Giving technical presentations to non-technical audiences; Part 8: fine points of delivery.

Properly handled, notes and visuals need not interfere with your audience connection.

Last time, we discussed the basic ingredients of a natural, enthusiastic delivery. Your fundament is an attitude of caring about the audience and your message. With this attitude, you'll find many ways to stay connected with your listeners. In this final installment, let's consider some special delivery issues that can break your all-important connection with the audience, namely, notes and visuals.

DO YOU NEED NOTES?

Ideally, you need no notes at all but take all your cues from your visuals or, even better, from memory. In reality, however, you may have too little preparation time to get away without some extra reminders in note form. Here are some suggestions on how to minimize interference.

First, your notes should be short. Don't write whole sentences or paragraphs--you'll be tempted to read them verbatim if you get stuck, instead of using them as a memory trigger. Print them out in large type (at least 14 points) and add highlighting or underlining to make the essentials stand out. To shorten your notes further, throw out anything that duplicates points you can get from your visuals. Your combination of visuals and notes should contain your main message and key points as well as reminders of examples, anecdotes, quotes, and statistics you plan to use.

Whatever you do, do not memorize your entire talk. No matter how conversational your writing style, a memorized talk will still come across as stilted and unnatural, creating a subtle but disturbing atmosphere of dishonesty.

HANDLING YOUR NOTES

Plan how you will use your notes. Do you tend to need constant reminders? In that case, you may want to put most of your cues on the visuals. As additional insurance, take the notes with you so you can get to them instantly. If your notes are short and large, you should find your place quickly enough to avoid awkward interruptions in your talk. Don't be ashamed of your notes: hold them in one hand and consult them openly as needed.

On the other hand, if your visuals worked well as cues during rehearsal and you are not in the habit of blanking out under the stress of delivery, then you may prefer to park your notes on the projector table or wherever they are easily accessible. You can always shift strategy and carry the notes with you if you find you are having an off day.

WORKING WITH VISUALS

Visuals can be a great help in making your material understandable and persuasive, but they can also separate you from your audience. The main danger is that you end up talking to the screen instead of the audience.

The traditional formula for avoiding this problem is Touch-Turn-Talk:

* Touch your point on the screen.

* Then turn to the audience and make eye contact.

* Only then talk.

These days, of course, many presenters use laptop computers and LCD projectors to display visuals. Instead of touching, the standard way of pointing is now with arrows, pointers, and other tools of the presentation software. Still, your job as a speaker is the same: maintain eye contact whenever you talk to the audience.

Too often, we see presenters lost behind their computers for the entire show, working their touch pads and various control keys. What does it take to be different, to be master rather than slave of all that machinery? Just a remote control and a little practice in using it efficiently to stay in touch with your audience!

Editor's note: The previous articles in this series are available on www.tappi.org. After you log on, type "Reimold" in the search field on the upper right hand corner of the home page. You will find previous articles in the series (along with other Language of Business articles) listed. TAPPI and PIMA members can access these article for free. To contact the authors, see information below.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Cheryl and Peter Reimold have been teaching communication skills to engineers, scientists, and businesspeople for 20 years. Their latest book, The Short Road to Great Presentations (Wiley, 2003), is available in bookstores and from Amazon.com. Their consulting firm, PERC Communications (telephone: [phone], e-mail [e-mail]), offers businesses consulting and writing services, as well as customized in-house courses on writing, presentation skills, and on-the-job communication skills. Visit their web site at www.allaboutcommunication.com.

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