Finish with a flourish

I recommend that speakers write their concluding paragraph first. This consists of the main point that you want the audience to remember from your presentation. Perhaps it is a restatement of your main theme, perhaps it is a call to action, perhaps a story of the benefits gained from applying your message.

I never finish with a questions from the floor session. If questions from the floor are necessary - and often they are, I insert that portion about 70% of the way through my presentation. I explain that I will take question for the next ten minutes and then will have some concluding remarks.

I have already mentioned that I prepare a briefing note for the person who is going to thank me for the presentation. Unlike my introduction, it is not scripted, but it does ask the host to mention one or two salient points, so that the individuals in the audience are hearing my message restated by a person with local influence.
Use your final remarks to create a lasting impression.
To help them remember:

• Summarise your message into a brief, memorable sentence;
• Explain what can be done to make it come true;
• Show how it is relevant to your audience;
• Explain how it will benefit your audience.

Provide takeaways

I was once told that the hallmark of a great seminar is a good lunch and an impressive manual. I didn't believe it then or now, although there is a smidgin of truth in it.
How many manuals have you collected and stored in a bookshelf somewhere, never to be consulted again? I am certain that some participants expect that the information contained in them will somehow penetrate our consciousness through osmosis - provided, of course, that they are stored exactly the right distance from our head.

On the other hand, a well designed handout can serve as a valuable prompt to help participants take the message home.

I generally use interactive handouts - ones which the participants complete during the presentation. This has the additional advantage of involving the sense of touch during the seminar or speech.

Ways that handouts can be made interactive include:

• Providing outlines of diagrams used in slide presentations - leave in the graphics, but leave out the words;

• Printing the first letters of an acronym which is the framework on the presentation;

• Using a 'Good Ideas Doggy Bag." This is a handout that I have developed which I ask participants to write out the one idea from the presentation that they intend to use first. I ask them to seal it in an envelope that I provide and then I promise to send it to them one month later.

The advantage of this process is that when they do return home, other more pressing issues may dilute the impact of the seminar.

By delivering a reminder, in their own words and hand-writing, when their recollection may be faltering, I reinforce the commitment that they made to themselves.

· Another form of takeaway is a prompt that can be displayed on their desk. I use index card size summaries that fold into a tent. I also give away good quality pens with my name and contact details on them. I find a far better call back rate from these than from business cards.

Fridge magnets are not a good idea, as if these are brought into contact with recording media, such as tapes or computer disks, including the hard drive on a computer, the information on the tape or disc is erased.

Never distribute copies of your speech to be read by the audience as you deliver it. Do you really want them to get ahead of you? Do you really want them to know that you skipped a paragraph because of time constraints? The only person in the room who should know what you are going to say next is you.

Some conferences ask for a paper to be submitted in advance and this is then circulated to the participants. Fine. What I say in the paper is consistent with what I say from the platform, but I speak to the paper, rather than read it.

I have three speeches on any subject: The one I intend to give - which is printed in the papers, the one I do give, which is often available on cassette and the one I wish I had given, which is available to those who ring me afterwards to discuss a point that I made.

As a handout, I prefer to give an outline of the main points, and often include some of the anecdotes under the heading "Tales Trainers Tell."

At other times I restrict handouts to a single point, and give them out one page at a time. This has increased flexibility if the level of knowledge is not what I had expected. I can withhold some notes, and give out others to suit the reaction that I am getting.

The quality of the handouts is important. Clear photocopies are no more expensive than shoddy ones. Plenty of white space improves readability immensely. I always have contact details on each page so that people can follow through if they wish to.

Build Your Knowledge

• What statistics support your message?

•  What anecdotes can you use to add to what you have to say?
•  How can you represent your message visually?
•  Ask questions

Gather resources
Apart from your own personal experiences, there is a great deal of material available to provide support. For the computer literate, the internet is a marvellous resource.
There are a large number of sites dedicated to jokes, clip art, statistics and quotations. It is impractical to provide addresses here, as the net changes so rapidly that by the time you finish reading this chapter the list will have changed.
Be warned: when you use a search engine for quotations, you will find what you are looking for mixed in with thousands of other references for investment strategies, second hand cars and home improvements. By looking for "quote" and "speak" and "research" and "health" and "life expectancy" you greatly reduce the number of alternatives. Read through the search engine tips for advice on how to combine several queries into one.
If the last paragraph is apparently in some foreign language, then I have some good news and some bad news: the good news is that the internet is very easy to use, and with libraries, cafes and kiosks offering cheap short term internet access is easy to access without investing in your own computer. The bad news is that if you are not internet literate, then a large part of your audience will attribute a lack of intelligence to your efforts. Perhaps that is unfair, but that does not make it untrue.
Please look at the copyright conditions associated with the material that you use. Most sites permit their material to be used, provided that acknowledgment is given. Others ask that you seek permission or provide feedback. While the chances of prosecution may be slight, some sites do aggressively protect their copyright, and so they should. The best reason for complying with the conditions that they impose on your using their material is simply that it demonstrates your integrity. Add to that the impact on your credibility: When you trot out your statistic, some in the audience will challenge (hopefully silently) its accuracy. If you are able to report that it came from the latest census, via the government statistics web site, you are demonstrating that you point is supported, and that you have done your homework.


