What the heck should I do with my hands?

Original post:  June 9, 2015

During a presentation....

Last week, I had to give a presentation on "UDI:  Nine Months Into the Journey". I was pleasantly surprised at how many people were there. Even better, many of the faces in the room were not the familiar ones you usually see discussing data standards! If we are ever to succeed at this monumental achievement, it will require a total collaborative effort across healthcare.

As with any presentation, delivery is extremely important. Whether or not you know it, your audience is likely to judge the quality of your content partly on their perception of your performance. Non-verbal cues can make a critical difference. Your hands are a major part of the overall package!

The major part of this post is from Prezi blog. Prezi is a presentation software that gives the illusion of 3D movement. For those who have seen a presentation, it really provides a sharp contrast to the typical PowerPoint. Here is the link to the full article (including an impressive Prezi that helps guide you to the proper use of hands):  What the Heck Should I Do With My Hands? — Prezi Blog

Here are some of the key points:

1. Bigger is better:  Large, broad gestures draw eye contact. It makes your presentation seem more dynamic.
2. Stay open, not closed:  Open positions (arms are not crossed or folded in front of you) convey a sense of power and confidence.
3. Practice stillness:  Contrast is helpful. If you over-use any one gesture, it can become distracting. When you aren't using your hands, let them fall naturally by your sides and remain still!

More from Guy Kawasaki

Original post:  June 4, 2015

Mr. Kawasaki also provided his personal tips on presentations.

In his opinion, the optimal presentation has 10 slides. While he cheekily admitted that his presentation to us had more than 10 slides, he also added that his expertise gave him the right!

He also said the optimal presentation lasts for about 20 minutes. He said that was because the average meeting was an hour, and most Windows-based laptops took about 40 minutes to boot up and connect to the projector.

His last presentation point was to use 30 point font or greater. This would make the slides easy to read--even for a large audience. When you are speaking to a crowd of over 1,200 people, that makes sense to me!

He ended with a couple of quick asides about recent trends in social media. He said that an excellent test of your website (here he was speaking to the retailers in the audience) would be to try to pin a page and see which photo came up. He predicted great things for Pinterest--which just announced this week that they would allow users to add a "buy it" button:  Pinterest attempts to lure shoppers with 'Buy It' button - CNET

His last bit of advice to someone starting up in social media was to use what he called the NPR model. All year, NPR focuses on high quality content. Occasionally, they pause to run a pledge drive to support themselves. In the same way, he added that if you provide something useful, people will gravitate to your posts and/or site. That will then allow you the opportunity to pitch them from time to time. You can't pitch them all the time or they will stop coming by. I think this is very useful advice.

Like the very first time

Original post:  Mar 13, 2014

Recently, I had the chance to attend two different sessions of the same meeting. There was a speaker who presented at both of the meetings. While the exact words were different, the basic story was similar in each session. I remembered the general idea as the speaker went through their pitch. I also recalled that there were certain phrases worded in exactly the same way in both speeches.

Given the role this person plays, I am not surprised that there is repetition in the presentation. It is much easier to present honestly if you know the overall substance of your talk. You can fill in little details here and there to customize it to an audience. As long as there is enough energy and fire in the presentation, your audience will respond.

It is tremendously difficult to speak convincingly to an audience. It is even more difficult to give a similar speech over and over again without losing focus. If the speaker is tired of saying the same thing repeatedly, the audience can easily sense the difference and will be much less likely to receive the message favorably. The best speakers find a way to infuse their talks with energy levels similar to the first time they speak on the subject. That ability helps to separate the good from the great.

There are some studies that talk about how little we remember when we hear it. I can't find the exact reference, but I read somewhere that we need to hear something at least seven times for us to remember it. Our minds are also surprisingly clever about making subtle changes to the message and then convincing us that these altered memories were the way that the event actually happened!

This is why it is so incredibly important to work on your communication constantly. There is a reason why you are speaking. You have to help to convey that message convincingly in whatever time you are given. Many times, you will have to repeat that message over and over again before it is really understood. That persistence and the ability to present with authenticity will help you tremendously in just about any situation.