It’s the time of year that we talk about resolutions, about change. My husband and I work out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at our local gym. We usually dread January because we know it’s the month when the gym will be the most crowded. If we can just hold on until mid-February, we know the crowd will go back to normal and we won’t have to fight for our favorite treadmills. By then, it will be just us “regulars” there. But what distinguishes the “regulars” from the “resolutioners”? Really, it boils down to one thing. Habits.
So rather than talk about resolutions, we want to talk about habits. So we are sharing a presentation habit inventory for the new year. We want to help you to look at what is working and what isn’t working when it comes to your presentations. We’ll break the inventory down into habits of time, habits of content, and habits of delivery. After all, our goal at Ethos3 is to help presenters just like you take their presentations to the next level. So let’s jump in.
Habits of Time
The way you allocate your presentation preparation time can be critically important to your success. Take a moment to think about and write down how much time you spend leading up to a presentation. Use these questions to help you inventory how you spend your time:
- How much time do you spend on research and content development?
- How much time do you spend revising your content after you have a solid first draft?
- Do you allocate time for the careful creation of presentation slide design or is it an afterthought?
- What is the difference in the time you spend preparing your message versus the time you spend developing your slide deck?
- How much time do you allocate for practice?
- How does the time you spend on each part of your presentation preparation (research & content development, content revision, media/slide design, delivery practice) affect the outcome of your presentation?
Habits of Content
The content of your presentation is both what you say and what you show. It involves the words you deliver as the speaker, as well as anything you put on a screen. These questions will help with taking stock of your habits of content:
- Do you prioritize and conduct great research?
- Do you allow others to be part of the process, taking into account other perspectives and feedback?
- How many drafts of your message and presentation design do you make?
- Do you communicate in a way that is clear and concise?
- Do you use audience analysis when preparing your content?
Habits of Delivery
Everyone has a different presentation style. Your style is made up of your unique delivery habits. Things like pace of speech, hand gestures, body movement, volume, use of pauses, facial expression and more factor into presentation delivery style. Some of these habits can be more difficult to change than habits of time or content. But with some intentional work, they can be altered. It will be important in this step of the inventory that you solicit outside feedback on your delivery style. It’s a great place to involve a presentation coach. Here are some questions you can ask as you inventory your habits of delivery:
- Is there anything about my delivery style that could be distracting for my audience?
- Do I have any repeated patterns of movement?
- Do I use filler words (um, uh, like, etc.)?
- Do I meet the time I’ve been given, or do I regularly fall under or over time?
- Do I read too much from my notes?
- Does the presentation flow well?
We said the different between “regulars” and the “resolutioners” boils down to habits. But they have something really powerful in common. The desire for change. The motivation to improve. Which is what this inventory is aiming for too. Author of The Power Of Habit, Charles Duhigg says, “Once you understand that habits can change, you have the freedom and the responsibility to remake them. Once you understand that habits can be rebuilt, the power of habit becomes easier to grasp and the only option left is to get to work.”
Are you ready to get to work examining and improving on your habits of time, content, and delivery? If so, you don’t have to do it alone. Our Ethos3 team is made up of content strategists, presentation coaches, graphic designers, and creatives who can help you take your presentation to the next level. Check out our portfolio and services to see our incredible track record of helping clients just like you.
The post Take an Inventory of Your Presentation Habits for the New Year appeared first on Ethos3 – A Presentation Training and Design Agency.
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