Top 9 Bad Habits Of Technical Presenters

Perhaps you were looking for a top 10 list? I've spent some time thinking about all of the technical presentations that I've given in the past and I was only able to come up with a list of nine really, really bad things that I've done over and over again. Let's take a look at the bad habits that technical presenters make and, as a bonus, we'll see if we can find ways to stop doing them!

1. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #1: Reading Your Speech.
   I don't care how technical the material that you are talking about is, you need to connect with your audience during your presentation and you won't be able to do this if you are tied to your notes, your slides, or even a script. Instead, practice, practice, practice. Once you really know your material, then you'll be able to deliver it without notes. Steve Jobs over at Apple does this and that's why he is so good!
   
   
2. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #2: Poor Eye Contact.
   They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Well, you've got to be looking in those windows in order to be able to determine what is going on inside of your audience's heads. Too many of us will spend an entire presentation looking at something, anything, else besides our audience. You need to consciously make an effort to make eye contact with your audience at least 90% of the time that you are speaking.
   
   
3. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #3: Dressing Badly.
   As a speaker, you always want to be the best dressed person in the room. While you are speaking, your clothes will be speaking to the audience also. You want them to be saying that you are both successful and confidant. A good looking speaker gets the respect of the audience even before he/she opens their mouth. If you don't feel confident selecting clothes, then get a friend or a salesperson to help you make the right decisions.
   
   
4. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #4: Bad Body Language.
   While you are talking, your body may be having a conversation with your audience at the same time. If your hands are fumbling with a pen, coin, or a ring; or if you are pacing, swaying or other wise making movements that distract the audience from what you are saying, then you are sabotaging your own presentation. The best way to stop doing this is to practice in front of a mirror or videotape your practice. You just might be surprised at what you see!
   
   
5. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #5: Winging It.
   If you feel that you know your material or your audience so well that a rehearsal is not needed, please print out the following words and place them on your desk where you can see them: "YOU'RE WRONG!" The first time that you give a presentation is the worst time that you give it. You just keep getting better each time you run through it. John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco, spends countless hours practicing every part of every presentation. If a big & important guy like him is willing to spend the time, then why wouldn't you?
   
   
6. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #6: Being Too Stiff.
   This bad habit is in a fight with bad habit #4. Although you don't want your body parts to flap around and distract from what you are saying, you also don't want to be a statue - this will also distract from what you're saying. If you assume a frozen position, then that will result in a boring presentation for your audience.
   
   
7. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #7: Shooting Your Audience w/ Bullets.
   I've got great news for you - chances are that your audience can read! This means that if you spend your presentation reading bullets that are listed on a slide that everyone in the audience can read for themselves, then you will have done everyone a disservice. Remember the slides are there to serve the speaker, not the other way around.
   
   
8. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #8: Going On, And On, And On.
   Although you may love to hear yourself speak, studies show that you'll start to use your audience after about 18 minutes or so. One of the golden rules of presentations is that an audience will never hold it against you if you wrap up early; however, they'll blame you if you take too long. This all gets back to practicing your presentation before you give it - trim it ruthlessly!
   
   
9. Technical Presenter Bad Habit #9: Being Boring.
   Your audience has other things that they could be doing instead of listening to you. You need to do something to grab their attention and make them care about what you are talking about. This means that you need to have a powerful opening that seizes their attention from the get go and a closing that wraps it all up.

There you go - a top 9 list of things that happen all to often when a technical presenter has bad habits. How many of this habits do you have? Have you ever been able to overcome a bad technical presentation bad habit? How did you do it? Leave a comment and let me know what has worked for you.


Tags: public speaking, training, speech, eye contact, body language

I Hear Your Body Talking...

So you've been given the chance to talk to the big people. Or maybe to important customers. Or maybe just to a group of new hires, it doesn't really matter -- you can blow any of these opportunities if you aren't aware of what your body is saying. In fact, in certain circumstances, if you don't really believe what you are talking about, your audience will know it because your body language will be screaming "don't believe me -- I don't believe what I'm telling you right now!" In order to avoid getting drowned out by yourself, make sure that you listen to what your body is saying.

We've all heard the expression "Appearance matters". Well guess what, it really does. Thanks to about 50,000 years of evolution all of us have developed an acute ability to size someone up before they say a single word. Guess what: when you take the stage to start a talk to a group, they have already formed an initial opinion of you. As you start to talk you will either confirm or refute this impression. So let's talk about what you need to do to make your body talk a powerful part of your communication skills:

• Stand Up Straight Young Man (or Woman)! This is the simplest thing to do -- stand up straight and adopt a stance that exudes confidence, power, and energy no matter how you are currently feeling. If you look like you are in control, then everyone will believe that you are.
  
  
• No Chicken Dancing! Our arms and hands are amazing parts of our bodies. However, during a presentation if we are not careful they can put on a show all by themselves and that will end up distracting everyone who is watching us. The right thing to do is to keep them loosely dangling by our sides. Note that although this sounds simple, it is sometimes the hardest thing in the world to do!
  
  
• Turn Off The X-Ray Vision: Eye contact is an important part of any presentation. Its how you make contact with the audience and it can be a very powerful tool. However, avoiding looking at people in the audience or, even worse, staring down specific audience members can cause onlookers to become completely distracted and forget to pay attention to what you have to say.
  

There's a lot more to understanding what your body is saying. Your goal should be to make sure that your audience is not getting mixed messages from what you say and what your body is saying. If done correctly, your body language can help turn you into a powerful communicator.


Tags: appearances, body language, communication, eye contact, stand up straight