Taking it to the Next Level

Once you feel confident about everything covered in your presentation, you'll be ready to take it up a notch. Then you can start adding all the small details that will have the biggest impact.

Give Them Something to Smile About

It's a great idea to use humor when giving a presentation. It can help build rapport with your audience and show them that you're in control. When done well, humor can add value to the presentation.

To ensure your humor is suitable, make sure it meets these four criteria:

You find the joke or lines humorous.
With comfort and confidence you can repeat the piece.
Ensuring your choice does not discriminate against any race, gender, age, disability or political belief.
Your listeners will comprehend and value your message.
The punch line of a joke should be delivered with maximum emphasis.

Here are some tips on how to acquire and use humor:

As you come across jokes in your daily life, make a note of them; categorize them as your list grows.
Speak humorously and keep things cheerful.
Tailor your humor to the age and background of your listeners.
If you're not working in the same area as your target audience, it might be worth researching local humor to use.
Don't be shy to joke about yourself.

Trying to be funny with words is not easy for everyone. If that's you, think about alternative activities such as showing a humorous cartoon, performing a simple magic trick, or anything else that brings surprise and emotion to the group.

Pose a Question to Them

Asking questions is a great technique that you can use at any point in your presentation.

To start off
To evaluate if learning is taking place, or to expand the learning experience.
To alleviate a strained or awkward situation.
To break the silence
To gauge the atmosphere in the room.

When using verbal communication, you may choose between open or closed questions depending on your desired outcome.

Stimulating Dialogue

During your talk, the conversation will follow the learning exercises. However, if any remarks or inquiries are brought up that are off-topic, you can add them to the "parking lot" and address them in the closing wrap-up.

The exercise listed below can be used to provide participants with an alternative approach to facilitate a discussion about the learning topic.

Answering Questions

If your presentation permits it, you may opt to carry out a general question-and-answer session. As the presenter, you are in command; you can make your own judgement for when to end the debate. In a spacious room be ready to reiterate each query. Should no inquiries arise, be set to ask one yourself.

An effective way to start a session is to ask an open-ended question like, "What questions do you have?"

If a question is expressed with a negative tone, rephrase it. As an example: "Why have so many of his staff been showing chronic absenteeism?" could be restated as "Let's investigate what we can do to reduce the number of absences in the team."

If an unrelated question arises, don't forget about the parking lot.

If you want to move the conversation along, feel free to call on one of the participants and make use of their experience. You are in control of this discussion.

This exercise is a fun and relaxed way of encouraging a group to ask questions to work on a project or problem.