1. You\u2019re not engaging the audience.<\/strong><\/p>\nEven if you don\u2019t have a fear of public speaking, it\u2019s not always easy to engage an audience. \u201cSometimes, presenters get caught up in their own heads,\u201d said Emily Murphy, lecturer in business communications at Indiana University Kelley School of Business.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey forget there are people out there in the audience\u2014people who want to make a connection with the speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
An easy way to engage with your audience is to use non-verbal cues, such as making eye contact. Murphy also suggests asking the audience questions throughout your presentation.<\/p>\n
This last tip packs a double-punch: not only are you engaging your audience, but they have added incentive to pay attention to you if they know you may call on them.<\/p>\n
\n2. You\u2019re reading from the screen.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe quickest way to bore your audience is to read straight from your slides or a computer screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have literally seen people with their backs to the audience reading the slide word for word,\u201d said marketing and brand consultant Jeff Magnuson. But, \u201cthe audience can read too,\u201d Magnuson reminds us, which means you\u2019re not adding any value to your presentation if you\u2019re simply reading it.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, you should know the material and tell it directly to the audience in a clear and confident way,\u201d he said. \u201cHave a copy of the slides printed out in front of you or have the laptop facing you so you can glance down to see where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n3. Your PowerPoint is too busy.<\/strong><\/p>\nYour visual aids\u2014such as PowerPoint slides and other projections\u2014are meant to help the audience. \u201cBut they are never meant to take away from the focus of the presentation, which is you,\u201d said Murphy.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what you risk when you build a presentation that looks too busy. \u201cPowerPoint slides that contain too much writing, or are too busy with graphs, charts, and other visuals, will distract the audience from your words,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
So, in other words, apply the KISS principle\u2014’keep it simple, sweetie’\u2014to your presentation slides and art too.<\/p>\n
\n4. You didn\u2019t personalise your presentation.<\/strong><\/p>\nFact: \u201cNo one wants to listen to a dry and data-filled presentation,\u201d said Murphy. \u201cEven if the topic of your presentation is mostly data, there are still ways to make it interesting and to catch the audience\u2019s attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
So be sure to personalise your presentation with stories and examples\u2014and don\u2019t be afraid to use humour. \u201cTell a story about yourself or someone else that fits into the subject of the presentation,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more \u2018human\u2019 you can make the presentation, the better the chances that someone will be listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n5. You didn\u2019t rehearse.<\/strong><\/p>\nYou\u2019ve heard the saying, \u201cpractice makes perfect.\u201d Yet, Magnuson warns that many people don\u2019t practice their presentation before giving it\u2014and that\u2019s a big mistake, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery presentation should be rehearsed\u2014unless, of course, someone is asked to present at the last possible moment,\u201d said Magnuson.<\/p>\n
\u201cRehearsing the material allows confidence to build and the presenter will not be hung upon details because he or she will really know what he or she is presenting. Additionally, when someone interrupts\u2014which they definitely will\u2014the presenter can pick up where he or she left off without issue. Don\u2019t simply memorise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n6. You forgot to smile.<\/strong><\/p>\nMagnuson admitted that it sounds hokey, \u201cbut a smile can quickly put the room at ease and give the presenter confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plus, smiling helps avoid some of mistakes we covered earlier, such as engaging with the audience and not only reading from a screen.<\/p>\n
Magnuson said that the only time you should avoid smiling during a presentation is if you\u2019re delivering bad or somber news. \u201cOtherwise, relax and smile,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlong with rehearsing, simply practice smiling while you talk. It may feel unnatural but it will go a long way in your presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n7. You didn\u2019t expect the unexpected.<\/strong><\/p>\nLike it or not, something will likely go wrong during your presentation, whether a projector doesn\u2019t work, the lights go out, or your laptop won\u2019t load the file you need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese issues can be unavoidable,\u201d said Murphy. \u201cBut the better prepared you are, the more able you are to handle when things go wrong and go with the flow. Someone who panics and appears frazzled when things go wrong can lose credibility.<\/p>\n
But if you are able to complete the presentation under difficult circumstances, your credibility and presentation will soar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRead: 6 of the best covering letter openers and why they work<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The most common presentation mistakes are easy to avoid, says recruitment specialist, Glassdoor. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":243913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[7186,26],"class_list":["post-243891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-glassdoor","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243891"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244025,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243891\/revisions\/244025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}