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| President's
Tip of the Week Five
Presentation Techniques Taught by Randy Pausch
(10/21/09) The
following is an excerpt from Andrew Dlugan’s review of “The Last Lecture”
video. To read the full article, click
here. - Introduce the Elephant in the Room
Randy
Pausch opens his lecture in the best way possible for this lecture, this audience,
and this venue — by relieving stress.
Following an easy joke about the
title of the lecture series, he introduces the elephant in the room; that is,
he spends a minute discussing his pancreatic cancer. Then, he raises the emotion
in the room by doing a series of pushups. If he had not opened this way, the audience
would have been distracted for the entire lecture, and unable to fully immerse
themselves in the powerful lessons to come.
Key Lesson: If there are
issues distracting your audience, address them sooner rather than later. - Define
the Scope
Pausch then proceeds to define the scope of his lecture. He outlines
what he will talk about and, more importantly, what he will not talk about.
Declaring
the scope is important because it establishes the starting point and the boundaries
for your presentation. It brings your audience to the starting point with you,
and ensures they are in the right frame of mind to receive the message you are
about to deliver.
Ideally, the scope for your presentation will be conveyed
to the audience via pre-talk advertising or by your introduction. If this isn’t
the case, however, it is worth addressing early in your presentation.
Key
Lesson: Before you get into the heart of your talk, frame your speech for
the audience. - Conclude Strong
As strong as the opening was,
I suspect that the conclusion is far more memorable for most people who view this
lecture.
Pausch follows conventional advice for a conclusion by summarizing
his key points. He actually provides several “recaps” throughout the
speech.
Key Lesson: Finish strong. Leave your audience thinking. - Show
Enthusiasm. Immerse Yourself.
Randy Pausch smiles and laughs many times
in this lecture. Okay, fair enough. That’s not too unusual. However, he also
wears an Alice in Wonderland hat, dons a football jacket, does pushups, and gives
away stuffed animals.
He could have assumed a very reserved, somber tone for
this speech. He could have treated every word as if it were a matter of life or
death. But that would have drawn more attention to his condition instead of his
core message.
Key Lesson: The audience is more apt to have fun and cherish
life if they see you doing so in your speeches. - Get Personal
This
may seem obvious, but the last lesson I’d like to highlight is to get personal
with your audience. Or, phrased in the opposite way, don’t hide your personal
side from the audience.
Still, there is a way to tell personal stories while
still remaining distant and somewhat clinical. You can tell a story about visiting
Disneyland, but if you don’t show a glint in your eye, you’re holding
something back.
Key Lesson: Let your guard down. Showing emotion is
one of the best ways to connect with an audience.
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