A presentation is a speech with a prop. Or many props.
Presentations are common in public relations.
They can be be much more powerful than a normal speech, because humans are audio and visual creatures. Great images and sounds captivate us. Radio, TV and the Internet are like a drug for our brains.
Yet whatever the props may be -- charts, a PowerPoint slideshow, a video, photos, audio, evidence from a crime scene -- they changes the nature of the speech.
A presentation is like having dueling speakers at the front of the room.
When you're giving a presentation, you're competing for the attention of your audience. It's a Catch-22: if the props are boring, you'll bore the audience. Yet if the props are insanely exciting and interesting, they won't pay any attention to you, the speaker.
What can you do?
Different types of presentations demand different styles of preparation and execution. For example, PowerPoint slideshows -- which apparently can't be avoided unless you work in an ice cave, alone -- are a subject onto themselves.
Yet there are a few key principles that hold true for any kind of presentation.
1) Make the props complement the speaker -- and the speaker complement the props.
Complement as in "work with" rather than compliment as in "say nice things about."
Think about when you watch a baseball or football game. You've got the play-by-play announcer, telling you what's happening, guiding you through the game. The other guy is the color commentator, and he or she only pops in to add interesting sidenotes and opinions.
As a speaker, you're the play-by-play announcer, the star of the show. Your props are the sidekick, the color commentator. Don't treat your props like the star or have them hog the stage. Props are meant for highlights and interesting sidenotes.
2) Less is more.
What is the one thing you want the audience to remember? And what do you want them to do?
The prop that answers those questions is your keystone prop.
Use your other props to set up that keystone. If you've got 10 photos but really want people to remember the last photo, think about only using that last photo and using charts or text that lead up to that one image.
A blizzard of props is overwhelming. When in doubt, throw it out.
3) Things will go wrong. Have a backup plan.
Laptops will start running virus checks in the middle of a PowerPoint slideshow.
Videos will freeze.
Photos that look great in person might wash out under the bright lights of TV cameras.
Speakers who rely on a Teleprompter -- or reading bullets off a PowerPoint -- will look lost when the machine crashes.
Think about what could go wrong and how you'd handle it during a live presentation. Don't rely on technology. It will let you down.
Have a plan for when things go wrong, and be ready to turn your presentation with props into a regular speech.