Well now, this is not what I expected.

Your first presentation is 2 hours!?

My god!

Well, the first rule is to be prepared. Which are the second and third rules as well. Know your stuff. Know what you want to say. And practice. In front of people, if possible.

But still, I can’t imagine a two hour presentation on that subject. It boggles the mind.

psy7ven said:

Thanks for responding Julie Worth.

A 2 hour time frame is what was asked for.

Here is what I had in mind to fill the time with.

I will do the presentation which should last at least 50 - 60 min. Then, I will conduct some anxiety and depression screenings. Additionally, I plan to hold a drawing for a stress survival kit that I will make.

If time allows, I may also do a group relaxation session with them.


psy7ven

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If you have the material, no problem. But I keep thinking of that Seinfeld episode where he’s given a 2-hr slot at his old high school, and he has about 8 minutes of jokes. To make it worse, he goes in with, “Hey kids, are you ready to laugh?!”

But that's me. I always think I have to entertain an audience.

If you are uptight, do the screenings first, particularly if you can point to some aspects of the results in your presentation. Also, it gets the audience involved, and it may generate some laughs (groups screenings usually do). Better yet, break your talk up so you give some before the screening and some after. And remember, the mind can only absorb as much as the butt can withstand, and two hours is a long time.

PowerPoint is easy to master without reading the manuals. It's a good thing to use for anyone who is nervous in front of a group because it gets the lights off, or down, and you can arrange the "slides" so the talk gives itself. The graphics don't have to be fancy, just clear. And, remember, there are people who are red-green color blind, so avoid using those colors together (they will come out as grey to these people, evidently).

psy7ven said:

I'd love to chat with you about defining differences between various neurotransmitters.

psy7ven

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I sense another cyber-romance in the making...

I have done a lot of public speaking in my time, and yes, I'd reiterate the advice above: two hours is a long time. Break it up.

What size group are you speaking to, and what are the facilities like? You can do table group stuff (discussion, paper-and-pen exercises, and that sort of thing) if you have table groups to work with, and if you have a large floor space relative to the number of people, you could do some relaxation stuff on the floor.

The main thing to remember about public speaking is this: folks want to come away from your presentation not only with new information, but with practical tips they can apply to their daily lives. If you can provide them with this, they'll come away from your presentation enthused, and you may get more business like this!

Don't be self-conscious about your accent. As long as you speak clearly (enunciate the consonnants) and slowly. Practice out loud at home, and tape record yourself if possible, or have someone listen who knows what to listen for. I'm assuming you'll be using a microphone. Eat it! Seriously, every inch between you and the mic decreases the volume that's heard by your audience a lot. Get there ahead of time and test it out, scope out the room, etc.

Wear clothes that you feel comfortable in, and feel free to be yourself. If your audience is a bunch of suits, and you feel uncomfortable and self-conscious dressed like that, then don't dress like that! (That being said, I wouldn't dress in ratty old jeans, either...) On the other hand, if dressing to the nines gives you confidence, go for it!

And my last piece of advice:


SMILE!

Best of luck, psy7ven.

Don't forget to breathe.

psy7ven said:

The events in my life never cease to shock me. Here is the most recent example of what I mean:

Current Day LLC, the organization which I have been working to develop, has been asked to give a presentation. This will be Current Day's first official event.

At this time, I am Current Day's only employee. This means that I will be giving the presentation.

That all seems pretty normal, right? ... NO, it's not normal! It's not normal at all. Here's why...

1) CDHH is designed to be internet based and yet, Current Day's first hired event is live and in person.
2) I had hoped to get to a point where I could work behind the scenes. ... so much for that.
3) I don't talk much but, the time frame is scheduled for two hours! ... heh
4) The presentation is about Dealing With Stress and I'm stressing out about it! ... people will be looking at me. panic!
5) I sound like Loretta Lynn when I talk! .. marvelous. The good thing is, so does everyone else in the area where I will be going.
6) The event is scheduled for Groundhog's Day. What if I screw up and have to re-live this day over and over again?!?
7) The facility has power point capabilities. ..... Do I look like I know anything about using Power Point!!



If you have ever given a presentation, I could certainly use some advice, hints and tips.

Sincerely,
psy7ven

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I used to work as an admin and PowerPoint is fairly straightforward to use, just imagine electronic cue cards. Make sure they're brief, cover the main points. Use a font that's easily readable (some people don't) and a colour that's easy on the eyes. Go easy on the graphics. If you click the Insert dropdown menu you will find 'Pictures' go into there and there should be lots of graphics to choose from. Should you need more there should be a link that takes you to Microsoft Clip Art Gallery where you will find a TON of clips for every conceivable type of presentation. If you go into 'Slide show' drop down menu you will see how to organize timing of the presentation. You can have it progress on the click of your mouse or it can be timed. If this is your first time with Powerpoint I would avoid some of the 'fancier' things like text flying onto the page. If you do use them, use them sparingly.

