【Presentation Skill】

Overview

An experienced presenter knows there are four levels of interaction with their audience:

1. Audience hears

2. Audience listens

3. Audience understands

4. Audience feels understood

A good speaker can get to levels 2 and 3. A great presenter knows how to get to level 4. This program is for people who have basic skills but have room to improve in capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention. In this course the participants will learn some by theory and a lot by doing. Skills to be learned include high-impact story telling, effective audience interaction, persuasion techniques and how to engage an audience while reading.

　

Methodology

The participant number will be limited to no more than 12 participants to ensure quality and opportunity for all to present. The participants will learn from a combination of theory and in-class practice.

The participants ideally should come to the course with a five minute presentation (including PPT) that they can modify and improve as they cover content. The highlight of the program is when they present a five minute presentation, practice their Q&A skills. Following this the participants will receive immediate feedback from their classmates and instructor which will allow them to look for specific items while viewing their tapes.

Course Outline

Day 1

Part One:Opening

Welcome

Setting Expectations

 Purpose

In this section the participants are allowed to express their expectations for the program. Rules are established and the schedule is explained. Groups are formed and matched to their appropriate instructors.

Part Two:Audience hears

Skill review

Skill review

 4 speech types

 Voice

 Eye contact

 Using visual aids

 Purpose

Cover the basics and point out common mistakes when using visual aids, using voice, etc. How to begin with the end in mind.

Part Three:Audience listens:

Engaging

Engaging techniques

 Asking questions

 Answering questions

 Practice/feedback

 Purpose

While asking/answering questions are an important part of creating rapport with the audience, many do not know how to do so and maintain control of attention. Participants learn how to interact while maintaining control.

Part Four:Audience listens:

Reading

Reading techniques

 Formatting

 Scripting

 Practice/Feedback

 Purpose

There is a danger of losing an audience’s attention if a speech is read. Participants learn to read while maintaining eye contact, body gestures and the other important tools necessary for engaging the audience.

Part Five:Audience understands:

Persuading

Persuasion

 Persuasion models

 Formulating the end result

 Practice/feedback

 Purpose

Sales people always have a point that they are trying to convey. At the end of their presentation the audience should be clear of their motive and proposed ideas. This skill is important for every speaker to learn how to persuade effectively.

Part Six:Audience understands:

Story telling

Story telling

 The “inside info”

 Recognizing unique value added

 Practice/feedback

 Purpose

Story telling is a great way to engage the audience and make them feel you are talking to them. A well-made story can capture and retain an audience’s attention. Participants learn the how to open with a story as well as what to avoid when using this technique.

Part Seven:Audience feels understood:

Customizing

Customizing the message

 Profiling the audience

 Identify common elements

 Talking to the audience with familiarity

 Purpose

Making the audience feel that they are understood is the highest level of speaking. Participants learn to profile, properly choose and use material to add elements to their speeches. When the audience feels the presenter understands them and their needs, they pay attention.

Day 2

Part One:Skill review

Review of previous day

 Skill review

 Observation learning

 Purpose:

Review the skill sets learned and that will be used for judging.

Part Two:Group Presentation

Creating presentations as a group

 Affinity charting

 Preparing the group

 Purpose:

Many presentations are done as groups instead of individuals. In this section we learn techniques for preparing and presenting in groups.

Part Three:Partner Review

Q&A techniques

Practice with Partner

 Engaging Audience

 Q&A

 Visual aid use

 Final touches

 Purpose:

Before having the presenters deliver, they are given a last practice with a partner. This allows for them make improvements, show skills and get pre-delivery input.

Part Four:The Presentations

Delivery

 Final speeches

 Live Q&A

 Instant feedback

 Video review

 Purpose:

The best learning comes from doing. This final session is when the participants learn by doing and learn from each other. Each presenter delivers their 5 minute presentation and answers questions for 2 minutes. Immediately afterward they are given feedback on what went well and where they could continue to improve. With this feedback in their minds they will review their own delivery on video so they can see themselves from the audience perspective.

Part Five:Summary

Summary

 Learning points

 Next steps

 Purpose

The learning is reviewed and participants share their experience. Practical next steps are identified for continued improvement.

Summary

At the end of this program participants will be exposed to new skills that will help them throughout their careers. They will learn from their own experience as well as observing and evaluating others. The participants will be more keen of what it takes to engage and maintain rapport with their audience as well as what speakers can do to make the audience feel understood. Healthy competition will allow even the weaker participants an equal opportunity to rise to the challenge and refine their skills. The program is active, fun and progress will be obvious at the end of the two days.

　

The Trainer

Erik Barnes

 Experienced facilitator and coach

 Creator of experiential workshops

 Multilingual and has worked extensively in China and around the world

 Actively involved in community organizations

 Certified Microsoft facilitator

 MBA in International Business

　

Experience

Erik Barnes has been working in the people development industry in the greater China area for more than 6 years. He is an experienced facilitator and trainer for team building, change management and communications. Based on proven adult learning theories, Erik uses experiential learning and/or simulations in all of his programs to ensure the highest impact. Erik is the creator of the popular Village Game and other simulations.

Currently Erik is a regular facilitator for Microsoft. He currently works with the SMSG Readiness team as the MS101 facilitator. He is also certified facilitator for Presentation Power, Precision Questioning, Business Acumen and Career Strategy.

Since 2004 Erik has been working with M7 & Associates (now part of Human Capital Group) as a leadership coach for various multinationals. He has coached a variety of people from sales to R&D in leadership skills. In his projects he has helped coach people new to leadership, people undertaking special projects and high potentials. His ability to work across cultures and languages has proven valuable to those he works with.

An American citizen, Erik has also lived many years in Europe and in the greater China area. He speaks fluent Chinese and French. He regularly does training and executive coaching in Mandarin Chinese.

Erik is among the founding members of the Shanghai Professional Speakers Association. He is also the co-founder of the Facilitator and Trainer (FaT) network in Shanghai. Erik has just finished a year term as the Area Governor for the East 1 Area Toastmasters. During his term he expanded the area from four to nine clubs and earned the Distinguished Area award.

Education

Erik has an MBA in International Business from Pepperdine University, the #2 MBA program in the world for Organization Behavior according to The Financial Times. He studied there with a full-tuition scholarship.