Presentation Training:
The Top Five Common Presentations Training Mistakes

Facilitating a presentations training workshop is tough. Why? Because you have to know your content with great depth, ensure it is effectively communicated, and keep your audience engaged so they don't fall asleep on you. However, with a little practice your skills can increase tremendously.

As you review these top five mistakes that new trainers often make, consider which ones you are most guilty of, why you do them, and your action plan to overcome them so that you become a much sought after and admired trainer, public speaker, and workshop facilitator.

1. Not engaging participants throughout the learning process.
2. Standing in front of the projection screen throughout the presentation.
3. Not projecting of their voice.
4. Not practicing their presentation in advance.
5. Not testing their audio visual equipment in advance.

Tips to Overcome these Mistakes

The tips below are not only intended to help you overcome some of the common mistakes we have outlined above, but also ensure your next presentation or workshop is engaging, enjoyable, and memorable for all concerned.

Participant Engagement - To engage your participants, ask questions throughout your presentation - pausing a few seconds to allow them adequate time to respond. Also, don't just stand in one place, walk around the room, maintaining positive eye contact with your group.

Visual Aids - If your presentation is an hour or more, use PowerPoint to add variety - but don't overload slides with too much information. If you have a lot of content to share, create a handout or training manual to provide detail information. And by all means, use a flipchart to jot down participant responses to questions you ask. This way you can refer to their comments later, and it adds variety to the presentation.

Facilitator Stance - If you are using a PowerPoint Presentation or a flipchart, always stand to the left or right of it. Standing in front of it is distracting and blocks your participants from viewing the information. Also, be conscious of your posture, don't slouch, and be mindful not to overuse hand gestures which can also be annoying to the audience.

Break Times - For every 90 minutes of presentation, participants should be given a 10-15 minute break, especially if they are sitting during most of the training. This will allow them to walk around, stretch, refresh their beverage, and be re-energized when they return for more training. If your participants tend to return late from breaks, shorten your breaks by 3-5 minutes to ensure everyone is back within an acceptable time.

Voice Projection - Speak loud enough for everyone to hear, using a microphone when presenting to a large group. Add variety to the tone of your voice so it doesn't sound boring and monotone, and pronounce words correctly. If you cannot pronounce a word properly, use a simpler alternative.

Practice - Start practicing your presentation a few days in advance, even if you know it inside and out. The more familiar you are with the flow of your presentation, the less nervous you will appear to be. Bottom-line, if you don't know your stuff, you lose credibility - and you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Equipment Check - Arrive one hour before the presentation or workshop to check your audio visual equipment; this will ensure that everything is properly functioning when you need it to. Check your laptop, LCD projector, projection screen, microphone (if using one), and make sure your flipchart markers work and are not dried out. Also, check the meeting room to ensure it is properly set, and make sure you have adequate handouts for everyone who will be attending.

Pay Attention to Your Audience - During your presentation if your audience looks bored stiff, pick up your pace. On the other hand, if they look confused, stop ask a few questions to ensure clarity -- then slow down just a little to ensure you don't lose them. At the end of the presentation have participants give written feedback concerning the content, pace, and flow of your information.

While my list of common mistakes and tips is not all inclusive, our hope is that is has started your creative juices going as it relates to enhancing your workshop facilitation and presentation skills. I challenge you to consider what you will start, stop, and continue doing to enhance your skills, and I assure you that if you commit to them you will become a highly sought after facilitator and presenter within your organization.

Source: Theo Gilbert-Jamison link

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