PREFACE

You have probably attended a presentation at one time or another led by a charismatic presenter who leveraged effective facilitation techniques to draw audience participation and whose enthusiasm about the topic was contagious. Whether the presentation was to provide information or to illicit a call to action, the presenter’s skills and structure of the content probably had a great deal of impact on what you remembered and acted on after the presentation.

The thought of giving a presentation often ranks at the top of the list of what people fear the most. So how do you go about developing and delivering an effective, memorable presentation? 10 Steps to Successful Presentations provides the key information you need to accomplish this goal. You can jump to any step in the 10step process or start at the beginning. These steps include

1. knowing your audience and purpose
2. developing and structuring the presentation
3. creating appropriate visual aids
4. making it memorable—adding pizzazz to the presentation
5. making sure venue and environment work in your favor
6. reviewing basic communication techniques
7. building in facilitation techniques to engage your audience
8. practicing, practicing, practicing
9. pausing and refreshing
10. delivering a flawless presentation—no matter what happens.

Most of what is presented in this book is based on real-world experience as well as observation of presentations that either wowed the audience or fell short, motivating participants to quickly head for the door.

10 Steps to Successful Presentations is part of ASTD’s 10-Step series and was written to provide you with a proven process, quick reference checklists, and tips to create and deliver an effective presentation. We hope that the tips and tools contained in this book will guide you each step of the way in developing and delivering a presentation.