Did you ever have to create a skit in school with other students? Or be a part of a drama that invites a lot of planning and execution from other people?
Each person was assigned a specific role (based on their strengths), and everyone had to deliver perfectly to call the whole thing a success. There was usually someone in charge who assigned everything and handled logistics, role assignments, practices, and so on.
Team presentations are precisely that – just in this case, you work.
This article is a comprehensive guide to team presentations and how to plan, collaborate, and deliver them successfully as a group.
What are Team Presentations?
Team presentations are when you deliver a presentation as a group. When you present individually, the entire onus is on you, but team presentations require a whole team to work together.
Pros and Cons of Team Presentations
Pros
- It provides an opportunity to show different people’s expertise.
- It ensures that every aspect of the topic/subject has been covered in the most effective manner.
- Multiple presenters will help bring energy and variety to a speech, enabling better attention and engagement from the audience.
- Team presentations help develop crucial skills necessary for career growth, such as coordination, collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution.
Cons
- It involves a lot of people with different presentation styles, thoughts, skill sets, and confidence levels, which makes it challenging to get everyone on the same page and think as one entity.
- Once you have divided the task, it might feel like the responsibility is only towards that bit and not the entire presentation. This approach is utterly wrong and could lead to presentational failure. Your presentation is only as strong as the weakest member of the group.
- There is confusion and decision-making around questions like who starts or finishes the presentation, content planning, practices, etc.
10 Tips to Successfully Present as a Team
As with any presentation, a team presentation requires substantial work. More so, thorough coordination and organization need to be present among multiple individuals with different personalities, no matter how seasoned they are as presenters individually.
Follow the tips below to deliver with impact individually and as a team.
1. Allocate a Team Captain or Moderator
Before starting anything, decide on a team leader, moderator, or captain from the team members to enable smooth functioning. Usually, they are the most senior member or experienced speakers from the lot.
The team captain can have the final say wherever a decision needs to be made. Here’s a look at his other responsibilities-
- He will start and finish the presentation.
- The team captain will assign roles to each member of the team.
- Ensure a smooth flow and organization by introducing each member and their roles and responsibilities at the start.
- Take care of the transitions/handovers as members finish the presentation.
- Invite questions from the audience on behalf of the team and direct queries to the person he seems most competent to answer.
- Summarize the presentation or reiterate the key points at the end of the presentation.
2. Map Out a Plan for Everyone to Follow
Ten people with varying talents and inclinations can choose ten directions to express their ideas, which can impact the audience.
Before the start of the presentation, everyone must sit down and map out a concrete plan. A clear outline or roadmap will give the presenters a direction in designing their work.
If you have a presentation mapper on board – good enough; otherwise, take the help of a Whiteboard, Miro board, or A4 sheet to decide on things like-
- What is the purpose and end goal of the presentation?
As a group, you need to be completely clear about your presentation’s central theme and purpose. Only then can you work on creating individual segments that align with this goal.
Let’s say the presentation is about anxiety in the workplace. Since the goal is not clear, people start covering different types of anxieties that people face. How disastrous can a presentation be in such scenarios?
Define the goal concretely so that the scope of work is perfectly clear for everyone.
- What key message, takeaways, and general information are to be included? Design a framework and structure for the presentation that people can follow.
- What and how many sections will you divide the presentation into?
- Once you have covered that, decide on the length of each section and the duration each speaker will speak for (rough estimate). Also, account for the Q&A round so that you don’t exceed the presentation time limit.
- If your presentation involves substantial data, make sure every team member knows about go-to data collection places, who to interview, sources, etc., so everything runs smoothly without compromising the quality of information.
Setting a single concrete goal in the beginning will save a lot of time in the end, as you won’t have to worry about duplication or repetition of work. There won’t be any overlap of work or missing accountability concerning any issue. You can also count on delivering your presentation in the most cohesive way possible, not devoid of logic anywhere.
If you miss this crucial step, it could lead to duplication, poor flow of the presentation, and inconsistency in the impact of different sections, which could affect the overall receptivity of the message.
3. Understand the Audience
Irrespective of the type of presentation, whether you are doing it solo or in a group, understanding the audience and framing your presentation around them is key to succeeding.
To decide on your content, learn about the people – how much they know about the topic, their culture, pain points, inclinations, knowledge level, etc.
You don’t want to present anything that they are not comfortable with because, in the end, the goal of the presentation is to get your message home and have the desired effect on people.
4. Define Clear Roles for Everyone in the Team
People have different skill sets and ways of expressing themselves. Some are naturally funny, and some are good at presenting complex information with ease. When presenting as a team, the goal is to leverage each person’s strengths and assign roles based on those.
Assess the people on your team. Consider everyone’s experience and expertise, as well as their natural skills, to make the best decisions when selecting people for specific roles.
Assigning clear roles – who will cover what based on their expertise and inclination – is imperative for accountability and ensuring things don’t fall through the cracks.
Now that you have assigned everyone’s roles ideally and have a solid captain to take the lead – there are other roles to take care of.
