TIPS TO BECOME A GREAT PRESENTER

Public speaking and presentation skills come in very handy in many facets of job and life. In business, sales and selling, training, teaching, lecturing, and just feeling comfortable speaking to a group of people, effective presentations and public speaking skills are crucial.

For self-development and social circumstances, it is also very beneficial to build the confidence and skill to give effective presentations and talk confidently in front of an practice.

Anyone can give a strong presentation or perform public speaking to a professional and outstanding degree. Presentation skills and public speaking abilities are not only confined to specific unique people. This involves preparation and practise, like most specialties.

Presentation formats and objectives can vary greatly. Some examples include oral (spoken), multimedia (using a variety of media, including visuals, audio, and PowerPoint presentations), long-planned presentations, short impromptu presentations, educational or training sessions, lectures, and simply giving a talk on a topic to a group for fun. Presentations come in many shapes and sizes, including speeches at weddings and eulogies at wakes.

However, all effective presentations make extensive use of the fundamental strategies and frameworks described here.
I’ve been doing a lot of presentinlearnedly, and I’ll be the first to acknowledge that it’s challenging. Speaking in front of an audience can be incredibly nerve-wracking for people who lack natural eloquence. But things are much better now!

One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt in the past few years is the need of creating a unique speaking style if you want to be a great public speaker. Since I am aware that I am not the world’s most eloquent speaker, I make up for it by cramming my presentations with energy, original/proprietary data, a tonne of helpful content, and a tonne of bad jokes.

How to make presentations better
Although none of us can give the next Gettysburg Address, there are sevepracticele things you can do in advance of your presentation to help you feel more at ease and prepare yourself for a stronger performance. Here are my top 20 suggestions for enhancing your presentation abilities.

Practice!

Naturally, you should practise your presentation several times. While finding the time to practise can be challenging for peoplbusy schedules, it is crucial if you want to give a stirring presentation. I’m well-known at work for staying up late the night before a big presentation to rehearse. Instead of takinpracticing and winging it, write out your speech if you really want to soundexcellent. If you get nervous before speaking, a script is your best friend.

Try to rehearse giving your talk in the location where you will. Some acting coaches advise practising lines while standing, sitting, on one knee, with arms spread wide, while using the r,estroom, etc. (Okay, so the final one can be optional.) The more you change up ybehaviorson and environment, the more at ease you’ll feel speaking. To determine which sections need improvement, rehearse your presentation for a friend or coworker or try recording it and listening to it later. You can learn about problematic behaviours you may not be aware of by listening to recordings of your previous speeches. It can also prompt the age-old query, “Is that what I truly sound like?”

Transform Nervous Energy Into Enthusiasm.
It may sound strange, but I’ll often down an energy drink and blast hip-hop music in my earphones before presenting.

Create Enthusiasm Out of Nervous Energy

W frequently consume an energy drink and blast hip-hop music through my headphones before giving a presentation. Why? It energizes me and aids in transforming my trepidation into focused elation. Since I’m not exactly the Winston Churchill of speakers, I make sure that I’m as excited and energetic as possible before taking the stage. Studies have shown that an enthusiastic speech can outperform an eloquent one. Of course, everyone’s body reacts differently to caffeine, so think about your own needs before downing those massive energy drinks.

Why? It energizes me and aids in transforming my trepidation into focused elation. Since I’m not exactly the Winston Churchill of speakers, I make sure that I’m as excited and energetic as possible before taking the stage. Studies have shown that an enthusiastic speech can outperform an eloquent one. Of course, everyone’s body reacts differently to caffeine, so think abouallows youowning those massive energy drinks.

View Other presentations

If you’re presenting at a conference, attempt to catch some of the earlier lectures by other speakers to observe their delivery style and gain context. This gives you the opportunity to gauge the audience while also demonstrating respect for your fellow presenterow is the crowd feeling right Before people laughing or are they acting a little stiffer? Do the presentations have a stronger tactical or strategic focus? You might also hear something from another speaker that you might use later in your own presentation.

Get there early

Prior to your lecture, it’s best to give yourself plenty of time to settle in. Extra time offers you plenty of time to adjust to your presentation space and guarantees that you won’t be late (even if Google Maps goes down).

Adapt to Your Environment.

You’ll feel more at ease the more accustomed you are to your surroundings. Spend some time in the space where you’ll be making your presentation. If at all feasible, familiarise yourself with the microphone and lighting, as well as the seating arrangement and any other distractions the venue may present (e.g., a noisy road outside).

Greet each other.

Try your best to strike up a conversation with someone before you speak. Speaking to audiences enhances your likeability and approachability. Ask attendees of the event questions and listen to their answers. You can even get some inspiration from them to use in your speech.

