The Engaging Presenter

Become a confident presenter. Learn how to give clear, confident & effective business presentations every time.

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.4

- Deliver powerful
- high impact business presentations that audiences remember and act on.
- Connect emotionally with your audience in a way that successfully persuades
- influences and informs.
- Look
- sound and feel confident - as if you have been presenting for years

What you'll learn

Deliver powerful

high impact business presentations that audiences remember and act on.

Connect emotionally with your audience in a way that successfully persuades

influences and informs.

Look

sound and feel confident - as if you have been presenting for years

Grab audience attention right from the start and keep it.

Simplify complex information and messages so that audiences get

and remember your key messages

Identify your key messages with a laser like focus for maximum clarity and impact.

* Requirements

* A willingness to learn and apply learning rather than simply acquire knowledge
* A desire to influence and persuade others for a purpose
* a past
* present or future presentation you are able to use to apply the lessons you are learning.
* A recognition of the key role presentations play in business success.
* The commitment to complete the course in full
* get involved and to practice.

Description

Start building your presentation confidence and your excellent business presentation skills today.

It's time to say goodbye to the fear and frustration of upcoming presentations and hello to audiences wanting to congratulate you on your clear, powerful and compelling messages.

Over 3300 students know that being able to clearly and convincingly communicate their ideas is critical to their business success. Talent and skill are not enough. If you are not able to clearly and confidently present your ideas and key messages to others, you are highly likely to lose out to someone who can.

BUSINESS PRESENTATION SKILLS: are a critical factor for leaders and business managers if they want to succeed.

Millions of business presentations are given across the globe every day. The need for managers and team members to give presentations has become the norm. Yet, most of us don't like standing up and speaking in front of others. It can be a stressful experience, and for many they are overwhelmed by the fear of giving presentations.

As a result of this, many business presentations are highly ineffective. They have unclear messages, fail to motivate or engage audiences, add little or no value and are frankly boring. The good news: it doesn't need to be that way.

This course will provide you with clear, easy to understand and implement ideas that will stand you out in a crowd of mediocre and boring business presenters. It will give you the confidence to plan, structure and deliver a professional business presentation that connects with your audience and moves people to take action on your ideas and key messages.

There is a support group for students of the course that provides the opportunity to practice presenting and get feedback on your progress if you choose.

YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO:

Prepare and deliver winning business presentations that have a laser like focus on the key messages that are most likely to influence and persuade your audience.
Grab and hold audience attention right from the start with breathtakingly simple ideas and techniques
Develop business presentation content that makes real connections with your audience enabling you to influence and persuade key decision makers
Use vocal and body language techniques to create and re-enforce compelling messages
Eliminate distractions and noise from your visuals, focusing audience attention on your key messages that matter
Reduce and control nerves to present with a calm, clear, confident manner
Unleash the power of 'less is more'

WHAT CURRENT STUDENTS SAY?
'This course really does nail it! It's clear, concise and to the point' - James Cooke

'I really liked the large amount of examples in this course, examples make it easier to see how certain techniques/presentation habits affect me (and hence probably an audience as well). I also liked the specific pieces of advice, especially tips on concrete usage and implementation of advice in presentations'. - Laura Froelich
'This is one of my Udemy staples. I keep going back to this course, watching, and each time I learn something more to help my presentation skills. Highly recommended'. - Sarah Arrow Business Blogger
'I think this is the very first course I have completed so far on Udemy, all in one day. Richard is an excellent instructor, very personable and down-to-earth. The course is well-organized with very practical, helpful, action-able information; comprehensive, but not overwhelming (which is important). This is an EXCELLENT course , I highly recommend it.Sherri Caldwell
WHY TAKE THIS COURSE?
- to develop your presentation skills easily at your convenience, anytime, anyplace and on multiple devices.
- lifetime access to your own highly experienced personal business presentation coach.
- expert presentation secrets, tips and advice that are clear, concise and easy to implement in your presentations
- high quality personal development from a highly experienced professional business trainer and presenter at low cost.
- a learning community where you can ask questions and share experiences with fellow students as well as your tutor.
- What have you got to lose? The course comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and lifetime access to course material, along with future updates and additions. You will receive a certificate of completion on finishing the course. The course can be accessed on computers, iOS devices and Android.
- I look forward to sharing lively discussions and helping you become a confident, engaging and highly successful business presenter.
- See you online.
- Richard Lock

Who this course is for:

People who need to get their business ideas heard, accepted and implemented.
Managers who who recognize and value the improved career and job prospects strong presentation skills provide, and wants to have this critical communication skill in their career kit bag
People who fear, or are nervous presenters and want to be more confident and professional in their presentation skills
presenters who want to stand out from the crowd for quality, not gimmicks
business owners, influencers and entrepreneurs who want to connect, engage and succeed.
You should not take this course if you think presenting is all about you.

