As graphic facilitators, recorders, and presenters, we are constantly working and engaging with an audience. Jill Greenbaum’s enlightening workshop about Being a Stellar Presenter gave us some more tools and valuable insight into what we can do to ensure we’re doing our best job.
First, it is essential to know yourself before you can know how to work with others. Knowing how you like to work, what your style is, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what you prefer will help you to be able to connect and communicate well with those who work differently.
Some of us prefer to work directly – socializing, leading, persuading – while some prefer to work indirectly – listening, consulting, and planning.
Second, it is essential to address everybody’s way of learning. We all absorb information differently, whether it’s visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically; beyond that, we all process it differently, whether it’s mathematically, linguistically, musically, spatially, or otherwise. Each of us is unique, and therefore our brains process information in distinctive ways. Do you tend to think with the left side – the detail side- or the right side – the ‘big picture’ side – of your brain? Do you prefer to work globally or linearly? Consider everybody’s different learning styles when you present, and engage your entire audience by incorporating a mix of different learning styles into your presentation.
Presenting well starts with yourself and implores you to craft a cocktail rich with different techniques, styles, and considerations to best communicate with others. We are very grateful to have been there to learn from Jill’s expertise!
