We all know that practice is important to a strong presentation, but I’m beginning to think about expanding my definition of practice to include the practice of the “ideas” or the “content” of the presentation, as opposed to just practicing delivery. In the teaching of writing, this is usually the revision stage where we go back and polish, focus and refine our content. When we practice delivery, we sort of assume that the content is all set (or nearly all set) at that stage, so we don’t usually build into the presentation planning time to practice our ideas or our content. What does that mean? Well, I think it means planning time to share and get feedback earlier in the process, so that we can try out our ideas to see if they are powerful, audience oriented and focused. This might be an informal discussion where we go over our outline, our data, or different strategies for audience engagement, in a more relaxed, strategic and critical way without simultaneously having to worry about the dynamics of public delivery. When we practice our delivery, it almost seems like it is too late to really be critical about the ideas. So if we practice our content, then we can have a better chance to get the content perfect, which I believe will make the delivery process much easier as well.
MAKING TIME TO PRACTICE OUR IDEAS
April 30, 2008 by lisasisco
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Repeatedly, I realize making the same mistake; despite having all the information to make the better presentation. When I was showing my outline for the persuasive presentation, I was instructed to come off with more creative ideas. Every time I open my power Point, either I add or delete something believing that I became more creative in terms of idea generation, but it comes to be a failure when it is analyzed minutely. At the same time, when I get the instructions, then I realize, oh! Yes, I had to do this, not this one.
After reading this piece of information, I came to conclusion that the only thing I was missing was, practice of ideas or content. The same thing happened to me, which I say the assumption. After showing to some of my national and international friends, they gave me bunch of instructions to add or remove some of the information. I used some quotes, which I believed to be fit for presentation and was applauded by friends as well. But, when the presentation was in the judge’s table (Dr. Sisco), the same things seemed to be different, awkward and mismatching.
The general ideas I achieved from Dr. Sisco, did not come to me despite of all efforts. I spend hours and hours to bring new ideas but could not get it. This shows how important it is to practice ideas. I tried some points from the perspective of Asians or from the perspective of international students, but could not see it from the outsiders. My presentation was less strategic with less WIIFY for audience but with bunch of information. These all were result of lack of practice on ideas. Though, the subject is very familiar with me and I am known to the contents, still I could not deliver it with the WIIFY, which I believe is the same, “my weakness of practicing ideas and contents.” I believe, I will maintain my weaknesses.
Making time to practice our ideas
The fact of practicing for delivering presentations is always very helpful in order to have feedback before the final presentation. The speaker may choose a group of people from different backgrounds to judge the pre-presentation’s content, visuals, delivery strategy; communication techniques used and pinpoint their overall feelings towards the presentation. Such a way, the speaker can update his/her delivery strategy, come across points, revise visuals, delete insignificant points and stress on the most powerful ones. Besides, the speaker might also use a planning sheet to somehow “frame” his/her presentation and focus on specific ideas that he/she wants to deliver to the audience. The fact of practicing ideas is not that easy especially in an international context because people do not have the same backgrounds and sometimes ideas may be misunderstood or misleading. Thus, the challenge resides in coming up with creative ideas with regards to different people’s background, culture, ethnicity, way of life and beliefs. This is why; the speaker should take time not only to practice his/her ideas but also to get to know the audience first.
I think all of us agree that content is as important as delivery style. However, at first I did not realize that. What I mean is that at first presentation with Prof. Sisco I thought she is just going to look at the delivery style, which includes how we talk, being calm… Obviously I was wrong! I concentrated on those issues, but Prof. Sisco caught every single detail and showed me my mistakes that I already have question marks in my mind. Then, I started to give more importance on the content of my presentations. I realized that good content makes the presentation easier to deliver.
Spending a little time with power point can add us a lot of advantage. Presentation Zen book is a very good source and it shows us that power point slides are not all about bullet points. If we want our presentation to reach its goal, we should make it interesting for the audience and power point is a great tool for us. Clearly telling the main points with some stories, giving some examples and personal experiences can help presentations to improve considerably.
Practicing is very important for a successful presentation, delivery is important but if the content is not strong than the presentation could fail. In technology it is difficult to know what content to filter out when all information could be equally important. I find it is important to always review the content and understand what the information or story you want to tell and would the customer care.
Over the last couple classes we have had time to develop our presentation; we have been working on mostly the content and very little the delivery. This approach has been very beneficial to the development of a great presentation. The content has been reviewed a few times by the group, the customer and people outside the group. We have been able to incorporate great ideas or remove unneeded content after these peer reviewed. The final weeks, after having great content we are working on the delivery, at this point we have a wealth of knowledge in the content and will be able to have a really good delivery.
It was very rewarding to see a post of this nature. When I first thought about our feedback sessions, I always prepared myself for the delivery of the presentation, not the actual content. My goal was to make the delivery sound good. But, I never thought about actually presenting the content as strong as my delivery. If you haven’t realied the content is what makes the presentation!