Who will ensure consistency in design, set up the boardroom, and so on?
What can be done is –
- The team captain, with the other members’ approval, can assign smaller roles to people, such as organizing rehearsals, AV checks, etc., to facilitate functioning.
- Brief and regular update meetings can be organized to ensure everything is in process and on time.
- Organize multiple practice sessions or dry runs at least a week before the presentation. That way, team members will have plenty of time for feedback-based corrections.
5. Strategize for Q&A
Questions and answers round can be nerve-wracking.
What if multiple people jump in to answer the question or the presenters look at each other, wondering who will reply?
Questions and answers round can be nerve-wracking.
What if multiple people jump in to answer the question or the presenters look at each other, wondering who will reply?
As the moderator, ensure you thoroughly understand everyone’s strengths, skill sets, inclinations, and weaknesses so that you can direct questions accordingly.
- Once you have been asked the question, pause to formulate your thoughts into a crisp and relevant answer.
- Make sure you have understood the question well; otherwise, ask for further clarification. In no case should you bore people by beating around the bush if you are unclear about the question or the answer.
6. Rehearse with the Group
It’s important to rehearse with the group as much as possible.
Once you have completed all the parts individually, you don’t know how it will look or feel when you combine all the slides. You will need adjustments, modifications, and refinements to set everything in place and make your presentation coherent.
Practicing together will set the ground for achieving that precisely.
Things you can cover in your practice sessions-
- Practice in the order of speakers, with the captain giving the introduction and conclusion and the rest of the speakers following the sequence. Also, introduce the team (credentials) only during the introduction.
- During transitions, recap the essential points of the last section and quickly introduce the next section and the speaker.
- Figure out where team members will sit or stand during the presentation. One arrangement could be the captain standing in the front and center, presenters speaking early standing on the left of the room, and those speaking late standing on the right.
- Have access to the presenting space at least 30 minutes before the presentation.
- Make sure that everyone sticks to the time limit so that people are not bored with a lengthy presentation. If one speaker goes on for too long, it can affect the flow of the rest of the presenters.
- Leave people with a definite Call To Action (CTA) in the end.
7. Always Remember to Put Up a United Front
If you are presenting as a team, seeking personal glory will do you no good. So, thinking of polishing your part to perfection and not caring about the rest will only lead to tremendous presentational failure.
Focus on details like –
- Reach out early to set up things comfortably for everyone.
- No matter how often you have listened to other speakers – react as if it’s for the first time. Nod in agreement and encouragement to show interest and enthusiasm.
- If a fellow member can’t seem to answer a question, step in and answer on their behalf without making them lose face.
- Don’t try to peek in your notes when others speak. Doing so will make you look underconfident, unprepared, and disinterested in their speech.
- Don’t overextend your time, as it will affect other people too.
8. Take Help of Technological Tools
Plenty of technological tools can help you streamline the process, collaborate as a team, and create engaging designs.
- It will make your work easier and help you create more cohesive slide decks.
- You will also be able to gauge audience engagement and make the required changes.
9. Know the Part of One Another
Knowing each other’s parts thoroughly can have multiple benefits.
- If someone cannot attend, you can quickly find replacements within the team.
- You can call another speaker to help you explain something from your section.
- It will prevent repetition and duplicity of information.
10. Post-Presentation Reflection
Group presentations are rare, so some post-presentation reflection will be great to hone skills further.
What you should do is-
Within 24 hours of finishing the presentation, sit down together to figure out what went well and what could have been better in terms of-
- How efficient was the entire process leading up to the delivery of the presentation?
- Usage and handling of technological tools.
- If the message was delivered rightly.
- Did the presentation’s flow and narrative support the message’s receptivity?
- Was the information covered sufficiently? Did it involve complex details, too much jargon, or was it too easy for people to take in?
- Timings – individually and in the team.
- Nonverbal communication – towards the audience and each other.
- Were the transitions smooth?
- Were people able to manage their nerves well and deliver to the best of their capabilities?
- Were the questions answered in the best possible way?
- What could have been done more to improve the efficiency of the presentation?
A Few Tips
- Each member should know the inside out of the presentation as if they were presenting it alone. That way, each member can support the team well and cover up in case needed.
- Unequal participation or ownership can adversely affect the group’s dynamics. So, share the responsibility proactively and make sure everyone contributes to an impactful presentation.
- If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t be afraid to admit it. You can ask for a while to get back to you, look it up later, and reply relevantly.
- Practice with friends, family, mentors, or experts for constructive feedback. Feedback should be honest, whether from team members or others.
- Resolve disagreements amicably in the team. While it’s natural to have differing opinions, it’s important to find a middle ground in the initial phase of preparing.
Summing It Up
You will not consistently deliver solo presentations in your career. When presenting in a group, the dynamics change slightly as there are other people to coordinate with, and you aren’t the sole decision-maker.
The result is a lot of collaboration and coordination.
The above tips will help you make the preparation process smooth and deliver an impactful presentation – both individually and as a group.
