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bad presentation day

December 13th, 2006

by Tony Chen

I just don't get it. Some days I am so "on" - everything goes well, my mind is clear, I think up the perfect opening joke on the spot, and I deliver a darn good presentation (if I do say so myself!). On other days, I just freeze, can't even put together a 6th-grade sentence together, try to recover by joking (only to utter an inappropriate joke), and then finish the presentation with that "oh-how-I-wish-I-could-have-that-one-back" feeling. Then I leave the room and the perfect opening line comes to my mind. oh well. Ever felt that?

Today was one of those days. I made a very short presentation to a group of 50-60 physicians. On paper, it was an easy presentation - one that I've done for other audiences many times. It was a great opportunity to make a good first impression to a lot of our physicians and have them become more engaged in new business development. Alas, I botched it big time (well, okay, it probably wasn't as bad as I think)

Instead of lamenting about this, let me share a story that my sister shared shortly after I got home.

My sister Phyllis is a concert pianist who studies under Andre Watts, a Grammy-winning world-renown concert pianist (who is also a wonderful guy). She heard him perform a piece recently that he had performed maybe 20-30 times in his career already. At age 60, with so much experience, he could have easily coasted through, right? What struck her the most as she listened to him perform was this feeling of not taking anything for granted, not being "comfortable" even after so much success, and being so viligant. In other words, she could tell that he prepared mentally for this performance just like he would have the very first time.

Now, there are a lot of differences between business presentations and piano performances. But one thing is the same - preparation, preparation, preparation.

By the way, the great Andre Watts once had a memory slip on that same piece. Right in the middle of the concert, he had to walk over to the conductor and ask the orchestra to start a section again. Even the best of us have our off days. What I need to learn from Andre is how to bounce back - I will have another chance next week.

I've made it one of my personal goals the next year to become a consistent and compelling presenter, and so I'm sure I'll have more to blog about. Let me know if you have any good tips on making great presentations again and again.

18 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Ram [Visitor] · http://Presentation

Hey Tony,

You can call me a complete "dumb" when it comes to a presentation or public speaking. I am fairly new to healthcare and completely new when it comes to making presentations to Executives.

Anyways I am in the process of learning and I learn quite a bit from your blog.
I came cross this blog sometime back, which has listed 10 best presentations ever, not that I know anything about your presentation, but I found this information interesting.

I am copying the link:
http://www.knowhr.com/blog/2006/08/21/top-10-best-presentations-ever/

Thanks,
RameshPondhe.

12/13/06 @ 13:58

Comment from: Susan S. [Visitor]

I work with docs and execs to train them in presentation skills. One of the most impt tips is to have your opening line ready. Even if you've given a presentation many times, it's easy to struggle with your opening, and yet this sets the stage for the rest of the talk: Flounder when you start, and it's easy to be flustered for the duration; nail the opening and the presentation will likely flow.

Similarly, even if you don't practice the whole talk, it's impt to review your transitions between slides, and hence betw ideas. If you can move confidently from one idea to the next, you're more likely to succeed in your delivery. This also helps if you do find yourself floundering a bit: Pick up on your transitions to reground the presentation and get it back on track in terms of delivery.

We all have off days. When this happens, speakers become flustered and a vicious circle begins: Worse delivery leads to more nervousness which leads to worse delivery, etc. It's useful to remember that you can salvage a presentation even once it's begun. Come up with a way to steady yourself midstream and you'll be a more consistent speaker.

12/13/06 @ 15:11

Comment from: moia [Visitor] · http://adventuresindisaster.blogspot.com/

As someone who has been forced for many years to sit through some truly agonizing presentations I have one thing to offer.
Interactive moments.
Okay one more..burn that damn power point program.
There is literally nothing more irritating than seeing a slide and then having the presenter READ the slide. We can read.
If you must use power point make the slides important..meaning they absolutely MUST be there.
Give the people in your audience something to do and give them breaks,lots of them with food and drink.

