Who else hates presenting?
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- bjladams0
do you work for yourself or for someone else?
- vaxorcist0
ok.. presenting skill is often the difference between getting to do things your way and having to bend over and agree that the world is flat because the client just doesn't get it and you can't sell you idea....
I've gotten better as time went on.... had some great mentor creative directors early in my career, didn't realize how lucky I was till later worked at a place where we didn't present to client well and client tended to ask MTLB, make the logo bigger,etc...
My main idea...
Make sure you know WHO you are presenting to, and WHAT their roles are.... i.e. do NOT present creative to budget hawks in clients accounting department... do NOT present creative to anyone who can say NO but cannot ACTUALLY APPROVE it unless you've already gotten approval from the real decision maker.
Also, try to understand the mindset, the central insight into the brain of the people you're presenting to, if you have to, try to make it cleat that the CLIENT is NOT THE TARGET MARKET, if, say you're advertising motocross bikes and your client is 54 years old and drives a Lexus....
Practicing, with a couple of co-workers who play the roles of the clients, i.e. one skeptical, one wanting to be wow-ed, can be a great idea... worked well for me at one gig...
- bulletfactory0
Presenting is part of it. It takes practice and experience, but it's definitely a necessity to get work approved.
If you can't effectively present a concept/project/etc you risk having to over-compromise.
Once I learned how to communicate more effectively, I had a better appreciation for it.- Totally concur with less text on a slide and more imagery. That has been huge in my presentations.bulletfactory
- Continuity0
The only thing I'd add to this is to not read from your presentation ... there's nothing more dead boring than sitting through a presentation, with the speaker looking at the projection or screen and, actually reciting the bullet points (or worse, whole paragraphs!) on the slides. We can all read, thank you very much.
In fact, try to have as little written text in a presentation as possible. Some of the best PPTs I've sat through didn't have a single word in any of the slides, just images and a presenter who knew his stuff backwards and forwards, and had the passion to talk about it.
- d_rek0
Rehearsing used to help me a lot. I would do it in the car on the way to work, in the shower, or in a private room before the presentation.
I'm finally at the point where i rarely need to rehearse anymore, but it definitely helped me.
- monospaced0
I love presenting. I think the ease come from performing most of my life (recitals, concerts, and such). I agree with tasty's point, "believe in your work, it's pretty hard to sell something that you can't get behind." If you are passionate about it, the rest comes easy.
My advice, on top of the great stuff above, is to never highlight your mistakes. Don't point out what you don't like, don't mention what you would have done differently, don't talk about how you wasted time, and don't correct yourself if you say something wrong. Always act like everything you're doing is what you meant to do.
- attentionspan0
Good tips, but sometimes i think i'm just not cut out for the whole presenting thing. Also i find it rather boring at times.
Also it's not about presenting design work but rather the outcome and reward that will hopefully follow which can be hard to predict without any clear research.
- different strokes for different folks. But you should always be building up your tools to remain an asset to a company.tasty
- sine0
- tasty0
Tips for owning the room during a presentation:
– Stand when you speak, it demands attention
– high energy
– eye contact (especially with the right people)
– keep the bullet points concise
– believe in your work, it's pretty hard to sell something that you can't get behind.Avoid the following words:
– umm
– like
– "good question" (unless it really is a good question)
– Fuck, shit, piss, cunt, god damn, mother fucker (unless appropriate)Being able to sell your work is part of being a designer. I'm surprised public speaking is not sewn into design courses more often. You'll get better with practice :)
- <Continuity
- the thought of sitting to give presentation is so bad.Hombre_Lobo
- Hombre_Lobo0
Haha, love the image.
Its a classic beginner mistake (talking too fast), its hard to just relax and take your time.