Delivering Effective Presentations to Your Staff

Communication is by far, one of the single, most important skills to possess as a leader in any business. Great ideas don’t move forward without the ability to explain them and get employees behind them. Presentation skills are equally as important and are a significant component of communication.

Different Kinds of Presenters

Avoider or Resister?

In order to better understand how to present to employees and others, one must first determine which kind of speaker he or she is. Some professionals in leadership positions avoid presenting and are very uncomfortable standing in front of a crowd and delivering a message. Others resist delivering presentations and will do so only if they have to.

Acceptor or Seeker?

Some will accept giving presentations and actually feel good about their delivery after it’s over. And, there are those who seek to present, look for opportunities to deliver messages to their staff and find anxiety not a roadblock, but a motivator and stimulant that fires them up to present.

Developing a Blueprint to Successful Presentations

Presenting is like many other things in life, it takes preparation and planning. A skilled presenter can take the mundane and make it fun and interesting, take negative information and make it useful, and share sad news in an uplifting way. The skilled presenter shares stories that resonate with their audience. They weave humor throughout the delivery and appear to be like everyone else in the crowd. They do all of these and more through smart planning and thoughtful preparation.

The Introduction

A very important take-away is that presenters need to start strong and end memorable. Starting with “Hell everyone, I am …” doesn’t cut it most times because people don’t care who you are until they know how much you care. Connect immediately with the audience. Make them feel special and that the presentation will be well worth their time. Start with an interesting question or fact. Set the stage for the bulk of the presentation.

Content

This is where organization and structure are important. Deliver facts and back them up with examples that the crowd will appreciate. Tie a story to the content. Everyone likes a good story. Emphasize key points and major take-aways from the presentation. Establish credibility, expertise, and cite some references to back up the material.

Conclusion

Every presentation must be memorable in order to be effective, otherwise the audience will yawn, think about their grocery list, and forget what they heard. Most people only retain around 10% of most presentations, whether it’s the Priest at Sunday Mass, or the salesperson trying to pitch a time-share in Florida. It is, therefore, critical to make a memory with the audience.

End by restating the main points to drive them home. Don’t ask “Any questions?” but instead ask “Who would like more details?”. Prompt the audience for questions by stating “A question that I receive often is …”. Signal the end of the presentation is near by stating “Summing this all up…”. State what needs to be done next, a call to action or practical ways to use the information provided. Then, thank them genuinely and show sincere gratitude.

Final Thoughts on Delivering Effective Presentations to Your Staff

Communication and presenting skills are critical in any business and being able to connect with the audience matters. Presentations should start with a bang, content should be meaningful, and the ending memorable. Many people fear presenting and use anxiety as a deterrent. Effective presenters may still get butterflies in the stomachs, but use that energy as motivation and stimulation to get in front of people and make a difference.

(NOTE: Interested in learning more about Leadership in health care? Checkout my Leadership CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)