Walk the Talk

I was invited to speak at the Corporate Communications conference this year. Today was the first day and I am due to speak tomorrow.

The event was packed with Communications professionals from all over the region. The agenda promised a thrilling experience. But what I saw and heard today was far beyond from being thrilled.

Most presenters, supposedly communications experts, committed countless mistakes and errors. Some of those mistakes an amateur wouldn't dare making. It was so bad to the point that, toward the end of the day, audience didn't want to ask any questions, just so that they can move on to the next speaker and get the day over with.

Anyhow.... here are my "top 10 presentation screw up"moments from today.

1. Powerpoint Overdose! Man, there were so many slides, I felt like throwing up. Trust me, having more slides doesn't make points stronger. They just make em harder to swallow.

2. Don't read whats written off the screen/slides. It just add insult to injury, and pay attention to cosmetics like font size, color, images and clip arts. Unless your life depended on it, don't use anything from MS Clip art library. Its just lame.

3. Stay focused! People didn't cough up $4k to hear about your company/product/service/boss..etc... they are not interested. Here is a newsflash: They might be interested in what the heck the organiser choose you to talk about in the fist place. You must've done something right in your life. Share it with them.

4. Don't dis other companies, brands or people. It is (1) a cheap shot and (2) some of those people your are dissing might be sitting in the audience - they will most likely swing back at you the second they have the chance to.

5. Less is More - focus on 1 or 2 objectives maximum. Tell the audience what you are expecting to come out with work your way from there.

6. Finish on time. It is disrespectful to everyone. Your fellow speakers, your audience, your MC and most of all. Yourself. It shows you have zero control of your message delivery

7. Research your stuff - don't insult the audience's intelligence with poorly research material or non supported facts

8. Wake up! Stay alert, get excited and psych up your people. Your vibes will affect your audience and they will react to whatever mood you are in. If you are boring and mundane, you will have a stuffed audience.

9. Don't just stand there like a gargoyle, and don't jump around like a chipmunk on steroids. Make your movement and hand gestures subtle, meaningful and to support making a point or a message.

10. And Most important! Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. It was obvious that several presenters today were not 100% familiar with their material. Some actually had typos.

Hope you found those useful. Wish me luck tomorrow

Samer