One thing you should do, if you can, is get access to equipment to test your presentation on. The last thing you want is to be fussing with cables and stuff. Everything should be organized, pens, paper, handouts.

One thing that I've found if that if I am presenting something I write the main points down and then I elaborate on them. This prevents me from reading from the page - which doesn't look good. Smile and try to be relaxed. After all, if you're doing a presentation about stress management, people will expect you to be relaxed and calm. If you smile occassionally, it maintains interest, make eye contact with everyone in the room, here and there for a second, it makes it look like you're talking directly to them. Ask them about how they deal with stress. People love to talk and it will kill some time. Look up 10 ways to deal with stress and see if they match up with the stories that people are telling. Give them situations and group them so they can work together - should kill another 15 minutes.

Lots of things you can do! Good Luck!!

After years of doing presentations I finally cracked a method that gets me rave reviews every time. Regardless of topic

--Be informal, as funny as possible and set a relaxed pace.
--Have audience participation from the very begiinning and respond carefully to what they say.
--Don't cover heaps of material. Pick a few very important points that your audience genuinely won't know and will want to know and add discussions, examples etc to each one
--let them out to lunch ten minuites early and they'll love you for life.

That's my 2c

let them out to lunch ten minuites early and they'll love you for life.

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That's probably the best advice of all.

I once attended a seminar, where the instructor gave out (but expected back) 'toys' like stress balls, mini slinkys etc. It was supposed to get the creative juices flowing. You could go to the $1.00 store or something, (if the class is relatively small), and make some sort of a joke about how this should help to with stress while being in the class - especially if it's taken them out of other committments, they're tired, whatnot. Just brainstorming here.

I completely agree with the breaks, I know that I love it when I get out early. It might also be good to give people a stretch break (or even incorporate that into the class itself).

Psy,

Here's a little something you can do beforehand to diminish any nervousness you might have:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11023559/

Although I'm not sure we would want to know if it works for you!

psy, all the advice above is excellent. I've done a bit of public speaking, and the only thing I'd add is to try to establish plenty of eye contact with your audience. Use body language; walk around a bit and use gestures where appropriate, instead of standing by your computer the whole time. Speak a bit more slowly than normal, and keep the mike close to your lips (unless you clear your throat or cough). Especially prepare the first 3 minutes; a strong start will give you a confidence boost for the rest of the presentation.

As someone who uses hearing aids, let me add some words about clarity of speaking:


1.) Please don't put the mic so close to your mouth that it muffles your voice, or your audience will know that you're talking, but not what you're saying. It can come out sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher ... "wah wah wah wah"

2.) Please speak more slowly than you normally would, or the audience may only be able to pick out the occasional word.

3.) Please speak distinctly, enunciating every word clearly, or again, they may not be able to understand what you are saying.

Hope this helps,
Good luck,
Chac

I've done several presentations as well, and the most important thing about it is to relax and have fun with it. I like putting a lil' personality in it and getting the audience strongly involved. This also makes the time go by. Of course while creating your format, you will choose the program of which you will follow, but being yourself is the most efficient key to a successful presentation. It's you that can and will capture their attention and leave them with something to walk away with. Whether it be "the way she spoke about this or that", or "her presentation was very informative and creative" or whether they just like you because the way you delivered a valuable piece of information; You can do it! Create and build your presentation, and practice it with a few friends if you want. I usually don't, I like being spontaneous with the crowd. Wishing you the best of luck. I have faith in you.

Despite my generally shy nature, I actually like talking to groups of people. I will tell you what NOT to do. Before I gave my very first fire safety presentation to local high school students, my Captain told me just to imagine everyone in their underwear if I got nervous. Well, let's just say that 16-17 year old girls in my neck of the woods tend to look like they are in their mid 20s.

I think you get the idea.

So don't do that. These days, I tend to try and make eye contact with people on all sides of the room so it looks like I am speaking individually with each person. I have gotten so used to it that I don't get nervous anymore.

And I agree with letting them go to lunch early. I always do that when I am a guest instructor at the Academy. And people wonder why I am so popular with the recruits...... (Oh, I give them frequent smoke breaks too)

Good luck.

Mini pep rally for psy7ven and all entrepreneurs out there...

"Walk through the fear. You can do it! Right on! Take the first step and walk through the fear!"

(Don't forget the visualize them in their underware trick!)