Effective Communication and Presentation

Effective communication depends on you having confidence – and confidence is a self-reinforcing process - in that the more you gain confidence the more effective you will become - to try new things, to find better ways to get your message over. You do this by putting to work the ‘3 Cs’ - clarity, context and content. Being clear, through verbal and non-verbal communications, (that’s the how) through to understanding the context properly (the why) and of course having a handle on the content, which is the what) Any communication has a purpose. You must try and visualise the outcome. What are you trying to achieve? What does the outcome look like? What are the changes that should come about! Create a picture in your mind of these desirable outcomes before you prepare.

The key here is to ask the right questions to the right size of group! And allow time for the group /s to discus and come up with their solutions – don’t just ask rhetorical questions. In a larger group people will just nod their heads in agreement. It’s easy to be confused with questions that could be rhetorical.

Identify the key item that forms the ‘meat’ of the session, and upon which the success will be judged. Be sure to allow adequate time for this aspect. Sometimes intros and agenda items carried forward from last time consume too much time and intellectual energy and the main points suffer as a result.

Your voice is your main tool, often the only one you can rely on so develop it and use it well. You, through your voice, set the tempo and tone of the session. Project to the back of the room but try and pace yourself and conserve your vocal cords! Don’t be frightened of gaps or silence.

Usually, the opening session involves the facilitator setting the scene, running through the agenda etc. The open is important as it can set the tone for the day but the sheer number of things you have in your head might lead to a confused start and consequently you suffer a draining of confidence.

Sometimes a meeting or session requires to get people talking, quickly as well as get to know the people in the meeting, as well as refine the outcomes. A quick way is to combine an icebreaker with a ‘round table’, but in pairs.

People take more notice when illustrations and entertaining anecdotes are used. Another important aspect is that facts and figures will give your message credibility, and supporting visuals will make it more memorable.

In your meeting or session, if you are the chair, or presenter – think of yourself as a conductor of an orchestra. Your job is to facilitate the session so that everyone can contribute in their best way – you control the tempo and timings, seating, comfort breaks, coffee breaks, lighting, heating/cooling, finish time etc. There’s nothing worse than a big meeting that goes on and on, with no breaks - so vary things, use pairs, small groups and large groups. Remember that the larger the groups – the more chance of synergy but also the longer it takes to go from the forming, storming, norming to performing cycle!

Remember to connect via interaction – for example to share experiences - but don’t overdo it! Some people are threatened by this in training sessions or meetings so sometimes come across as negative at first – but it’s often just shyness or insecurity. Don’t second guess what the delegates think simply by their looks. You might be wrong. If someone looks seriously worried or confused or fidgeting – don’t be frightened to stop and say something. Don’t scold – just say in a neutral way – ‘you any issues with that?’ or ‘what do you think?