your presentation (it will waste a lot of time and feel awkward). Let them know they can ask questions at any time, and that you will have a Q&A session at the end.
5. Pronunciation of “agape” as in “They stood with their mouths agape” is like saying “a grape” minus the “r”.
The rest of the email was a template that included the next lesson materials, and a link to schedule the next session.
Could you use some coaching to improve your presentations? Are you willing to hear potential improvement areas and get specific suggestions? Let’s talk!
You can schedule a complimentary 30-minute consult via Zoom HERE.