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eBook Category: Self Improvement/Self Improvement
eBook Description: Making a presentation strikes fear into many hearts. It ranks alongside going to the dentist or being put into a cage with a hungry lion or two. Wherever it sits on the fear scale for you this guide is designed to get you through it, if not to the point of actually enjoying it. It is for anyone who needs to give presentations, or who wishes to undertake public speaking in their personal or professional life. It will show you: How to research, prepare and structure a presentation. How to use scripts, visual aids and prompts. How to handle questions--even the awkward ones. How to use your voice and body language.

eBook Publisher: Rowmark/Rowmark, Published: 2004
Fictionwise Release Date: February 2005

This is one of those books that become an essential addition to any professional library. It is easy to use being concise enough to read from cover to cover, yet sufficiently detailed enough to simply dip in to. As its subject matter covers one of the most difficult activities to undertake it handles the approach well and gives sufficient guidance to provide confidence and assurance. I particularly like the boxes containing key statements and the easy to read and digest summaries - ideal for the busy person. -- Alan Beckett, Step One

This book is clear, reader friendly and full of helpful hints for both novices and the more experienced presenter. However long you have been presenting, there are always ways to improve your technique and impact. I refer to my copy often and have found the summary sections and the highlighted hints invaluable as a checklist during preparation for my next presentation. -- Helen Glasspool, University of Southampton

So what must you include in the beginning? ? a welcome, a greeting ? an introduction of yourself. This is not your lifehistory! Keep it succinct and relevant to your primary aim ? for example: ?Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Brian Lomas and I am here, as the author of the easy step by step guide on making confident presentations, to ?? ? outline your primary aim: what are you there to achieve? (You may not reveal all of your aim ? you wouldn?t, for instance, say that one of your success criteria is to get wild applause at the end of your presentation!) To continue with our example: ?? give you as many tips and hints as I can on preparing for a presentation to enable you to feel more confident in the future ?? ? next, we need to manage their expectations on how long you are going to talk. Always give the maximum time ? to finish early is acceptable, to overrun, unforgivable: ?? over the next 20 minutes ?? ? now, we need something that will encourage the audience to start listening. This ?wake-up call? states what they will gain from giving your presentation their full attention. It could be a positive wakeup or a negative one: ?? and thereby ensure that you get what you want out of your presentations ?? (positive) or: ?? and thus avoid those tears and tantrums you may well experience just before starting a presentation ?? (negative) ? next, outline how you will be approaching the subject (your structure and your key points that you must communicate): ?? I'll describe these tools under six headings ? namely the aim, content, audience, location, structure and visual aids.? The beginning might also include: ? domestic arrangements: your audience must be told the evacuation procedures; they should be told where the toilets are; break times; refreshment arrangements; smoking rules, and how messages for the audience will be dealt with ? a request for your audience to turn off their mobile phones whenever possible ? let the audience know when you would like to take questions. If you don't do this, be prepared for questions at the most awkward of times! (See Chapter 8 for more on questions) ? the information sources upon which your presentation is based ? Background to the presentation: although not essential, it may be useful for the audience to know why the presentation is being made. If this cannot be done briefly, consider making it the first point in the middle part of the structure