Psychological Techniques for An Effective Presentation

Presenting is one of the most difficult and stressful events for people at school or in their professional work life. One of the most stated phobias of human beings in our age is to speak in public. Psychological and sociological reasons may be underlying this problem. But we need to learn not to be so afraid to speak out in public. Knowing effective presentation techniques, we can learn not to be afraid to present. We know effective presentation techniques as techniques put forward for the speaker’s public presentation to impress and inform the audience and make a successful presentation eventually.

Effective presentation techniques aim to ensure a successful and flawless presentation. For this purpose, the speakers try to make a successful presentation by following these techniques. In this way, they aim to make a positive impression in the eyes of the audience. Some speakers try to correct their speech by doing diction studies before the presentation, some prepare themselves for the dress, some rehearse their presentation repeatedly, some try to give a flawless and effective presentation to the audience by editing the contents of the slide they have prepared. Psychological techniques are also among the effective presentation techniques.

Psychological techniques enable a speaker to effectively make his presentation and make a positive impression in the eyes of the audience. At the same time, the audience in the hall is provided to learn the information and message given thanks to the effective presentation.

What Psychological Techniques to Use for An Effective Presentation?

One of the most stated phobias of mankind is to speak in public. Although it is not as difficult as it seems to speak in public, it gives individuals feelings of excitement, stress, anxiety, etc. Listeners may experience some emotional changes as well as the negative situations experienced by the speaker. A listener who comes eagerly and happily to learn about a subject he is curious about begins to feel boredom, sadness and walks away from it thanks to the poor presentation. He falls asleep or plays with his phone, not feeling like he belongs there. The main thing here is that the poor presentation also affects the psychology of the listeners. In other words, it has implications both on the speaker and on the listener.

The fear of presentation is a state of emotion experienced by almost everyone presenting. Even the most experienced speakers get very excited in the first minutes of their presentation and their voices tremble. Talking is a situation that develops better as you gain experience. For this purpose, it is recommended to rehearse repeatedly before your actual presentation. The negative mood that the speaker is experiencing is reflected physically and psychologically. When the speaker experiences fear of presentation, he may experience problems such as tremors in his voice, decreased ability to think, out of control of the nervous system, altered breathing, shaking of his hands, balance problems, stomach pain, or nausea. This represents the problems experienced by the speaker.

Preparing for the Presentation

Preparing for the presentation is among the psychological techniques that everyone uses to make a successful presentation. To defeat the fear of it, it is necessary to prepare for the presentation in a timely and accurate manner. The preparing process creates an experience for the speaker. If the speaker does not prepare adequately, he will feel like somethings are forcing him. In addition, the subject he will tell is the impression that the right is not informed. The presenter himself may also be in this fear and anxiety. Therefore, the speaker begins to make mistakes in his presentation. Preparing for the presentation has been proven by research that adequate rehearsals reduce anxiety by 75%. Preparing for the presentation ensures that the details of the topic to be discussed remain better in mind. Presenting makes the speaker feel more comfortable as it makes him less likely to make mistakes.

A person who feels more comfortable presenting is closer to making an effective presentation. This causes the audience to listen to the presentation without any boredom. The speaker completes his effective presentation by conveying the information and message he wants to give to his listeners.

Acting with Rational Impulse Theory

Scientist Robert Ellis is a pioneer of Rational Impulse Theory. Rational Impulse Theory explains to us that the stages of “thinking about the worst things that can happen, thinking about the possibility of bad things happening, thinking about what might happen, reducing possible problems” our minds should design. The Rational Impulse Rule states that with this understanding, the speaker can think more rationally. From here, the speaker’s description of the fear he experiences allows him to overcome the fear of presentation. You’re wondering how he’s doing, aren’t you? In other words, to overcome the fear of presentation, the speaker must define the fear that may occur at the beginning of the presentation or the moment of presentation. Thus, the negativity he has previously defined makes him feel more comfortable at the time of presenting the subject.

Rational Impulse Theory also allows the speaker to make an effective presentation by feeling more comfortable recognizing their unease. Rational Impulse Theory allows listeners to be impressed by a successful presentation based on this. This allows the speaker to give the information and message he/she wants to give to the audience. The listener who is not bored and overwhelmed can also leave happily by receiving the message that the speaker gave.

Using Visual Similarities

Using visuals that are similar in the presentation benefits both the speaker and the listener. It indicates that the risk is minimal as long as individuals see similarities of visual perception and similar patterns that they have experienced before. As long as the audience cannot solve or establish similarities in the slides prepared by the speaker, there is uncertainty. This situation of uncertainty causes discomfort to the listener. The data presented at the moment listeners first see the slide is the same feeling of discomfort caused by the different colors of numbers, graphics, and titles. Visual similarities can be based on shape, size, or color. Color harmony within visual similarities is a very important detail that affects presentation and it should be one of the main goals of the speaker.

Visual similarities used at the time of presentation can bring the audience closer to you. Similar or correctly used colors bring the audience closer to you. The color of your chart or the background you choose can make the audience alienate you at once. The important thing here is to capture the harmony of visual similarities.

Continuity Effect Technique

The continuity effect is the most used among psychological techniques. The continuity effect ensures that there’s no distraction for the audience. When presenting, you need to use continuity techniques to make the audience’s eyes look at the point you want. The question of where you are talking among the audience at that moment while you are giving your speech is a very uncomfortable topic for the audience. With the effect of continuity, what you need to do as a speaker is to move the eyes of the invisible lines in your presentation from one point to the next. The continuity effect is not to place the route to follow at the top of the page at the time of presentation. This is possible by ensuring that the visual perception of the listeners tends to follow that route.

The first time you open the slide, it should give the audience happiness. Because the listener is happy to know what course to take. If the listener does not feel happy, his visual perception tends to follow the course. However, how accurate is it to specify the address leading to the route at the beginning of the presentation? Therefore, the continuity effect is very important.

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