Understanding the dynamics of a presentation.

Most people aren't crazy about it, but making presentations is an unavoidable part of corporate life, so why not make the best of it? The following may help you prepare a more interesting, informative, and persuasive talk the next time you're asked.

How long should your presentation run? Experience shows that 20 minutes is good. Less seems insubstantial; more is boring. An hour is the maximum. If you're asked to speak for a longer time, stop after an hour and give your audience a break.

Since the average person speaks at a rate of about 100 words a minute, a 20-minute talk is 2000 words long. This translates into eight pages of double-spaced typewritten copy (on the basis of 250 words per page).

A good pace for matching visuals with your narration is one visual for every minute you're speaking.

It is important to know your audience, since different people are interested in different aspects of a subject for different reasons.

Let's say, for example, that the subject of your presentation is interactive videotext. Engineers would be interested primarily in the technical aspects of how the system operates, while bank executives would want to learn more about the possibilities of banking via home computer or cable television. Advertising executives, on the other hand, would be interested in interactive television as a potential advertising medium.

Preparation

How much time goes into researching, writing, and preparing for a speech?

According to a religous magazine, it takes clergymen about seven hours to prepare a 20-minute sermon. One presentations expert recently told me that to give his best effort requires one hour of preparation for every minute he will talk.

Of course, the time you must spend to prepare your talk depends on several factors: your experience and skill in public speaking, your technical knowledge of the topic, whether the assistance of a company technical writer is available, and the importance of the talk. Also, it takes considerably less time to brush up an old presentation than to create a new one. The point, however, is that preparing a memorable address requires many hours--much more time than inexperienced speakers ever dream would be required. Plan your schedule accordingly so you can give your talk the attention it deserves.

In a 20-minute, 2000-word presentation, there are limits to the amount of information that can be transmitted. To ensure a meaningful, informative talk, focus on a narrow, specific subject rather than a broad-based area.

For example, "Chemical Process Equipment" is too broad a topic for a presentation. But 20 minutes is just the right amount of time for giving a useful lecture on "Seven Ways to Size and Select Static Mixers."

A speech is just that--speech. And writing a speech is not the same as writing for the printed page. Words intended to be spoken must sound like conversation, or else the talk will seem stiff and stilted.

To ensure a good talk, read your rough draft aloud--first to your- self, and then to others. Rewrite any sentences that sound awkward or unnatural until they roll off the tongue (and into the ear) smoothly and naturally.

A little humor can help lighten a heavy technical talk and prevent your audience from drifting off. But overdoing the humor can ruin an otherwise fine presentation and erode the speaker's credibility.

The best way to handle this is to pepper your talk with tidbits of warm, gentle, good-natured humor but to avoid jokes--unless you are a natural-born comedian. Do not use off-color humor at any time, because what is funny to one person is offensive to another. Never lead off with a prepared joke. If it fails, it turns off the audience, and you look like a clown.

Research

You are probably knowledgeable in the topic of the presentation--otherwise, you wouldn't have been asked to talk. But this doesn't mean you know everything about it--or even enough to put together an engaging lecture.

Good speakers supplement their own knowledge and experience with outside research and examples. The library is an excellent place to start: books, magazines, newspapers, and trade publications can provide a wealth of data, ideas, advice, and anecdotes. Interviews, informal chats, and letters exchanged with colleagues and experts in the field can further add to this information.

Gather about twice as much material as you need. Then, when drawing on these data, you can be choosy, selecting only the best stuff. The process of doing research will also act to permanently increase your own knowledge. And this is a real confidence-builder to the speaker.

Organizing Your Material

The best way is to take notes on index cards. Jot down one idea or one piece of information per card. You may also want to make a rough outline of your talk, then arrange the cards according to the topics on the outline. This helps you organize the material in logical sequence, and also reveals which areas require further

Tips on Delivering Your Presentation

* When talking, make eye contact with individuals in the audience. Look at a person, and act as if you are speaking directly to him or her. After a minute, pick someone else. This helps you communicate with the audience rather than just read to them.

* Speak loudly enough so that people in the back can hear you. If people are too far away, ask them to move closer before you start.

* Use gestures and tone and volume of voice to emphasize key points.

* Stick to your main points as outlined in the visuals and your notes. Don't go off on tangents.

* Leave time for a question-and-answer period. Take all questions after the talk, rather than allowing interruptions.

* At the conclusion, summarize your main points and tell the audience what action they should take (or at least what you expect them to have learned, or want them to believe).

Leave-Behinds

A leave-behind is a document you distribute to your audience as a permanent reminder of your talk. The leave-behind is usually a bound booklet containing copies of the visuals or a reprint of the speech.

If you intend to distribute a leave-behind, say so before you begin your talk. That way, the audience knows they don't have to take notes and they can sit back, relax, and enjoy the speech. But don't hand out the leave-behind until after the presentation. If you distribute it before or during the talk, people will read the leave-behind and ignore the speaker--you.

Michael Head is an independent business consultant based in Los Angeles.