Tomorrow I am tasked with training the programming department on a Flash based feature that I developed. The feature, as seen at Blair Candy, takes images that we or the client produces and builds a dynamic slideshow. The client also has the ability to link each slide to a particular page in their store so they can highlight items or sections and funnel customers there through a ‘call to action’ on the image. Customers can watch the slideshow or click on the numbers to get to a slide that might interest them. The feature is called the “Flash Sequence Banner“.

I already tried to conduct a training on the feature a month or two ago but due to technical issues in our training center I could do nothing more than explain what they would see once the programmer got into the code. With tomorrows training we are better prepared and should have a good turnout. Any time I have to present something to anyone I run into a few hurdles that make it difficult.

One hurdle I sometimes run into when training peers is thinking you have to impress them. The goal of the training is to bring them up to speed with whatever you are presenting to each team member. As Mr. Miyagi said in Karate Kid, “Someone always know more.” Don’t go into your training with the pressure of thinking you need to have all the answers. Some of the best training seminars I ever sat through consisted of participation from everyone. Try eliciting opinions from your peers during the training and engage them in conversation. This could also alleviate the second hurdle I sometimes run into…

Public speaking is probably one of the most stressful situations. Unless you are a seasoned veteran or have the gift of gab you get stressed days before you have to speak in front of people. A stress reliever I like to use before I have to speak is interacting with your audience before you have to actually present. You don’t have to necessarily talk about the subject matter you will be discussing either. Getting into a conversation or two before the show begins will bring you down to earth and relax any tension or anxiety you may be having. You should be loosened up and ready to go assuming you put some time into…

Preparation can be a huge stress reliever. It’s easy to see when a presenter is not prepared. They will fumble through explanations, the computer will not run their presentation properly and they will seem to be unorganized in their material. When you take a day or two to ensure everything is in place for your presentation it makes one less thing you have to worry about on the big day. Develop a list of things you will need and make sure you check the items on that list as soon as possible. Are your handouts printed and collated? Is your PowerPoint presentation complete? Did you create an outline of points you want to cover? Is the locations schedule secured for your time slot? An important component of being prepared is showing up a half hour early. You can use this time to give the computer aspect of your presentation a once over. You can see the layout of the room and how you can better address your audience. You can also start loosening up by talking to people as they come through the door.

I have to finish my preparation now but I believe these few tips could help anyone have a successful presentation. If all else fails you can always imagine your audience is naked.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 3:21 am and is filed under Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.