12/19/06 @ 02:32

Comment from: Kim [Visitor] · http://emergiblog.com

Your juxtaposition of public speaking with the preparation/humanity of Andre Watts was incredible. It really "made" the post for me, and is something I'll remember whenever I have to do public speaking.

Most excellent! : )

12/20/06 @ 11:55

Comment from: Khairun-Nisa Lalani [Visitor]

I believe nothing is more difficult to speak in front of even a single person and to make him/ her understand your point of view. Public speaking definatly a difficult task for people.

But thank God, Early debate competitions in school life has taken me out of the fear of talking or speaking in front of people........

now a days net is making life more easy. One can use net to make presentations and get different ideas too...

Why not one give a try ?

12/21/06 @ 03:22

Comment from: Deacon Barry [Visitor] · http://www.deaconbarry.blogspot.com

I recently had to present a seminar on retinal detachment. I started out nervous, but once I'd drawn a diagram of the retina and done the naming of parts, I was on a roll, and the next hour passed in a flash.
Audience participation is a good way of maintaining interest in your subject. I asked the students what percentage of the 7 million cones in the retina are actually in the fovea or yellow spot. I got them to shout out numbers, each time saying "lower" until we reached 1%.

12/21/06 @ 17:30

Comment from: Dr. Ursa [Visitor] · http://chaosmachine.blog-city.com

I've done a lot of teaching, preaching & performing in my time, and have discovered that, sooner or later, something goes wrong. Over-familiarity with the material is a major pitfall. A pinch of uncertainty keeps all systems alert for maximum performance.

The most important lesson I learned about dealing with flubs was at a one-man vocal concert. Right near the end, the soloist (who had done almost two hours of music from memory with apparent effortlessness) got stuck on the second verse of "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top". He asked his accompanist to re-start at the beginning of the verse. It happened again -- and again. By this time, the accompanist was singing the words, hoping to maintain the flow! He grinned and did it one more time -- without a hitch. When he finished, he was awarded by THUNDEROUS applause.

A terrible thing to happen near the end of a program -- right? Wrong. The audience was stimulated to new attentiveness, and enjoyed his performance even more than before.

How come? He wasn't embarrassed, so we weren't embarrassed for him. He was so self-confident that he could accept the fact that he was not infallible.

On the same line -- my juggling friend Bob Carr (who left rural Saskatchewan to learn and work his craft all over the world) told me that one of the best ways to warm up an indifferent audience is to simply DROP THE BALLS. That gets a laugh every time.

None of us are perfect. It is inspiring to see others deal with their own lack of perfection with grace and humility, knowing that their value, and the value of what they are doing, does not depend on getting everything right all the time.

12/21/06 @ 17:58

Comment from: Renee Walkup [Visitor] · http://www.salespeak.com

Tony,
In working on my next book on Persuasive Presentation skills, I came across your compelling comments comparing your "freezing" to your sister's experience. Very well written! Since I train thousands to speak in public, here are my top 5 tips:
1. Plan/practice your opener, purpose, and have your content organized into 3 main parts.
2. Don't plan your slides until AFTER you know what you are going to focus on. This messes up a lot of people. Think of your slides as an "accessory". That way, you won't be dependent on them.
3. Have your close down, cold. This is the last piece of information that your audience will hear, so you need it strong!
4. Engage your audience. No one likes to hear just a talking head and the lights down low (in fact, keep the lights on full!)
5. Never let 'em see you sweat! Stay cool, look cool and confident. That way, you'll give them your best!

P.S. if you want more tips, you can visit my archived articles on presentation skills under "sales help". Even if you aren't in sales, they'll provide you with new ideas. Good luck!
Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK, Inc.

02/17/08 @ 19:28

Comment from: Pregnancy scan [Visitor] · http://www.ultrasounddimensions.ie/maternity.html

We all have off days. When this happens, speakers become flustered and a vicious circle begins: Worse delivery leads to more nervousness which leads to worse delivery, etc.

08/14/09 @ 20:44

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I am from Tuvalu and learning to speak English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "If your catch-up is adjusted quite or is determined to be exact, you can make a question in your requirement workers, retirement."

Waiting for a reply :p, Early retirement benefits.

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