Baird's CMC | A Unique Global Communications Management Consultancy

Media Trends Report 2021

Tel: +44 (0) 1495 828300
Email: team@bairdscmc.com
  • E-mail
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
Menu
  • Home
    • Sexual and Reproductive Health
    • Stakeholder Mapping & Strategy
    • Training & Skills
    • Qualitative & Policy
    • Communications and Management Consultancy
    • Close
  • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Our specialist areas
    • Case studies
      • EDCTP sub-Saharan Africa policy research
      • Emerging Democracies and Green Issues
      • Gauging Attitudes Toward an HIV Vaccine
      • Increasing Immunization Coverage in Central India
      • Close
    • Close
  • Network
    • Network map
    • Associates
      • Michael Acott
      • Ashoek Adhikari
      • Francois Baird
      • Gerhard Butschi
      • Steve Bowers
      • Mark Chataway
      • Lenore Cooney
      • Paul Dillon
      • Marta Dourado
      • Martina Dörmann
      • Dirk Van Eeden
      • Alexandra Fullem
      • Frederick Fussi
      • Ingrid Gavshon MBA
      • Denise Gee
      • Denise Gray-Felder
      • Bert Griesel
      • Aman Gupta
      • Darren Jones
      • Danie Kok
      • Andrzej Kropiwnicki
      • Angelle Kwemo
      • Nikolay Kudryashov
      • Mari Lee
      • Simba Makoni
      • Steve Mallach
      • Terry Mandel
      • Matshidiso Masire
      • Valeria McFarren
      • Hugh McKinney
      • Chris Opperman
      • Ken Rabin
      • Mark Rittenberg
      • Simon Russell
      • Jacob Sesinyi
      • Melinda Shaw
      • Cormac Smith
      • James Snodgrass
      • Hema Viswanathan
      • Mina Volovitch
      • Gillian Waddell
      • Joseph Makwata Wambia
      • Chris Ward
      • Gysbert J Wessels
      • Marion Zibelli
      • Close
    • Senior consultants
      • Simon Hardie
      • Close
    • Close
  • Services
    • New Services
      • Media Training
      • Presentation Skills
      • Staff Engagement
      • Reputation Management
      • Close
    • Services
      • Communications counsel
      • New media strategy
      • Advocacy and coalition building
      • Crisis management
      • Market research
      • Strategic planning
      • Staff training and development
      • Risk management and mitigation
      • Close
    • Close
  • Sectors
    • Vaccine Hesitancy
    • Pharma in top 15 markets
    • Pharma in emerging markets
    • Pharma in underdeveloped markets
    • Pharma headquarters planning teams on market assessment
    • Global Development: Health Issues
    • Global Development: Environmental Issues
    • Health equity and access to care
    • Reproductive health and population
    • Vaccines
    • International Donors
    • Government Relations
    • Political Consulting
    • Telecom Sector
    • Financial Services
    • Close
  • News
  • ShopTalk
  • Get in Touch

Ask CMC: Presentations

presentationDear Baird’s CMC,

In my job, I often have to make presentations both to internal teams and external clients. Despite the hard work I put into them, I feel that my presentations fall short – people seem bored and are unable to grasp the points I try to put across. Any tips?

 –  Presently Unpresentable

Dear Presently Unpresentable,

Presentations are tricky things indeed! It’s difficult to keep your audience engaged while making sure that your key messages are effectively communicated. Paul Dillon, a Baird’s CMC associate, is an expert presenter and trainer – here are some of his top tips:

Talk to your audience: Talk to your audience, not at them. It’s your job to keep them interested, so go beyond the dry facts and statistics. Tell a story to communicate a point. Use an anecdote to illustrate a trend. Crack a joke if the opportunity presents itself. Ask questions to generate a discussion if you have the time. Your aim should be to keep the audience engaged so they don’t start making mental to-do lists or answering emails on their smartphones!

Do your homework: There are few things more embarrassing for a presenter than not being able to answer questions from the audience. To avoid such a debacle, make sure you know your subject inside out. While preparing, pre-empt possible questions and think about how to answer them. If you don’t know how to answer a question, come clean. Say you’re not sure about the answer, put it in the “parking lot” and make sure to come back with an answer at the next meeting.

Use effective metaphors and visuals: Typically, a certain number of charts and diagrams are unavoidable in presentations. However, wherever possible, get creative. Come up with a metaphor to explain a situation. Use an unexpected visual to make a point. Your audience probably has to sit through dry, dull presentations on a daily basis – if you get their attention, they’ll remember your key messages.

Get creative: If you have the leeway, think outside the box. Play a game. Have a quiz. Throw in a song. There are plenty of online resources where you can find interesting tools that are relevant to most areas of work, from finance and pharma to politics and literature. A word of caution – use these tools sparingly; don’t force all the aids you can think of into one presentation. The idea is to entertain your audience with a view to getting your point across. Your message shouldn’t get lost in the razzle-dazzle!

Pay attention to the conclusion: Many presentations just peter out unimpressively or end unexpectedly with a “Thank you” slide popping up one screen. That’s not ideal. Think about what you want to leave your audience with. Try and reinforce the takeaway for your audience or come up with a thought-starter for the Q&A session to follow. Depending on your personal style and the context of the presentation, you can choose to end with a relevant story, a compelling visual or a great quote. Steve Jobs would often conclude his presentation with a final surprise: “And one more thing…”. (If you present regularly to the same audience, you could come up with a similar trademark presentation move – it  makes you and your presentations more memorable .)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: News, ShopTalk Tagged With: Baird's CMC, communications consultancy, communications management

Contact Us

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Subject

    Your Message

    Please enter the letters below and press Send
    captcha

    Latest Blog Posts

    An astonishing decline in child immunisation numbers in Africa amid the rage of COVID-19, yet another victim of the pandemic

    Global Elite are Bored with Health, Just When It’s Getting Really Exciting

    Using Fewer Antibiotics Isn’t Always the Best Way to Curb Resistance

    Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. Sitemap