Course content

23 sections • 57 lectures

Getting the best from the course 3 lectures

Welcome to the course Preview 02:07

Welcome to this Business Presentation course, and thank you for choosing to build your presentation skills with me. This is a quick heads up on the course, before we get stuck into the real learning. To get the most from this online course please complete all of the lessons and activities fully. Make notes of key learning points along the way using the downloadable file associated with this lecture. Get involved. Start discussions, ask questions and answer the questions of others. We have the opportunity to build a like minded learning community and help each other to grow in confidence and experience.

Maximize your value and do what you know. Preview 02:33

This short lesson will show you how to get maximum value from this business presentation skills course, and why that matters.

Creating the best practice potential Preview 00:40

Establish your practice presentation and start applying your learning to get the best from the course.

The core presentation principles that deliver success 1 lectures

Three key principles that most presenters ignore. Preview 07:00

This lesson introduces you to three key principles that you should follow for all your presentations, whether business or personal. You will find we keep referring to these as we move through the course, and you will unfortunately remember sitting (or possibly sleeping) through many presentations where one or more of these presentation principles have not been followed successfully.

Preparation done well significantly increases the probability of success. 4 lectures

Preparation that saves you time and heartache later Preview 05:11

You might be fooled into thinking that every presenter knows the purpose of their presentation. But do they really know their purpose, or is it just a vague notion? Find out how to test and hone the purpose of your presentation. The clearer your purpose, the easier everything else becomes.

The Twitter Challenge

Test your ability to hone a purpose statement for your prersentation.

Three key questions that will transform how you prepare your presentations Preview 03:15

Successful presenters have laser like focus on their presentation content. Learn the critical questions to ask yourself once you have established your purpose, and before you do anything else.

Tools that make planning your presentation easier and ultimately save you time Preview 04:17

How much presentation planning do we really do? For many people the answer is 'not very much' The most common tool used in planning is widely known as cut and paste. It goes like this: Have I done a similar presentation to this before? If not, do I know someone who has? For the sake of clarity, No - cut and paste is NOT really planning. Here are four easy to use tools that can help you plan your presentation. Using planning tools will ultimately save you time as it greatly increases the chances of getting your message across clearly first time.

Building confidence, managing nerves 4 lectures

Activity: Nervous presenters give the game away Preview 00:53

Nervous presenters give the game away. Complete this short activity to think about the ways presenters let their audience know they are nervous.

Nervous tells Preview 04:40

Compare your list of Nervous Tells with the most common ones.

Tips for managing your nerves Preview 06:30

Here are some key tips to help you manage your presentation nerves.

Practice, Practice, Practice Preview 07:51

They say practice makes perfect, so why do so many of us cut it down to the minimum, or do none at all? Here are some practice tips and an example of one of my own practice sessions.

First review quiz 1 lectures

Review questions

Answer these questions without referring back to any of the course materials.

Using posture and movement to support your key messages 6 lectures

Getting it together - why it's critical that voice and body say the same thing Preview 05:23

Avoiding mixed messages is essential if you want your ideas and key messages heard. This lesson helps you understand the common causes of mixed messages and how they impact your presentation and audience.

Activity: Identifying posture and movement do's and don'ts Preview 05:10

A short activity to start thinking about posture and movement. What do you believe works for good presenters and what gets in the way of delivering their message.

The most powerful stance and positive movements Preview 03:33

How we stand makes a significant difference to how our audience perceives us. There are no hard and fast rules, but here are some straightforward guidelines and principles to follow.

Making the most of positive gestures and avoiding common traps Preview 03:56

When speaking in public we often forget what to do with our hands. Here are some straightforward tips to help.

Using eye contact to build rapport and engage with your audience personally. Preview 04:27

Maintaining eye contact with your audience during your presentation is important. This lesson provides you with some useful strategies to adopt and some traps to avoid.

Do's and don'ts review Preview 1 page

Compare your list from lecture 9 to this summary of the key messages. How did you do?

Your voice is your most important presentation asset when used well. 4 lectures

Vocal warm ups - preparing your voice for action. Preview 02:19

Your voice is the most important tool at your disposal as a presenter and public speaker. Your voice is driven by muscles, and like any other muscles they benefit from targeted preparation and maintenance. Here are some exercises to warm up and strengthen your voice.

Using your voice to make connections with your audience and bring topics to life Preview 11:18

How to use your voice to add colour to your presentations and connect with your audience.

Exercise - The Perfect Voice Preview 02:50

Researchers believe they have discovered the elements that make the 'perfect voice'. This simple exercise will enable you to benchmark yourself against two of those key elements.

Activities to practice your vocal techniques Preview 01:38

Here are some practice ideas to help you better understand your voice and how to use it in your presentations.

Activity: Learning Review 1 lectures

Learning Review Preview 01:45

Get the most from your course. It is great that you have invested the time and money to further develop your skills. However, the story doesn't end there. The real value you get is from putting your learning into action by changing your habits and trying out new ideas and approaches.

Creating audience interest and capturing attention for memorable presentations. 10 lectures

The key to SUCCESS: Miss these at your peril Preview 01:36

No more boring presentations. Engage with your audience using these straight forward success strategies based on the work of Chip and Dan Heath.

