san na si batman?

In my current job, I regularly conduct classroom training for end-users in our department. Last Sunday/Monday, I did the two-day, 4-sessions training for the ERP software our company is using. It’s the same software that I worked on in Makati a decade ago.

Back then, I also did quite a few trainings and presentations. Every now and then, I’ll be a part of the marketing group who does the sales pitch to prospective clients kaya isa ako sa magpi-present nong binebenta naming package. Our audience ranges from middle executives to top ranking CEOS of some of the largest companies in PI.

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Sa mga clients naman, nagtuturo din ako nong system as part of the project. I also conducted team building activities here and there, both for our company and our clients. That’s why I’ve gained some level of confidence when it comes to presentations and trainings (read: kapalmuks na! hahaha)

With that amount of experience, I think it I’d better share with you some things that I’ve learned when doing these things. Some practical tips that might help you if you are starting out on jobs that involve speaking in front of a group of people.

The first thing that you should remember when doing this presentations and/or trainings is that you should be prepared 100%. Leaving a gap somewhere sabay ‘bahala na si batman’ can sometimes lead to disaster. Coz if something goes wrong, it’s your face you’ll have to save in front of many people.

There were times that I did exactly that, bahala na si batman. And batman never came to rescue me from utter humiliation. Aside from the fact that those people might have branded me forever as an idiot without giving me the chance to redeem myself. Since then, I’ve tried as much as possible to prepare the best I could. If, after having done my best at nagkaroon pa rin ng palpak, then at least I wouldn’t go down so hard.

So here are some rules I observe whenever I’m doing presentations/trainings.

Know Your Topic. It’s the universal rule when it comes to public speaking. If you will talk about origami, siguraduhin mong alam mo kung ano ang meaning ng origami. Just because you know how to fold a paper doesn’t necessarily mean you can impress your audience. Eh kung may magtanong kung ano yong origin nong word, background, history, etc.. at hindi mo nasagot, baka ikaw ang matupi sa kahihiyan! Knowing your topic gives you a certain level of confidence kaya iwas-nerbiyos ka. It can also make you talk more candidly and credibly without having to memorize things na para kang nasa college.

Know Your Audience. Ok, so you’re one of the experts in quantum physics. Does it mean you’ll pull off successful presentations or trainings all the time? Not necessarily if you don’t adapt yourself to your audience. If you’re speaking to your fellow geniuses, by all means, itodo mo ang pagka-genius mo. But if your audience are mere mortals like me, medyo ibaba mo yong level. Don’t use complex matrices and terms like Planck’s Constant and expect us to understand that. Else, baka mag-walk out ako.

Calibrate your material. After knowing who your audience is, develop your materials around them. Prepare your presentation, hand-outs and exercises according to the level of your audience. If it’s for a CEOs and top bosses, make sure it looks smart, sharp and professional (my friend Ega does this excellently). Whatever my audience is, I also try to veer away from fancy colors and dizzying animations in my slides. You’ll look amateurish if your audience are CEOs. Kung mga ordinary people naman, they might dazzle at your swooshing graphics but never really pay attention to your topic. Keeping enough colors and animation will prevent your audience from yawning but don't let it throw the main topic to take the backseat.

Visualize The Result. If you’re doing a sales pitch, then your audience should buy whatever you’re peddling at the end of your presentation. Kung nagtuturo ka naman tungkol sa pagluluto ng puto bumbong, then your students should be able to cook some nice puto bumbong after the session. In short, your whole effort should achieve it’s purpose. It will only happen if you, yourself, have the conviction that you will achieve the often bulleted objectives you present at the start of your slides.

The cliché: Practice Makes Perfect. It’s a line so jurassic yet true. When you think you’ve got your whole act ready, try running it once even with your dog as your audience. You’ll be surprised how simple things like alignment, font size or minor spelling errors can ruin your entire presentation. Do it again and you’ll find that your slide sequencing is totally askew. Do it once more and you’ll realize you’ve done a 1-hour presentation while you’re given just 30 minutes. Run it over and over until you’re sure everything’s okay. Besides, the more you run it, the more you become familiar with it. With that, you can anticipate the next slide or topic. Then you can easily do ad libs for seamless transitions.

The Moment: Deliver it. Okay, so you’ve done some heavy preparation. Polished that presentation to perfection. Prepared hand-outs neatly. The last thing is to deliver it to your audience. Here’s a few do’s and dont’s while doing it:

· Do dress for the occasion. T-shirt and jeans are always perfect when malling but not when speaking in front of executives. On the reverse, a coat and tie would probably alienate a group of blue-collar workers. Look the part but never overdo it.

· Do keep some water handy. Unless isa kang concert king or queen, manunuyo ang lalamunan mo after a few minutes of babbling. So keep some water within reach. It will prevent your throat from going dry and your voice from cracking. Besides, a gulp of water can smooth your nerves at nababawasan ang panginginig ng kamay mo kung inaatake ka ng nerbiyos.

· Don’t be a clown nor a Gestapo. You might want to command attention which is okay but don’t overdo it at nagmukha ka nang terror professor sa college. Make your audience feel comfortable and relaxed. But don’t go cracking silly jokes. Wala ka sa Klownz. Unless you're doing motivational speaking for depressed people in an emotional rehab.

· Do speak clearly and audibly. Size up the room and audience and deliver your lines in just the right volume. One thing I always do before I start diving into my presentation is to ask the guys at the back if they can hear me loud and clear. Then I maintain that volume level. I never murmur things to yourself. Afterall, my audience should hear me, not the fly languishing a foot away from me.

· Don’t pretend to be mr-know-it-all. Even if you know your topic, there will come a time that someone will shoot a question that'll floor you. In case someone does that, don’t stare back at him as if you wanted to shoot him with a pistol. Lalong wag kang ma-rattle. Just be cool. And never ever attempt to get smart. You can always say something to tell him that you don’t know the answer without actually saying it. Expert na ako sa mga linyang ‘I’ll check on that and I’ll get back to you’ (Kimmydora, remember?). It's one of the trade secrets I learned back in that Makati stint. Believe me, it always works.

· Don’t ignore your audience. Try to get the audience interact with you. Ask them if they have any question before ending a topic. Whenever possible, encourage discussion and exchange of ideas. You’ll be surprised dahil marami kang mapupulot sa kanila. Things that, if not outright brilliant, can help you improve your next training or presentation.

· Don’t forget to roll the credits. Close your session by giving back the credit to your audience. Thank them for their attention and participation. It’s a grave sin if you ignore the fact that you’ve taken a day or an hour of their time but never acknowledge it.

There you go. It’s quite long eh. I didn’t realize I had this many things to say when I started writing this. In fact, in-edit ko pa nga ito from the original kilometric version. Darn, I should start writing a book about it! Hahaha!