You Can Give A Dynamic Group Presentation

When we are asked to give a presentation, sometimes it comes with a twist. The twist is that other people have been asked to give the same presentation at the same time. What this means for us is that we are now going to be part of a group presentation and the rules for giving a presentation have now been changed. A group presentation can be a very powerful thing and can allow us to share the importance of public speaking; however, if we going to do this correctly, then we need to make sure that we know how to go about doing it the right way.

It’s All About The Opening And The Closing

Whenever you are part of a group presentation, somebody from the group is going to have to be selected to open the presentation and then close it. Generally speaking, you are going to want to have the same person perform both of these roles. The big question is always who is going to do it? Sometimes the most senior person who is part of the group is selected to do this. Don’t do that. Instead, take a look at who is on the team and pick the person who is best going to be able to engage your audience. Both the opening and the closing are critical to getting your message across to your audience so make sure that this is done correctly.

Everyone’s Style Is Different

Often when groups get together to make a presentation someone will have the clever idea of trying to make everyone look the same. There are a number of different ways to go about doing this. The simplest way is to get everyone to dress the same for presentation day. Other ways include trying to have everyone emulate a single style of presentation. You really don’t want to do either of these things. What you want to show your audience is that the team brings a mix of different attributes and this is what is going to make the group presentation interesting.

You Are Always On Stage

When we give speeches by ourselves, we understand that when we are on the stage we are “on”. However, when we are part of a group that is giving a presentation things can become confusing When you are done with your part of the presentation, you need to realize that you are still “on”. This means that you need to listen to what the other members of your team are saying as a part of their presentation and you need to make sure that you have a happy expression on your face.

You Can Participate In Someone Else’s Speech

What can make a group presentation different from a single person presentation is that at any time someone who is not currently speaking can interject to add information. You need to have a plan to make this happen so that the speaker is not surprised. If you can do this successfully, then the speech will turn more into a conversation. Having the person who wants to say something stand up will act as a signal to the speaker that they have something to interject.

Create Good Transitions

Another thing that makes a group presentation different is that during the presentation who is currently speaking will transition from speaker to speaker. This is something that is all too easy to screw up. All too often when a transition is occurring we spend too much time talking about what the next speaker is going to be saying. Instead of doing this, what we should be doing is telling the audience about the expertise of the next speaker. It is our job to share with our audience how the next speaker’s background will relate to them.

Have Answers To Questions

Questions can be an important part of any group presentation. If you are not careful they can be fumbled and drag on. Instead, you want them to move quickly so that the team can answer as many questions as possible. In order to make this happen, you need to appoint one person on your team to act as the point person for taking questions from the audience. Once a question has been asked, this person can then hand it off to the member of the group who is best suited to answering it.

What All Of This Means For You

Getting selected to be a member of a group presentation is a great honor. Group presentations can be a powerful way to communicate a message to an audience and share the benefits of public speaking with them. However, group presentations are different from individual presentations. In order to make your next group presentation as effective as possible, there are a number of things that you are going to have to do that are different.

A group presentation needs to have a single individual selected as the person who both opens and closes the presentation. This person does not have to be the most senior person, just the best speaker. It may be tempting to try to get everyone who is speaking to either look the same or present in the same way. Don’t do this – everyone’s uniqueness is what will make for a more powerful presentation. When you are on the stage, even if you are not currently presenting, you need to remember that you are “on”. A powerful feature of a group presentation can occur when two members of the group interact during a presentation. Just make sure that you script this carefully. The transition from one speaker to another should focus on what makes the next speaker special, not what they are going to be saying. Questions can be an important part of any group presentation and so have one member of the team act as the point person to receive questions and hand them off to other group members.

The key to a successful group presentation is to make sure that you realize that you understand that this type of presentation is different from an individual presentation. Making sure that you leverage the power of the group and that you allow the presentation to flow smoothly from individual to individual will ensure that you deliver a powerful and effective presentation. Use the power of the group to capture and hold your audience’s attention for the entire presentation.

– Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Public Speaking Skills™

Question For You: When transitioning from one speaker to the next, how long do you think that the transition should take?

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Note: What we talked about are advanced speaking skills. If you are just starting out I highly recommend joining Toastmasters in order to get the benefits of public speaking. Look for a Toastmasters club to join in your home town by visiting the web site www.Toastmasters.org. Toastmasters is dedicated to helping their members to understand the importance of public speaking by developing listening skills and getting presentation tips. Toastmasters is how I got started speaking and it can help you also!