RANT: Stop vilifying presentation!

In General L&D by JD Dillon

Kill the sage on the stage! All hail the guide on the side! Don’t just talk at them! Engage them in conversation! Facilitate – don’t present!

I’ve been hearing stuff like this for the past several years when discussing L&D delivery strategy. Most of my peers have been unabashed in their distaste for presentation, anointing facilitation as the best delivery style for reaching truly engaging an audience and promoting behavior change during an instructor-led activity. Sorry, but I disagree …


Is there really a difference?

Sometimes it seems like hair splitting. Shouldn’t we be trying to engage participants regardless of design or medium? Shouldn’t we give participants an opportunity to interact no matter the purpose of the delivery? Well, yes. But they really are two different concepts that require different design considerations and different delivery skills.

  • During a presentation, the presenter does most of the talking, seeking only brief comments and questions from participations.
  • During a facilitated experience, the facilitator does very little talking and instead attempts to prompt discussion from participants through guiding questions and purposeful topic transitions.

Each type of delivery should be selected and executed with purpose. After all, if you seek to facilitate a discussion but end up just presenting to the audience, you most likely won’t achieve your objective.


A case for presentation …

Yes – facilitation, interaction, discussion – all GOOD things … when done well and with purpose. That said, presentation can also be a very GOOD thing. We’re all just so used to BAD presentation that we tend to automatically vilify the concept.

If you think about it, it’s a lot easier to be BAD at presentation, as facilitation often requires more effort to prepare and deliver. People are also more likely to admit deficiencies in their conversation skills as opposed to their presentation ability and therefore avoid making the attempt. This is especially true when presentation is often disguised as common workplace tasks like leading a meeting. Everyone’s a PowerPoint expert nowadays, so they must be able to present too, right? 🙁

When it’s GOOD, presentation can be just as if not more effective than facilitation. My very unscientific proof = TED. Even a mediocre TED talk is often more powerful than the standard facilitated training session. Why? When a passionate, skilled presenter delivers a unique story with a clear message, the audience is engaged and thoughts are provoked. Try to tell me that a facilitated experience on the topic of workplace happiness could be more effective than this charming TED talk from Shawn Achor. Yes, this is a simple example, but it demonstrates the considerable power of presentation when done VERY well. Participants don’t need to talk back in order to derive value from the experience, and each is free to walk away with their own meaning. This extends to non-TED activities, including webinars, conference sessions, and training activities. The best webinars I have ever attended featured minimal audience participation and a powerful, engaging presenter who captured my attention for the full session.


OK … Presentation can be a good thing. So what?

No, we shouldn’t stop debating the merits of presentation vs. facilitation when designing L&D strategy. One is not distinctly better than the other. And, despite popular opinion, GOOD facilitation is also not inherently more challenging to execute. Rather than default one way or the other, we should select between both concepts based on considerations such as:

Session Objective

  • What’s the point of this session? If you want to draw out participant experiences and opinions to enhance content with specific context, facilitation may be your best bet. If you wish to deliver a specific, consistent message, especially one that is heavily story-driven, look to presentation as the base of session design.

Delivery Skills

  • Who will be delivering during the session, and what are their existing skills? If there is inherent value in their delivery role but they lack in either presentation and/or facilitation skills, the session should be designed to accommodate and deliver maximum value for participants. Skill deficiencies can also be crutched if a particular session type is preferred by adding a partner with complimentary delivery abilities.

Audience Context

  • Consider the entirely of the audience experience. How many people will be present? Who are they? What will they be doing immediately before and after the session? Put yourself into the context of the audience during design. I often prefer to be a passive participant and listen to a great story from a skilled presenter. There are many topics on which I prefer a presentation from an experienced practitioner as opposed to the opinions and experiences of the audience. If I’m in the middle of a long day or busy event, I may also just not feel like talking. That doesn’t mean I’m not present.

The concepts are not mutually exclusive …

You can execute both presentation and facilitation during the same session. This may actually create the best possible situation for all participants, as those who want to talk will have their chance while those who wish to strictly observe can also receive valuable information. However, this blend should be by design rather than happenstance based on the preference/skills of the person doing the delivery. Blending delivery methods also requires a session leader with advanced skills who can guide and – for lack of better term – control the audience to ensure the appropriate balance in participation.


Making presentations better …

Even if we aren’t hating on presentation as a delivery style anymore, we can still turn our ire to the REAL villain of our story: BAD presentations, including bad design AND delivery.

Your organization must develop and document standards for what constitutes a quality presentation, including specific guidelines for virtual content as compared to face-to-face sessions. No, this shouldn’t just be an L&D thing. While we tend to think about this stuff more often than some other corporate teams, we should socialize our standards and act as stewards of improved presentation, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant a delivery may be. For that matter, we should be looking for opportunities to embarrass and astound other teams with the quality of our presentations so they look for opportunities to leverage our skills and best practices to improve their own efforts. This should extend to customer-facing presentation quality, which should not vary radically from content delivered to employees.

In addition to standards, we must continue to develop our skills in both presentation and facilitation. IMO, everyone involved in this profession should be capable of both delivery styles to meet at least basic expectations. Require your team members to consistently attend virtual and face-to-face presentations as groups followed by debrief and dissection discussions. Pick apart both the presentation design and delivery based on your quality standards and discuss how you would improve the experience. Augment this with continued practice and feedback sessions in which experienced presenters help team members meet quality expectations and identify their unique styles and voices.

When designing presentations, look for opportunities to enhance audience participation in ways that don’t detract from the core purpose and message of the session. No, don’t fill your webinars with meaningless polls for the sake of engagement. Rather, leverage presentation when it best serves your objective and audience context. Then, include appropriate opportunities for continued interaction, such as Twitter hashtags, blog posts, or follow-up discussion groups.

Oh – and let’s not forget our org partners who will be inspired to action by our presentation skills. We are L&D after all. As we improve our abilities, we will be in a better position to help other teams up-skill as well through shared practice, coaching, and perhaps more formal training opportunities.

Finally, remember that you don’t have to make this up on your own, especially if you aren’t confident in your own presentation skills.

  • Survey your organization and find the great presenters, including those who are able to hold people’s attention during typically difficult meetings or when delivering complicated messages.
  • Build a community of practice that can act as a resource for those trying to improve their skills.
  • Leverage external expertise when possible to add street cred to your efforts.
  • When you find a great presenter, regardless of industry, inquire as to how they developed their skills and consider asking them to help your team.

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Do you often hear the presentation vs. facilitation conversation? Do you feel you are stronger in one style than the other? How do you help your team members improve their presentation skills, especially if their roles do not currently include delivery expectations?