124 Improve your Communication Skills Don’t be afraid to repeat your ideas. If you want the audience
to remember them, you can’t repeat them too often.
If you plan well, you will almost certainly create too much
material. You must now decide what to leave out, and what you
could leave out if necessary. Be ruthless. Bear in mind that your
audience will forget most of what you say. Go back to your
pyramid and make sure that you have enough time to cover each
key point. Weed out any detail that will slow you down or divert
you from your objective.
Opening and closing the presentation Once the body of the presentation is in place, you need to
design an opening and close that will help you take off and land
safely. You need to be able to perform these on ‘autopilot’.
Memorise them word for word or write them out in full.
The opening of your presentation should include:
• introducing yourself – who you are and why you are there; • acknowledging the audience – thanking them for their time and recognising what they are expecting; • a clear statement of your objective or, better still, your message; • a timetable – finish times, breaks if necessary; • rules and regulations – note-taking, how you will take questions; • any ‘housekeeping’ items – safety, refreshments, administration. Once these elements are in place, you can decide exactly how to
order the items. You might decide to start with something
surprising or unusual: launching into a story or a striking
example, seemingly improvising some remark about the venue or
immediate circumstances of your talk, asking a question.
Sometimes it’s a good idea to talk with the audience at the very
start before launching into the presentation proper.
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