As Prof. Sisco previously stated, there is a difference between presenting delivery vs. content. When your presenting your delivery (in my opinion) the presenter may already feel that their content and ideas are the most effective. At this time, a cloud develops in the presenters mind with no room for suggestions. However, when you incorporate content and idea into your practice you MAKE room to improve upon your overall delivery. This is one aspect, that I really enjoyed in the advanced communications class. It has always allowed me to focus more in depth on my content and ideas, which in turn established a stronger delivery for my presentation.
Content–that used to mean writing the presentation and practicing it. The PowerPoint was either an after thought or a summary of the presentation. Those days are over!
This class has been an amazing experience for me. Particulary these last 4-5 weeks spent preparing the final presentation. Because our subject is about our client, we had to take the time to know the client and what they want. Kind of sets you up for walking in the shoes of the client and what they in turn want to provide to their audience. In our case, this has meant showcasing a visually persuasive presentation that will move our fellow classmates while at the same time being a product that our client will utilize at a special event to present in appreciation for their audience. What this has meant for us is practicing the ideas of the content as a storyboard that has been revised multiple times through client meetings, research, and idea sharing. The next challenge will be in trying to find the time to create these types of presentations in the real world!
As an international student, practice presentation is very important. I thought a good presentation should have good eye-contact, body language, and involve with audiences, so I always practice again and again at home. However, a good presentation is not only practice delivery, but also the content and ideas. After reading this information, I realized this point that the presentation without good content and ideas will not a great presentation. I remember my fist practice persuasive presentation; I was only practice my delivery and did not spend more time on my ideas and contact. Dr. Sisco showed me my mistakes of my contact and ideas. Actually, I was impacted at that time because I did not realize this point. Therefore, I started to show my power point to my friends and discuss ideas and content. I focused on my content and ideas more and put more efforts. In the final persuasive presentation, I improved a lot. Therefore, making time to practice ore ideas and contents will make the delivery process much easier. I really believe this point.
I completely agree with this concept. Often times, we all feel as if our ideas are implemented at the best of our ability; however after “practice” amongst our peers, we become enlightened to the fact that based on our overall knowledge potential, we are no where near our full capacity. Wise minds often say “Practice makes Perfect”, and this is so true. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will be when it comes time for the final delivery. Not only will develop a comfort zone with the delivery of your presentation, but you will also be able to provide refinery to the content.
When you practice in front of an audience prior to the final presentation, they may be able to identify errors that you may not identify on your own. Errors that stem from voice, tone, and then trickles down to the overall content. In summary, I therefore repeat what wise minds say “Practice makes Perfect”.
During this course we all learned that delivery is a big issue in the presentation as well as the content itself. I think to be aware of our content’s coherence; the best way is to prepare the presentation planning sheet which Dr. Sisco asked us to submit before every presentation. It clearly not only helps us to analyze our speech better and give a perfect order for delivery but it also makes us understand our content better unexpectedly. After preparing my first presentation planning sheet I just realized that it is a lot easier to see the missing parts in the content after I finish it. It helps the content in terms of practicing and thinking more over the ideas. I totally agree with the fact that practice of the “ideas” or the “content” of the presentation, as opposed to just practicing delivery has a huge impact on the quality of our presentations. Practicing our content will make the delivery process much easier because as we mentioned earlier a good presentation is really related to self-confidence and self confidence can definitely come from a good knowledge of the content.
when me and my group prepared for our final presentation about the benefits of community service learning program , we thought that it was very strong specially that the content was rich and that we have included videos that would better strentghen our presentation. but , when we deliver it , then we have realised that we didn’t really practice our ideas to make the presentation clearer and fluent . feedback sessions helped me and my group to change a lot of things both content and delivery . when people practice , practice ,and practice , they each time discover errors and correct them or can bring up new ideas to strenghten the presenatation content.
Often times people spend more time putting their energies into practicing their presentations then to concentrate on the content of the speech. I feel like there may also be an issue with the content maynot be strong enough because the presenter just doesn’t have enough information, or they don’t have good information. I’ve sat through many presentations where the presenter is giving you “crap” either the information is boring, or there just isn’t enough good information there. As much as I hate to admit it I find myself alot of times being in that exact boat of not giving good information. I really love that we get to “practice” our presentations with professor Sisco, before we do the final delivery. I feel like those small group meetings have really helped me to work on getting on content not only correct, but interesting.
Practicing our ideas and spending more time planning is key to successful presenting, and I’ve found that out first hand. I came in to a planning session, loaded with what I felt was exactly what information I needed to present, and it seemed like it was well organized. What I found out is, what looks good to me won’t necessarily sell.
The layout of a presentation as I was used to has ceased to exist thanks to this course. No more bullets, no more annoying distracting slide backgrounds and no more “bs”. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that cutting out the junk and sticking to the stuff that really matters can make a presentation not only more interesting but also more enjoyable. But it doesn’t stop there.