Build a database
The acquisition and selection of material is essential for the preparation of a great presentation.
I still find Readers Digest a great source. Aside from jokes, there are personal experience, quotes and examples of "picturesque speech" throughout every issue. Most of the material is timeless, so while the current issue may contain material that is currently doing the rounds of bistros, bars and bus stops, past issues contain a great deal of material that is still quite useful.
Television shows, comedy stand up routines and comic strips in daily newspapers are further examples of places to look for a humorous view of life.
The Internet is a mine of jokes, it is simply a matter of knowing where to look. Because the world wide web is developing at such a rapid pace it is impractical to give addresses in a book like this, but search engines and links are two terms that any good speaker has to become familiar with in today's world. Ask any computer literate colleague to explain them to you, or preferably show you how they work.
The greatest source of material, however is your daily life. If you look for examples, you will find them. The challenge is to look.
Having found the material, it is time to store it.
I use a computer data base file now, but for many years relied on the low tech equivalent, index cards. I still carry a supply of blank cards with me. To record incidents as they happen, but as soon as possible I transfer it to my data base.
Rather than just cross reference a page and issue of Readers Digest or a joke book I always rewrite the material to suit my style. I am not in the habit of copying other people's material word for word, but rather emulating the way that they provide the surprise twist.
By personalising it, I find it easier to remember, too.
By and large, preparation is largely about collecting, sorting and deciding on application. Then it is time to practice your material.

Don't compete with your visual support

I don't believe in giving out a copy of my speech before the presentation so that people can follow it as I read it. As you might have guessed, I do not read my speeches.

Some conferences ask for a paper to be submitted in advance and this is then circulated to the participants. Fine. What I say in the paper is consistent with what I say from the platform, but I speak to the paper, rather than read it.

I have three speeches on any subject: The one I intend to give - which is printed in the papers, the one I do give, which is often available as a recording and the one I wish I had given, which is available to those who ring me afterwards to discuss a point that I made.

As a handout, I prefer to give an outline of the main points, and often include some of the anecdotes under the heading "Tales Trainers Tell."

At other times I restrict handouts to a single point, and give them out one page at a time. This has increased flexibility if the level of knowledge is not what I had expected. I can withhold some notes, and give out others to suit the reaction that I am getting.

Frequently, I give out copies of diagrams that I use in my slides, but with the words left off. This saves time if the participants are taking notes. The lack of words lets me use the same diagram in a number of different ways, again according to the level of response that I get from the audience.
The quality of the handouts is important. Clear photocopies are no more expensive than shoddy ones. Plenty of white space improves readability immensely. I always have contact details on each page so that people can follow through if they wish to.

Develop a style for your presentations and maintain it.
Adopt a consistent layout and style. Landscape is preferred if the whole slide is to be introduced at one time. Portrait may be acceptable if you have a list that will be progressively exposed.
Use a simple font. Ornate characters detract from the message and project badly. Fine lines in diagrams also project poorly.
Use upper and lower case letters. ALL CAPS ARE MUCH HARDER TO READ;
Never overload the image.
One point per slide is ideal. A maximum of seven lines of seven words each is a good rule of thumb for landscape (longer side parallel to the base) slides.

Choose colours which provide high contrast between the background and the featured text or pictures. For example blue and gold offer contrast (as in dark and light), but red and orange probably would be quite difficult to see;

Avoid red, green, pink and yellow features. These colours do not project well. Limit your colour choice to two or three feature colours per slide (unless you are including colour photographs.

Check that every word or feature is clearly visible from the back of the room. As a rule of thumb, the height of the projected image needs to be about one sixth of the viewing distance. In a room where people will be thirty metres away from the screen, the image width needs to be at least 5 metres.

Check that the view of the projected image is not interrupted by furniture or fittings. In larger rooms you may have to work around pillars. If you have the choice, avoid rooms where there are mirrors. This provide a competing visual image.
Make sure the projection screen is large enough for the size of audience, generally the distance between the audience and the screen should be less than six times the width of the projected image (for example, if the projected image is 2 metres wide the audience should be within 12 metres of the screen).

Focus the projector on the screen before participants arrive. A key placed in the centre of an overhead projector plate used to be a good way for focussing those antiques. With PowerPoint projection, develop aslide using all of the font sizes that are in your presentation and use iot to focus the machine while you are setting up.

A projected image will keystone if you have the screen higher than the projector. A keystone image is one where the top of the picture is wider than the bottom. This is caused where the screen is not parallel to the lens on the projector.

Many portable screens have a fitting at the top to reduce keystoning. The top of the screen is closer to the audience (and projector) than the bottom. You can also reduce the problem by inclining the projector. Good quality projectors also have a keystoning adjustment. Set it up to suit your projecvtor location relative to the screen - to the side or below, as appropriate.

The quality of your support affects your credibility
In the same way that the quality of your physical appearance will influence the perception of the credibility of your message, the quality of your support materials will enhance or detract from your message.