Children love being read to, but adults, not so much. Once we are able to read, we prefer to do this activity for ourselves, in our own way, at our own pace. So then why do so many presenters read their presentations if they know they risk boring or belittling their audiences?
Let’s look at some reasons reading might seem like a great option for your presentation even though it’s really not. And then we’ll look at some ways to free yourself from the prison of a manuscript.
Why Do Presenters Read?
There are many reasons speakers might be tempted to read from their notes rather than engaging their audience in a more conversational style of delivery. These are our top 3.
Lack of Preparation Time: Some presenters are forced to read their presentations simply because they didn’t prepare well. If you don’t leave enough practice time, you really have no choice but to rely on what you’ve written down. But how much prep is enough? Sarah Weber of Quantified Communications says that TED speakers often spend up to 100 hours prepping for their talks. But for most presentations she says to plan for 1 hour of practice for every 1 minute of the presentation.
Nerves: Other presenters tend to stick to their notes because they are nervous. Reading allows you to avoid eye contact which can feel intimidating. And notes feel safe. But feeling safe is not a good reason to choose not to connect with your audience by reading to them.
The Need to Be Exact: Still others are afraid of stumbling over their words, so they read to avoid making mistakes. Granted, in some cases, like a media press release, exact wording is important. So reading in those cases might be necessary. But for most presentations, the exact way you phrase something doesn’t matter as long as you communicate your ideas clearly.
How to Lose the Manuscript
If you tend to be a reader, you’ll need to put in some work to change up that habit. But how?
Don’t Speak from a Script: The easiest (albeit the most drastic) way to keep from reading to your audience is to keep from having any type of script in front of you when you present. You can’t read if there’s nothing to read from. If you think it can’t be done, think again. You just need to allow yourself plenty of practice time. Recently we published a blog about 2 ways to commit your presentation to memory. Check it out here.
Revise Your Notes: If you aren’t ready to give up your speaker’s notes, try reducing the amount of information on them or changing the way they look. Over the years of speaking, I’ve learned to fill my notes with pictures rather than words. For example, when I want to remember to tell my students about how public speaking tends to polarize people into one of two camps: “I love it” or “I hate it,” I draw a picture of two tents in my notes without writing any words at all. The tents help to jog my memory, but they also keep me from reading anything. This tactic is backed by scientific research about how we recall things. Studies have shown that we can often recognize pictures faster and better than words because of something scientists call the picture superiority effect.
If you are still struggling not to read your presentation, it might help you to remember that your audience members typically tend to care more about clarity and connection than they do about perfection. And you can’t connect very well with your audience if you don’t ever look up from your notes.
For more information about how to take your presentation to the next level, get in touch with one of our experts now.
