Apologise for Nothing
I recently bought a CD of late piano works by Liszt, and I was reading the sleeve notes - rarely an edifying experience - when I came on the following line: 'These works were considered suitable for reading, not for performance'. At the time, I was really getting into the music...that is, until I read this. Suddenly I wondered if it was really all that good, and I also wondered - if the music was unfit for human ears - why had the record label recorded it, and why had the record shop charged me 15.99 to purchase it. The experience exactly mirrored something I often say when giving courses, namely: never apologise.
Some presenters apologise all the time. They apologise for slides that can't be seen from the back of the room; they apologise for things they forgot to bring; they apologise for not being able to explain themselves very well; they apologise for not knowing as much as some of the people in the audience; they apologise for not being able to get the computer to work; they apologise before their presentation to those who will have heard their material before; they apologise after their presentation for going over time.
Apologies are, of course, a noble and necessary thing in life, but not in presentations. Simply put, if there is something in your presentation that necessitates an apology, then it shouldn't be in your presentation. If your graphs cannot be seen properly from the back of the room, re-draw them so that they can be seen. If the room is too big for everyone to be able to hear you, organise to have a microphone so that they can hear you. If you are worried about having too much material, rehearse the presentation to ensure that you don't have too much material. It's a bit like the Liszt CD: 'We probably shouldn't have bothered recording this and selling it to you, but we did. Sorry.'
The main reason people apologise in this way, is of course nerves. The thinking seems to be: 'I don't really want to be up here, so please excuse me if any of this is shoddy or sub-standard.' It's a way of leveling with the audience, but it is totally counter-productive. Frequently a nervous presenter will think of his or her audience as the enemy, but you should remember that those people come to hear you speak, because they have a need, that only you, the expert, can satisfy. They want you to deliver, not mess around making excuses for not delivering. They are very much on your side. Like all conversations, a presentation is a collaborative process, two parties trying to work together to get to a shared goal. People in the audience are rarely there to shoot you down or to pick holes in your argument. They are there to learn something with your help. They are rooting for you.
Apologies indicate a lack of belief in what you are saying and this is crippling for a presentation. If you don't have a strong reason to speak, then the audience won't have a strong reason to listen. Enthusiasm is a key ingredient in any communication, and this doesn't mean that you have to be like a TV evangelist, it simply means that you should have a motivation - based on the needs of your audience - for doing what you are doing. Apologies have no place in this.
So, stand up and deliver your talk emphatically. Believe in what you say and say it without apology. Don't second-guess yourself. In the end, the audience may decide that your presentation was not effective, but you are not obliged to lead them to this conclusion yourself.
I hope this article was of some use to you. If not, that's unfortunate, but I apologise for nothing!
"If I've done anything I'm sorry for, I'm willing to be forgiven."
- Edward N. Westcott
Some presenters apologise all the time. They apologise for slides that can't be seen from the back of the room; they apologise for things they forgot to bring; they apologise for not being able to explain themselves very well; they apologise for not knowing as much as some of the people in the audience; they apologise for not being able to get the computer to work; they apologise before their presentation to those who will have heard their material before; they apologise after their presentation for going over time.
Apologies are, of course, a noble and necessary thing in life, but not in presentations. Simply put, if there is something in your presentation that necessitates an apology, then it shouldn't be in your presentation. If your graphs cannot be seen properly from the back of the room, re-draw them so that they can be seen. If the room is too big for everyone to be able to hear you, organise to have a microphone so that they can hear you. If you are worried about having too much material, rehearse the presentation to ensure that you don't have too much material. It's a bit like the Liszt CD: 'We probably shouldn't have bothered recording this and selling it to you, but we did. Sorry.'
The main reason people apologise in this way, is of course nerves. The thinking seems to be: 'I don't really want to be up here, so please excuse me if any of this is shoddy or sub-standard.' It's a way of leveling with the audience, but it is totally counter-productive. Frequently a nervous presenter will think of his or her audience as the enemy, but you should remember that those people come to hear you speak, because they have a need, that only you, the expert, can satisfy. They want you to deliver, not mess around making excuses for not delivering. They are very much on your side. Like all conversations, a presentation is a collaborative process, two parties trying to work together to get to a shared goal. People in the audience are rarely there to shoot you down or to pick holes in your argument. They are there to learn something with your help. They are rooting for you.
Apologies indicate a lack of belief in what you are saying and this is crippling for a presentation. If you don't have a strong reason to speak, then the audience won't have a strong reason to listen. Enthusiasm is a key ingredient in any communication, and this doesn't mean that you have to be like a TV evangelist, it simply means that you should have a motivation - based on the needs of your audience - for doing what you are doing. Apologies have no place in this.
So, stand up and deliver your talk emphatically. Believe in what you say and say it without apology. Don't second-guess yourself. In the end, the audience may decide that your presentation was not effective, but you are not obliged to lead them to this conclusion yourself.
I hope this article was of some use to you. If not, that's unfortunate, but I apologise for nothing!
"If I've done anything I'm sorry for, I'm willing to be forgiven."
- Edward N. Westcott
posted by Barry Brophy at 11:46 PM
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