by Alan Collins

Public speaking and giving talks in your HR area of expertise is one of the fastest ways for you to promote yourself and advance your HR career.

I was reminded of this when I was recently asked to give a 30-minute talk to a group of 20 senior HR executives in Chicago.

Since I was only given a few days notice, I didn't have a lot of time to prepare. So I followed my "simple formula" for giving great 30 minute presentations...

• Speak for 22 minutes straight from the heart.
• No slides.
• No handouts.
• No flip charts.
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse beforehand.
• And if you must open with a joke, let it be on you.

I've done a lot of talks over the years. What I've discovered is that the best presentations are simple, authentic, genuine and leave the audience wanting more of you, not less.

And, one of the best things I ever did for my HR career is becoming a good public speaker. Notice I said good, NOT great! Let me be clear: no one will ever mistake me for being the next Tony Robbins, Obama, Reagan, JFK or MLK. However, I'm convinced that any HR professional can give terrific presentations if they're willing to speak, prepare in advance and have a passion for their topic.

The best HR leaders seek out opportunities to speak and enthusiastically share their message all the time. The superstars in our profession give presentations at off-site meetings, team presentations, big annual meetings, or to HR associations. Or they lead college recruiting presentations, orientation sessions, tele-classes or webinars. They use these presentations to promote their topic, their organization...and yes, promote themselves and their HR career.

Guidelines for Giving Absolutely Horrible Presentations

The biggest presentation mistake I see HR professionals make is waiting until the last minute to prepare. They then rush to throw together a PowerPoint presentation relying on it as their "crutch" to bail them out. You can tell who these HR presenters are because they follow the guidelines below...(note: #16 & #29 are my personal favorites):

1. They just dive right to the first slide -- and forget about any sort of WOW beginning
2. Show lots of slides -- about 1 slide per minute (or 60 slides for a one-hour presentation)
3. Focus on sharing facts and data -- no interesting stories, anecdotes and examples
4. Use 12 lines of bullets per slide
5. Don't use images or pictures on the slides, just lots of text
6. Read each slide word for word
7. Read the slide twice to make the point
8. Make an excuse about small text, "I know you can't read this, but..."
9. Use lots of animations, especially twirls, fly-ins and spinning words
10. Make the text so small people in the back can't see it
11. Turn their whole back to the audience when looking at a slide
12. Use that annoying laser pen
13. Make crazy little circles with their laser pen
14. Make zig-zags with their laser pen
15. Have no gestures, just stand there with arms dangling down
16. Or, wave their arms around like Michael Jackson singing Billie Jean
17. Or don't move at all, or
18. Pace like a lion in a cage
19. Walk or stand in front of the screen (letting the words display on their face)
20. Tell a few jokes, even though they know they can't tell a joke
21. Walk with their hands in their pant pockets
22. Fold their arms
23. Don't sound passionate or interested in their own material
24. Don't engage the audience
25. Memorize their slides and sound like a robot
26. Put two or three charts on one slide
27. Use those cheesy annoying sounds or fly-ins or spins as each slide is presented
28. Use as many builds as humanly possible on each slide
29. Point to a slide with their middle finger
30. Point at the audience with any finger
31. Use lots and lots of flash animation
32. Insert poorly shot videos
33. Insert videos with muddled sound
34. Use lots of word art and slanted text
35. Use child-like clip art and lots and lots of cartoons
36. Never repeat the agenda so people can follow their ideas
37. Always go over, never under their allotted time

Nobody ever walked out of one of these presentations inspired, sold, or well informed. They just left bored out of their freaking mind saying silently to themselves: "I wonder how long that presenter is going to keep that great HR job she has."

Obviously, I'm building up to a better way.

Tips for Giving Insanely Great Presentations

If you must give a presentation -- and yes, if you must use PowerPoint -- this video will show you some better guidelines to follow...compliments of the late, great Steve Jobs.

You may not be the ex-CEO of Apple, but if you're an HR leader (or an aspiring one), you must look and sound like a leader in every talk you give. There's too much riding on your performance -- your ability to influence others, your personal impact, your image and your career advancement in HR.

And if you're drop-dead serious about taking your HR game to the next level, start taking steps today to polish up your presentation skills. Besides, why should you settle for just giving average presentations...when you can give insanely great ones!

About the author: Alan Collins is Founder of SuccessInHR.com and specializes in helping HR professionals take their careers to the next level. He has authored three best-selling books: Winning Big in HR, Unwritten HR Rules and Best Kept HR Secrets -- all available on Amazon. Alan was formerly Vice President -- Human Resources at PepsiCo, where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses.