Presenting Great Workshops A leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University.

1. Presenting Great WorkshopsA leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University. *This powerpoint should be used in conjunction with the Presenting Workshops lesson plan found at http://leadership.cas.psu.edu/Training.html

2. Presenting Workshops: Overview • Introduction • Lesson Objectives • Lesson Content • Reflection Questions • References

3. Introduction • Leaders may be called upon to teach others • Leaders must be ready to • Be in the spotlight • Connect with their audience • Convey the necessary information and their own personalities

4. Lesson Objectives • At the end of the lesson, you will be able to: • Identify the four tenants to know when approaching workshop presentation • Describe key ways to prepare and control for the human element in presentations

5. The Four Tenants • The Workshop Content • What we will teach • The Structure • How we will teach it • The Wrapping • All of the extra things that go into presentations • The Presenter • The ways we as individuals deliver our message

6. Workshop Content • Presenters should have received a topic • Two questions should be answered • What will you tell your audience? • Will this be a one-time workshop, or many sessions? • One-time means you should provide all the information the audience will need without overloading them • Information can be spread throughout multiple sessions but not to the point of emptiness • Practice to gauge amount of information included

7. Workshop Structure • Approach a workshop session as though it is a grand journey • Start at the beginning and take your audience with you • Share good information and end at the ending point • Do not travel too quickly or your audience won’t be able to keep up • Do not travel too slowly or your audience will get bored and lost interest • Practice to help determine how quickly you can transition from point to point during presentation

8. Workshop Packaging • 5 P’s - Prior preparation prevents poor performance • An audience takes away only a poor impression of a speaker who is unprepared • Themes are a good way to strike interest in your presentation • Be careful not to overuse the theme • Keep in mind audience • Who they are, what they do, what is their age • Keep in mind the context of your talk • Is it a formal, business function or a more casual setting

9. The Speaker • People tend to remember more about the person making the presentation than the presentation • A speaker can ensure the memories are positive • The speaker’s voice • Use adequate volume if there is no microphone; Audience members in the rear should be able to hear • Vary the tone of your voice to avoid monotone and boredom • The speaker’s body language

10. The Speaker • The speaker’s body language • Make eye contact with the audience and scan the room • Always smile to signal happiness • Gestures should be natural, not forced • Stand up tall, look people squarely on, and deliver your message

11. Stage Fright or Bad Case of Nerves? • It’s natural; even professionals get a case of nerves from time to time • Use nerves as a way to channel energy • Give yourself the challenge to overcome and make your presentation that much better • Nerves are more noticeable to you than the audience • Move on if you make a mistake, and do not draw attention to it (most likely, nobody noticed!)

12. Stage Fright or Bad Case of Nerves? • Ways to alleviate nerves • Practice and prepare • Get plenty of sleep the night before • Arrive to the location early to avoid being rushed to start • Take a few minutes before you are introduced to just be by yourself • Take some deep breaths • Have a drink of water • Think positively about what you’re about to do • Smile, and then blow the audience away!

13. Some Final Thoughts • Do not read straight from handouts • Try to learn names if you are presenting to a small group (<25) as quickly as possible • Listen to your audience for feedback, + and - • Circulate the room as you speak, if possible • Let the audience know how your workshop fits in with their goals • Consider time of day and how long you have for your talk • Do not lean on the podium • Speak to the audience and not the visual aids • Do not obstruct view of the visual aids • It is better to finish slightly early than to overrun

14. Reflection Questions • What are the four tenants to remember when approaching a workshop? • What is something to remember when thinking about using a theme? • How does a speaker’s voice affect their message? • What does good posture say about a speaker? • What can you do to control for the human element (your voice, gestures, postures, etc.) when presenting a workshop?

15. References