Making Presentations Better (and Easier)
On a cool Saturday in May, 15 years ago, thirteen other punters and I attended a whole-day Presentation Skills Workshop. We listened, observed, practiced and presented. I really wanted to improve my presentation style and confidence. The workshop was scarily interactive but so important on the path to my world as a writer of Children’s books. Now, I can embrace keynote presentations, radio interviews and book launches, school visits, still nervous, but embracing and loving it all.
Presentation Workshop Memories
Each of we thirteen had to prepare a 2-3 min presentation on something work-related. Twelve of us were writers/illustrators, one a teacher and the other two also worked in related fields. I’ve done quite a few workshops but knew I could use some help to make them better.
The Workshop Content
The workshop covered things like warming up, protecting, projecting voice; what to do with your body (ie make body language work for you); connecting with your audience; constructing a ‘killer opening’; and how to manage nerves. Banishing nerves wasn’t on the agenda…that heightened sense of alertness is essential to an energy-filled performance, but there were statistics about how much the audience retains and breathing exercises to keep the beast under control.
There were some great warm up exercises too.
Performance and Transformation
We each performed a number of times in addition to the initial presentation. It was amazing to see the transformations in some of the attendees. It was also fascinating to watch 13 other presentation styles, 14 if you include the presenter. All different, all really interesting.
Adding Layers of Expertise
In discussions with other writers and illustrators in subsequent years, we all agree that it is good to see how other people present, partly to learn about their work, but also to inform our own presentations. While no one was planning to steal anyone’s killer opening, we were keen to see how other presenters engaged their audience right at the opening. This is where attending conferences inside and outside the literary world is so valuable.
And the take home message? Well of course there are many But the overwhelming one was about being yourself, trusting yourself, trusting your material.
