Presentations with
Multiple Presenters – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
By Paul Grabowski
Recently, I attended two separate presentations for my
daughter’s schools. As one is entering middle school and the other entering the
uncharted waters of high school, both meetings were of particular importance to
me.
Sitting through these two presentations gave me pause to
think about what it takes to put together a program using multiple presenters.
It also allowed me to relate these to the “business world” (well, running a
school is now just like running a business, so there was a great deal of correlation)
and how drastically different these presentations affected the audience.
What time are we
presenting? Does everyone know?
Outside of the two presentations providing valuable
information, this was where the correlation ended. One meeting at one school
had been given three separate starting times. One time was provided by the
calendar on the website, another time by email to all parents, and finally a
third through an announcement earlier in the day at yet another parent meeting.
The other presentation was set by email, on the parent portal and posted on the
message board in the school driveway – all with the same starting time.
Knowing that everyone’s time is taken during the day and we
live by our Outlook calendars, the changes in times caused great consternation
and juggling of schedules. Just like the business world, it is important that
if you plan to have a presentation or meeting, it is equally as important to
schedule a time and stick to it. Moreover, communication and delivery of the
message should be checked and controlled by one individual so that those
attending know who is leading the meeting. There is nothing worse than having
people attend a presentation or program who come in with a negative feeling
about the presenters before the information is even disseminated.
How do you get to
Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice
When a presentation is given by multiple people, it is
imperative that you practice as a group. Practice does not just include making
sure the slides are correct but also making sure that those presenting keep to
the time allotted. If a program is scheduled for one hour and there are four
presenters, each should be given a maximum of 15 minutes if you plan for no
question and answer period. However, if a program is one that will inevitably
invite questions, the presenters should prepare for this in advance and adjust
their timing accordingly.
It is equally important to discuss amongst the presenters in
advance the order of speaking and include this in the opening remarks along
with each presenter’s topic. For example, in one of the presentations, the
overall topic was information for parents of freshman regarding their roles and
expectations as well as the academic requirements placed upon the students by
the school. The order of the presentation began with a discussion about the
parent council but was followed by the head of school on various topics. While
we were told in our email, school calendar and announcement earlier in the day
that the program would last one hour, when we were beyond that time frame with
only the second speaker, the audience began to lose interest. By the time the
academic dean began to speak, many in the audience were reading the materials
and many had left.
Another note on practice is to check out the room in
advance. Just as the PowerPoint needs to be accurate and working, it is equally
important to know the condition of the room in advance. Are the microphones
working and is there a back-up, is there someone from IT available to assist
with technical issues, and (if you happen to be in the South in August) is
someone from maintenance available in the event that the air conditioning is
not working or similar issues.
Don’t Assume that
having a title means that everyone knows you
With both presentations, there were multiple speakers. Never
assume that everyone in the room knows who you are before you begin speaking.
As a teacher once told me, “when you come back for reunion, always re-introduce
yourself. I have had hundreds of students since the last time I yelled at you
to turn in your homework!” The same goes for giving a presentation to any
audience.
In one of the presentations, the first speaker got up,
introduced herself and then ran through the list of names and titles of the
others who would be speaking and a brief description of their topic. This is
the best way to get a presentation started as the audience knows what to expect
and who will be speaking on that topic. In the other presentation, two of the
speakers started without ever introducing themselves. For those who were new in
the audience you could see them leaning over and asking others who was
speaking. This inevitably leads to further questions and comments among the
audience and a lack of attention on the subject matter.
Always take the time
to re-introduce yourself to the audience. If nothing else, it makes it easier
for them to follow-up with specific questions on topics presented. For
presentations with multiple presenters, having someone take the lead in
providing an overview of speakers names, titles and topics, allows the audience
to follow along and know what to expect.
Conclusion
Knowing your audience is only half the battle when putting
together a presentation. Particularly when there are multiple presenters, it is
always best to take the approach of putting yourself in the shoes of those who
will be listening. Have we communicated the important information correctly in
advance? What should we expect from a technical and room set-up perspective?
How can we frame our presentation so that it is effective, on time and provides
accurate information? Did we miss anything? Answering all these questions can
help make for a better, more effective presentation and leave the audience with
a good impression.
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