Mastering Presentation Skills

Course Overview In the world of banking, finance and insurance the ability to ‘pitch’ an idea and present a proposal elegantly is a required competency for promotion to senior positions and this workshop aims to give participants the ability to be delivering powerful messages with a real sense of authority. It is also about having a real sense of confidence in yourself as a presenter and in the content of your message. The course is structured to meet the particular needs of people in the finance sector who have to present to colleagues; or speak at conferences, or pitch ideas to investors. By attending this highly interactive three-day course you will: Gain an insight into the 'golden rules' and guiding principles of dynamic presentations Master powerful techniques for developing your self-confidence when standing in front of an audience Discover a simple, yet elegant, planning process that will enable you to have a systematic approach for creating excellent presentations Learn how to open and close a talk so that you make a good impression Develop a strong, flexible speaking voice that exudes confidence and energy Methodology The programme will make use of tailored case studies that will be based on telephone interviews that we will carry out with key personnel to make sure that the training scenarios precisely reflect the issues, concerns and training needs of the participants. Who should attend This is a training programme for relationship managers, account executives, corporate bankers, asset managers, senior insurance industry executives and other banking and insurance sector employees who have to make presentations to key decision makers (both internal and external) as part of their job. Pre-course Preparation The emphasis of the course is on delivering material in front of an audience. In order to maximise the time available to do this, participants need to prepare a draft presentation with visual aids in advance of the course. The presentation, lasting around five minutes, will be delivered on Day One. Participants should also allow time on the evening of Day One of the course to write a second talk, of around ten minutes duration. This presentation will be used on Day Two. Delegates should bring along a Smart phone, iPad or similar device so that they can video the presentations they make during the training. Supporting publication:
Day One The psychology of presenting Here we review the mindset that is associated with elegant and charismatic presentations. Examining your current beliefs Reviewing expert beliefs Making changes that you feel are appropriate for you Pairs exercise: Brainstorming the golden rules of effective presentations in the finance sector. Masterful planning method Outstanding presenters plan and rehearse their talks thoroughly but quickly. The masterful planning process™ is a mnemonic in which each letter in the word ‘masterful’ covers one of the nine aspects of effective preparation. Learning the method allows the design of the presentation to be fast and effective. Delivering with impact There will be a review of our Financial Presentations Assessment checklist, which highlights the key points that the speakers need to implement when giving their talks. Introduction & ending Pausing, pace and pitch Logical flow – the importance of the signpost slide The power of metaphors Sensory based language Body language & gestures Positional anchors Visual aids and lines of sight Group exercise: discussion of key points Revising the 5 minute presentation Participants update and rehearse their five-minute presentations. Delivering the 5 minute presentations Speakers take turns to deliver their five-minute presentations in front of the group and are given feedback by reviewing the videotape of their presentation and as a result of getting feedback against the BMC assessment checklist. Day Two Voice development exercises Excellent presenters speak naturally and with pride. Here we consider the postural, breathing, and voice projection aspects of speaking well to groups. The exercises are of the type that are taught to actors and singers. Correct posture & relaxation Diaphragmatic breathing Projection Resonance Pairs exercise: Breathing exercises Building presenter confidence Confidence in presenting has four sources. Firstly it stems from having expert beliefs, secondly from knowing your material, thirdly positive experience (i.e. having done it successfully in the past) and fourthly from conditioning yourself to feel good about presenting. Using a technique known as ‘resource anchoring’ we can develop this conditioning aspect of building confidence. The conditioning process Building positive emotions and Using 'triggers' Pairs exercise: Resource anchoring to build confidence Delivering the 10 minute presentation Speakers take turns to deliver their ten-minute presentations in front of the group and are given feedback by reviewing the videotape of their presentation and as a result of getting from their colleagues. Particular emphasis will be put on self-confidence and voice projection. Day Three Handling hostile questions Methods for dealing with hostile, difficult or awkward questions. The 3 step technique Car parking Responding with a question Inviting audience participation Exercise: Open forum question and answer session. Making graphs count Understanding how to get the most out of graphs as a key means of presenting financial data to clients and senior executives. Exercise: Assessing graphs PowerPoint reports Sometimes a PowerPoint presentation must act, not only as visual aids to a talk, but also as a 'stand alone report', that can be read and understood independently from the presentation. This format will often apply to consulting companies, where members of the audience might want to take the slides and show them to other decision makers in order to reach a consensus on how to move forward, or use them as a means of briefing other executives. Exercise: 'Storyboarding' a PowerPoint report Writing a third, 5 minute presentation Participants write and rehearse five-minute presentations Delivering a third presentation (5 minutes long) Speakers take turns to deliver their third presentation in front of the group and are given feedback by reviewing the videotape of their presentation and as a result of getting feedback from the other participants.