Top 7 common errors when opening a presentation

 

Presenters themselves set the tone for the way the presentation will proceed. Given that audience attention is the maximum at the start of the presentation, it makes sense to introduce them to the topic. 

But sometimes presenters start on the wrong foot. Have you heard presenters say any of these classic lines at the start up and thus goof up their own presentation? 

1.    I know this presentation is boring. But please bear with me, I have to cover this.

Since you have told the audience what to expect, I can guarantee you that they will be bored. 

2.    I will take only 5 minutes of your time

Saying this sets the expectation that what you have to say is not all that important and can be covered quickly. If it is not covered in 5 minutes, the audience get restive even if the subject is interesting. 

3.    I am sorry about being late 

This tells the audience that the presenter is going to be overly conscious of errors. It gives them the leeway to do the same.

4.    I know that the fonts are not really visible

What do the audience understand with this? They understand that the presentation is not important enough for the presenter to make the visual aids properly.

5.    Sorry about my laptop, it has crashed

Audience feel that they will get less your best because you have support missing. Crashed laptops and corrupt files will happen one time or the other. Many people suggest having a backup. Sometimes backups taken of a corrupt file does not work either. 

6.    I have a sore throat, so you will have to bear with me

Like Murphy’s law, a sore throat will occur just before a critical presentation. But is this the right line with which to start a presentation? 

7.    I would like to share with you this interesting story ( a very long story follows)

The poor audience have no clue why they are listening to a convoluted, long story which may or may not be related to the topic of the presentation.

A good presentation starts with clearly telling the audience what to expect in the presentation. The one thing common with all these openings is that the presenter is focused on himself, his own faults, his story, faults of his laptop etc. Any presentation can be turned around if the focus is on the audience. 

Asking audience what they expect from the presentation, asking audience what they know about the subject, letting them know that you will cover the usual material in a different way – will get them to focus the attention on the contents of the presentation, rather than on your mistakes.