Free E-book - 'The Art of Presentation'. Complete your email address below and receive a link to download this new e-book.

TOP TIPS

PowerPoint

Point & Turn Method
Presentation Tips

Style

Image
Mono & Multi Tones
Presenting Image
Style and Substance

Technique

Presenting: First Steps
Getting Organised
Knowing The Audience
Main Points
Office Party Speeches
Rehearsing
Presentation Relevance
Questioning Technique
Time Planning: Presenters
Top 10 Techniques

SPEAKER RESOURCES

Speaker Notes

Presentation Skills

Presentation Objectives

Audience Research

Audience Engagement

Confident Speaking

Telling it Straight - Tip: 13

POWERPOINT TRAINING the point, turn and talk technique

PowerPoint presentations are everywhere. But always associated with presenters who insist on either reading their notebook display screen or the projector screen. In both instances the speaker fails to capture the attention of their audience and then fails to establish the key linkage between the speaker, the material and the images being shown in the presentation.

This month we look at a simple technique - point, turn and talk - that helps us to get around the problem of referencing our presentation material whilst still maintaining eye contact with our audience.

PowerPoint Training

Beyond its clear and obvious advantages for graphics and media integration, PowerPoint presentations can often be faulted with:

an over-dependence on text.

bullet lists.

information overload.

NEWS

10 things to do before your presentation:

Arrive early.
Tell someone you've arrived.
Check the facilities.
Make any adjustments.
Review the participants.
Change the seating lay-out if needed.
Mingle with the participants.
Self focus.
Do a breathing exercise.
Be introduced.

In truth the fault is not PowerPoint. It's the presenter's problem and it shows their dependence on using the graphics package as both a prop and a speaking aid.

With the prop our speaker feels invulnerable with the depth and breadth of slide information. And with the speaking aid our presenter hasn't familiarised themselves with the essential points of their presentation. Typically the dire results bear testimony to these scenarios.

But a better approach would have the speaker reduce their dependence on text; reduce their bullet lists; shorten bullet list length and incorporate less information onto the slides.

More graphical content would be a fine substitute. Going further our presenter could practise their point, turn and talk technique. It's a technique that allows a speaker to refer to the information on a display screen, seize their audience's attention and then explain with the necessary detail.

It has clear advantages to both the presenter and the audience:

	it links the speaker's words with the content of the screen.
	it enables the speaker to move and be animated when discussing their subject.
	it encourages the speaker to look at their audience.
	it prevents the speaker from reading their screen presentation.
	it maximises the time involved in looking at the audience.
	the audience feels more involved and has the chance to relay any misunderstanding through the increased eye contact.

Use the point, turn and talk technique to project an animated and knowledgeable presenter. Take the opportunity to combine an effective PowerPoint presentation with plenty of audience eye contact and, of course, subject interest.

PowerPoint Presentation Training

• Back • Next •