Simplicity is hard to achieve, but adds huge benefits for your audience Preview 02:23

It is impossible to over emphasize how important simplicity is in effective presentation. getting to the core of your message and communicating it clearly separates highly successful presenters from the rest.

Something unexpected helps - and may not be what you think. Preview 01:12

Raise your audience levels of interest and curiosity without tricks and gimmicks.

Concrete - finding ways to make it real for your audience. Preview 02:57

Explore this critical strategy to make things 'real' for your audience.

How to let your audience know you are credible in your subject. Preview 04:02

How do you you encourage your audience to believe what you say matters? By establishing your credibility.

Without an emotional connection your presentation will fail. Preview 01:16

Find out why emotion matters.

Everyone needs and loves stories to really understand your message. Preview 05:17

We all love stories. Find out why they are such an important element of engaging your audience.

SUCCESS summary Preview 01:55

This formula is at the heart of great presentation, so it's definitely worth reminding yourself of the key elements before applying them to your presentation.

Activity: 2015 World Championship of Public Speaking Preview 07:41

Here is a great opportunity to see SUCCES in action. Watch this video of the Toastmasters 2015 World Champion of Public Speaking. Before you watch it, download the SUCCES analysis document, and as you watch, make a note of examples of the differing elements being used. There are plenty to find.

Exercise to apply the SUCCESS elements Preview 01:43

Second review quiz 1 lectures

Review questions

How to get the best from your visuals and avoid death by PowerPoint. 4 lectures

Simple techniques to get the best from your visuals and really engage people. Preview 18:40

So many presenters waste the opportunities good visuals provide. Learn how to get the best from your visuals.

How to visualize your data - a fantastic example Preview 01:51

Visualizing your data is a super important if you want to get your messages remembered and understood. Steve Jobs once said, 'it is not about the numbers, it's about what the numbers mean.' So many business presenters fill their presentations with data and pasted spread sheet pages and it simply doesn't work.

This lecture is a short video clip from a lecture called The Food Revolution and you'll find it on my YouTube channel. It's a fantastic example of how to bring data alive in a memorable way. The speaker is a doctor talking to a conference of other doctors. They will have all seen the stats he is discussing. However, he tells a story that brings the information to life and makes it very real. He could have shown a spread sheet table. Everyone would have nodded sagely and forgotten it instantly.

I really like the way his images reflect the words he is using - 'spreading like a cancer' for example. He also gets high emotional involvement with the final images, especially the child.

Bring a slide to life

This is your opportunity to experiment with data visualization.

Flip charts and Whiteboards: it is not all about technology. Preview 01:49

A flip chart or whiteboard can be a very effective visual aid. Here are tips to use them well.

Opening and closing with impact 1 lectures

Clear strategies for opening and closing with the maximum impact. Preview 11:55

Make the best use of peak moments of interest with these opening and closing strategies.

Presentation Structures: Do they matter? 1 lectures

Presentation Structures Preview 01:21

It's time to think about the sequence of your presentation.

Dealing with questions 1 lectures

Dealing with questions effectively. Preview 01:59

How to handle questions and more awkward audience members.

Final review quiz 1 lectures

Quiz 3

The final opportunity to test yourself and guage your learning.

Presentation Pitfalls 1 lectures

Presentation Pitfalls Preview 01:19

A refresher on the most common pitfalls that presenters make.

Presentation Checklist 1 lectures

Presentation Checklist Preview 00:08

A downloadable presentation checklist to help you keep your presentations on track.

Finally - be yourself 1 lectures

Authenticity: why it's important Preview 02:59

It's time to put all your learning together and become an engaging presenter. Before you do that, one final piece of advice.

Final Presentation Challenge 1 lectures

Final Presentation Challenge Preview 02:20

An opportunity to put all your learning into practice and make a 5 minute presentation demonstrating your learning. Then upload your presentation to the closed Facebook group for students of this course and get feedback to help you develop your skills further. You'll find details of the Facebook group in the downloadable resource linked to this lecture.

Copy of slides 1 lectures

Copy of slides Preview 00:06

Making a presentation on camera - a personal case study 2 lectures

Personal Case Study Part 1 Preview 00:59

Whilst I have been presenting, speaking, training and facilitating for many years, the growth of online learning through video based activity is a newer field for me. As a 30 year learning and development professional I am keen to be a part of this learning revolution. Through my dealings with Udemy I was offered the chance to work with fellow instructor Alexa Fischer. Alexa is a successful actress and media trainer who specializes in on camera presence.

The method was this - I was working on my latest course Recruitment Interviewing Made Easy and Alexa asked me to record a short video and let her see it. We then spent a hour on Skype where she was able to give me some great personal feedback and advice. Because of my presentation experience, much of the advice is on the more technical side of being on camera. This video shows a small part of my video and then contains Alexa' feedback.

Personal Case Study Part 2 Preview 00:28

After receiving the feedback from Alexa I was asked to re-shoot the video putting ideas from the feedback into practice. Alexa then provided me with further feedback.

There is still work to do, but hopefully you can see quite a difference in the videos.