Simply Said

CHAPTER 6See It. Save It. Say It. Delivering from Notes and Visuals

When you are using notes or visuals to help remember your content and inform the audience, your main job is to make it effortless for your audience to receive the information. Keep that idea in mind. Anything you do in the room that forces the audience to concentrate on something other than your content is a distraction. It makes it harder, not easier, for the audience to pay attention. You’ll minimize the distractions if you manage your movement around the room, the volume of material on the slide, and how you connect your words to the material the audience sees.

As you read in earlier chapters, eye contact is the most important skill for connecting to your audience. How do you maintain eye contact when presenting from notes or visuals? Follow three steps:

1. See it—–look at your notes or slide.
2. Save it—–remember what the bullet point says as you look up from your notes or out from your slide toward your audience.
3. Say it—make eye contact with one individual in the audience as you share your content.

In this chapter, we’ll look at specifics for applying this process for both notes and visuals.

Embrace the Silence

Many people are concerned about silence when they’re in front of the room. Being comfortable with silence is a sign of maturity and composure. When you stand silently in front of an audience, the only thing you are sharing is your integrity and credibility. Think of the effective disciplinarian in your ...