The layout of a presentation is something we’ve had stuck in our heads for years and most people are sick of it. We drone on about problems, then drone on about statistics, and drone on about solutions. By the time it’s over, people have forgotten about why they’re watching this presentation to begin with. I’ve realized that organizing material, especially problem/solution material can be best understood by singling out each problem, addressing it, and reiterating it throughout the presentation. Addressing how the solution addresses the problem (literally reiterating the problem in the solution slides) keeps people conscious of the problem at hand. It also keeps them awake.
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Dawn.
“Making time to practice my ideas” probably is one of the biggest problem I’ve ever have. What I always do is just “making time to practice delivery”, what’s worse, I have never realized this without reading this blog. One of my friends told me that when I was giving presentation, it’s so hard for the audience to reach me, because what I was doing was just standing in front of the stage, trying to finish my content as soon as possible, and looks serious. He used a good metaphor to describe my whole delivery process as a TV program, which means that the audience just watching me—the TV program, which was kind of boring—and they never want to engage no matter what the program is because this is the characteristic of TV program.
I never stop thinking that why my presentation is always like this, and is there some ways for me to figure out how to improve? “Share my ideas” is one of the most important ways. So how to share? I have concluded some points to as follows: 1) choose a topic you like, if the topic is what you can choose, than deliver it in the way which make you feel the best and the most comfortable; 2) imaging the audience are your friends not strangers, keep in mind that in a presentation, what you should do is to share ideas instead of just delivering; 3) try to think of at least one activity to engage your audience, such as ask a question, play a game, or share an emotional story, which can make the audience and you more closer.
I find that so often as presenters, what we think is influential, riveting, or meaningful to the audience actually is not. Before my Advanced Communications course, I never even thought to “practice content” before practicing delivery, and now it seems absolutely necessary in the formulation of a “successful” presentation. Furthermore, I feel that presentations should be practiced at each stage of the process from brainstorming and outlining to strategizing and PowerPoint (if applicable). By practicing throughout the process and, thus lowering stress levels, you’re able to fully commit to the final presentation rather than worrying about the technicalities and execution (i.e., if the audience will understand the point and benefits, if the PowerPoint presentation will run smoothly, etc.). More practice opportunities, especially in small groups, translates to a smoother final presentation.
Finding the time to practice is the first problem but what I think is even more troublesome is figuring out how to practice appropriately. I think for most of us we have learned that repetition is the best way to remember something so instinctually we try that first. Through Advanced Communications I think we have all developed better ways to practice our presentations so we ultimately give the best delivery. I looked to the Presentation Zen site again and in particular the blog from 01/12/06 which addresses practicing found on http://www.presentationzen.com/presentation zen/delivery/page/7/. The author reviewed Steve Jobs keynote speech which he felt was an excellent example of a business presentation which was not boring. What he noticed was that while Mr. Jobs made this look easy he clearly practiced again and again. I think it is easy for all of us to forget that when we watch the great presentations on TED. This quote was especially promising to me: “Study the careers of famous speakers and you will find one fact that is true of them all: they practiced. THEY PRACTICED. And the men [and women] who make the most rapid progress in this course are the ones who practice the most.”
— Dale Carnegie
Practicing my presentation was not something that was a habit for me.I always thought , that when I start speaking,the spontaneity of not having practiced was always good.After my Strategic Communications class I realized how wrong I was.Praciticing content and delivery both are important.But yes, going over content first is always necessary as ,when one comes to practicing delivery ,it is understood that the content is already in place.
In Prof. Sisco’s classes the idea of making drafts and going over them to iron out all the unnecessary things was something that was very benefical.I realized that after every draft,the content was more chizzled and focussed.No doubt,every practice excersise made my content more and more meaningful.
After my Strategic communications class,practicing delivery also became a habit for me.It helped me understand areas which were a problem for me,like speaking too fast and not giving enough pauses.I was able to work on those.In my Advanced Communications class ,having my classmates and Professor asses my content before the final presentation was extremely helpful as they could see what I could not about my content and delivery.Practice and subsequent feedback and making improvements on those suggestions are important steps to effective presentations.
I did not know how to develop a presentation. I never learn how to develop a presentation. Of course, I did presentation during my undergraduate. However, I just copied sentences or paragraph from my paper and made bullet points to do my presentation. I just tried to practice with the presentation with that copied contents from my paper. That is why I did not know how to go back, polish, focus, and refine my contents for presentations. During that time, I thought bullet points presentations were most effective way to make a PowerPoint presentation. Most of the undergraduate students, instructors, and professors are still using the bullet points for their presentation. And most of them are just copying from their paper or book to develop a presentation.
From the Nancy Duarte blog http://blog.duarte.com has one good way to practice my ideas to go back, polish, focus, and refine for my presentation which is outlining with sticky notes. Before I am using the sticky notes, I used to use notebook to develop my outline. However, it was really hard to change my ideas. This is because I have to erase everything and I cannot add up new idea with the same page. So, I tried to develop the presentation outline with the sticky notes. With the sticky notes, I could go back, polish, focus, and refine my ideas easily.
Next time, when you are going to develop a presentation, you have to use the sticky notes for your outline. This will work!