Almost everyone needs to make presentations at work — to colleagues, higher-ups, or the public. To elevate your work from the sea of people doing PowerPoint karaoke and make it memorable, you’ll need to embrace your inner performer. However, you don’t have to enroll in an improv class just yet. Here are some tips from my previous life as an orchestral musician that have translated well for oral presentations.
Excitement!
Projecting enthusiasm during your presentation is not just a superficial feature. Being engaging and dynamic while speaking will keep your audience’s attention, show evidence of how persuasive you can be, and distinguish you from monotonous presenters. Even if your team is first in line for oral presentations and your audience is fresh, a low-energy presentation will be quickly forgotten amidst others presenting on similar topics.
Fix Your Face
When I played in an orchestra, facial expressions were a form of communication. Nods, smiles, gazes, and furrowed brows all signaled different messages that other players could see (and interpret). Likewise, your facial expressions during your oral presentation will be seen and interpreted by your evaluators. Worried about your upcoming slide? We can see your wide-eyed stare. Wondering what you’re going to eat while your teammate is presenting? We can see you zoning out. Disagree with a comment someone gave you? We can see your scowl. Make sure your face isn’t giving away your anxieties or inner monologue during your presentation.
Rehearse. A lot.
It’s not enough to practice once, twice, or even three times. Practice your presentation as much as you can and in front of as many different audiences as you can. Apart from familiarizing yourself with the content, you will also gain experience handling unpredictable variables such as:
- Technology issues
- Traffic outside
- Difficult questions
- How uncomfortable wool socks are in June
Something one of my earliest conductors drilled into my (still neuroplastic) mind was to practice how you perform. You don’t want to try a new location the day of your presentation or use a second monitor for the first time to read your script during the live event. Control for as many variables as possible to minimize unplanned surprises.
Work as an Ensemble
If your team cannot work well together during a planned presentation, how will your audience have confidence that you will work together during unscripted, high-stress scenarios? Cooperation between teammates is indicative of a strong team dynamic and the preparation that went into creating your presentation. Some simple ways you can show evidence of solid teamwork include:
- Planning transitions between speakers into your script to give the evaluators a preview of the next topic and cue the next speaker to begin
- Back-up speakers who can take over in the event of a technical failure
- Agreeing on designated teammates to answer questions on specific topics
- Avoiding disagreements during the Q&A portion, as these may undermine your teammates in a semi-public setting
A live presentation shows how your team interacts. Take this opportunity to show your team’s maturity and cohesion alongside your subject-matter expertise.
Do Not Read Your Slides
Give your audience a reason to listen to what you’re saying instead of tuning you out to read your slides. Your slides should provide a foundation for your topic or an example of what you’re presenting, but should not contain your talking points verbatim. If your team is rehearsing regularly, your script should serve as a safety net while you present fluently on your topics. If your entire script is on your slide, your presentation becomes a written document in PowerPoint format.
Oral presentations are awkward and stressful, but they are also opportunities for your team to shine in ways that written documents don’t allow. Don’t underestimate the value of taking the performance aspect seriously as you prepare your team to present their program.
Ann Aly (pronounced like Ali) is a UX and civic tech practice leader with a background in academic research, music, and education. She combines these experiences to lead teams improving federal government services, emphasizing communal leadership and transparency. Ann holds a PhD and MA (both in Linguistics) from UCLA, and an MA (Spanish and Portuguese) and BA (Music) from Florida State University. When she’s not asking too many questions, Ann enjoys woodworking, gardening, and exploring the Shenandoah Valley woodlands near her home.
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