I love it when popular magazines discuss the techniques of effective presenters. Inc. recently did a quick analysis of a Sheryl Sandberg presentation that has been making its way around the internet. You can view the actual presentation by going to The Wall Street Journal's clip here and then read the analysis.
Deborah Grayson Riegel does a great job breaking down some of the basics of public speaking for Inc. readers. She points out how Sandberg ties her remarks to what's on the audience's mind: the Harvey Weinstein scandal. It seems like an obvious thing to do, but my undergraduate students at Wayne State University often struggle with this. I often tell them: if you're giving a presentation on thunderstorms and you find yourself presenting to a group while a thunderstorm is raging outside, it's going to seem odd if you don't reference it.
Saturday Night Live used to have a recurring skit in which Bar Mitzvah Boy was so intent on sticking to his prepared script that he couldn't even answer simple questions that Seth Myers asked. Rather, Bar Mitzvah Boy would nervously return to his prepared remarks, leaving the obvious question hanging in the air.
Try having the flexibility and confidence to be in the moment and improvise ever so slightly to tie your message to the obvious, the unavoidable, and the now.
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