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Using Handouts for Presentations: The Pros
and Cons
Steve Adubato, Ph.D.
Recently Jim, a middle manager, was asked to give a presentation
to other members of his team regarding a new project he was working
on. Jim was asked to present an update on where things stood and
identify areas where his colleagues could provide valuable feedback.
The first thing he did was distribute a thick handout with lots
of detailed information about the project. There were numerous charts
and graphs along with about 20 pages of text. Within 30 seconds
of Jim’s presentation, half of the 10 other managers started
thumbing through the handout. This clearly distracted Jim and from
that point on he had a really difficult time getting the audience’s
full attention.
Some might think the moral of this communication story is that
when making a presentation you should never distribute handouts.
Well, it’s not that simple. With this in mind, consider some
tips and tools as well as some pros and cons when it comes to handouts
and your next presentation:
--If you are going to use a handout, never distribute something
that is more than just a few pages. There is too much to thumb through.
The best handouts are a page or two with bulleted, boldly typed
information with key points, themes, statistics or questions. It
is really a basic outline for your audience to follow.
--Your job is to fill in the white space in between the bulleted
points on the handout. The more you read verbatim what you’ve
handed out, the more you invite your audience to ignore you and
become obsessed with what is on the printed page.
--Only provide a handout if it really enhances or supports your
presentation. Don’t do it just to do it, because even the
best handout will be somewhat of a distraction. Remember, while
your audience is reading the handout, you’ve lost eye contact
with them. So pick your spots.
--Make sure your handouts are practical and can be utilized by
your audience AFTER your presentation. One of the handouts I use
in a typical communications seminar is titled “Top 10 Keys
to Making a Great Presentation.” It’s a simple list
of ten practical tools. There is no detailed explanation, but it
is helpful to audience members who want to remember the points raised
in the actual presentation and share it with other colleagues in
the workplace.
--Another option is to distribute the handout AFTER the presentation.
Tell folks you will be providing that material to them to reinforce
the messages communicated in your presentation. This is helpful
because many professionals don’t take a presentation seriously
unless there is some piece of paper they can take away from it.
That’s just human nature.
--Sometimes when people are distracted by a handout, there is something
else going on that not a lot of presenters want to face. The fact
is, some presenters are really boring and hard to listen to. It
is more interesting to read their handouts than to listen to them.
Conversely, I’ve witnessed countless presentations with handouts
on the table that were ignored because the speaker was focused,
passionate and engaging.
--If distributed, use the handout in your presentation to reinforce
certain points. For example, “Please look at item four on
the handout titled, ‘Top 10 Keys to Making a Great Presentation’
regarding the power of asking rhetorical questions and consider
this example…”
--Be prepared for the audience member who reads ahead in the handout
and comes up with a particularly challenging question or argument
against your presentation. The key is to not get flustered. The
problem isn’t that they interrupt you, the problem is the
inability to handle the interruption effectively.
How do you use handouts in your presentations? Write to me.
Dr. Steve Adubato coaches and speaks on the subjects of communication
and leadership and is the author of the book "Speak from the
Heart." Write to him at The Star-Ledger, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza,
Newark, NJ 07102, visit his Web site at www.stand-deliver.com,
or e-mail him at sadubato@aol.com.
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