Adopt a positive mental attitude.

You should be aware that a substantial body of evidence supports the effectiveness of positive imagery, regardless of whether you’re a Zen master. When we visualize a favorable outcome to a situation, it increases the likelihood that it will actually occur as we envision it.

Instead of thinking, “I’m going to be horrible out there,” and visualizing yourself puking mid-presentation, picture yourself gaining tonnes of laughs while presenting with the passion of Jimmy Fallon and the serenity of Audrey Hepburn (the charm of George Clooney wouldn’t hurt either). Try positive thinking; it can be quite effective.

Keep in Mind That Most Audiences Are Compassionate

When speaking in front of an audience, one of the hardest concerns to overcome is the suspicion that your listeners are secretly hoping to laugh at your gaffes or mistakes. Fortunately, most presentations don’t operate in this manner.

The viewers are rooting for you to succeed. In fact, a lot of individuals are afraid of public speaking, so even if the audience doesn’t look interested, chances are excellent that most of the people there can relate to how unsettling it can be. Remind yourself that the audience understands and truly wants to see you succeed if you start to feel uneasy.

Breathe deeply.

There is validity to the standard recommendations for jitters. Our muscles tighten when we are anxious; you could even notice that you are holding your breath. Take those long breathe instead to relax your body and give your brain more oxygen.

Smile

Smiling releases endorphins, which reduce stress and improve your confidence in your presentation. A smile also conveys assurance and passion to the audience. And even if you’re conducting a webinar and nobody can see you, this advice still applies.

Exercise

Exercise the morning of your presentation to increase endorphins, which will reduce nervousness. Better sign up in advance for that Zumba class!

Practice Your Pauses

When you’re anxious, it’s simple to talk too quickly and hurry up your presentation, which leads to breathlessness, increased anxiety, and panic! Ahh!

Don’t be scared to speak more slowly and with pauses. You can utilize pauses to draw attention to particular areas and make your speech sound more casual. Simply take a moment to relax and maintain your composure if you sense your pacing becoming out of hand.

Avoid attempting to cover too much ground

Yes, the content in your presentations should be relevant, insightful, and applicable; nevertheless, you shouldn’t strive to fit a lengthy and complicated topic into a 10-minute presentation.

A successful presentation depends on knowing what to include and what to omit. I’m not advising you to skimp on data or useful slides (some of my webinars have included 80+ slides), but I am urging you to go through a thorough editing process. Leave it out if it seems too off-topic or is just tangentially related to your primary ideas. The extra information can always be used in another presentation.

Actively Engage the Audience.

People love to talk and make their opinions heard, but the nature of presentations can often seem like a one-sided proposition. It doesn’t have to be, though.

Engagement can be increased and participants can feel like they are a part of the conversation by asking the audience what they think, requesting questions, and using other methods of encouraging audience participation. Additionally, it increases your perceived relatability as the presenter. Start by conducting a poll or survey. Unexpected questions should not be avoided; rather, they should be viewed as a chance to give your audience what they desire.

Try to entertain.

Even if your presentation is jam-packed with insightful content, your session will fail if you deliver it poorly.

Especially when presenting them with a lot of material, I believe that inserting some jokes and humorous slides is a terrific approach to make the audience (and myself) feel more at ease. Though you’re not performing a stand-up act, and attendees didn’t attend your presentation with the express purpose of being entertained, it’s crucial to maintain a balance. Having said that, don’t be hesitant to add some humor to your speech. Run through a presentation for a few friends and ask them to give you their honest opinions if you’re unsure if it’s “too much.”

Recognize Your Lack of Knowledge.

Because they believe it would diminish their credibility, relatively few presenters are willing to openly admit that they don’t genuinely know everything. But since everyone is aware that no one can ever be completely knowledgeable about a subject, acknowledging this in a presentation might actually increase your credibility.

It’s alright to confess it if someone asks a question that you’re unsure of. This can also boost your credibility with the audience because it shows that everyone is constantly learning, regardless of how knowledgeable they may be. Everyone merely wants to learn from you; no one is expecting you to be an all-knowing oracle of secret information.

Apply the Power Stance

Another technique to reduce presentation nerves is to practice having confident body language. Your thoughts will mirror the confidence that your body is displaying. While you don’t want to spend the entire afternoon in an alpha gorilla pose (someone watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a little too much), studies have shown that adopting a power pose just before giving a talk or going on a big interview can help you feel more assured and confident. Whatever you do, avoid sitting since it is inactive. You can control those stomach bats (isn’t it a more appropriate term than butterflies?) by standing up or moving about a little.

Use gestures, but not excessively

An effective public speaker will move naturally while speaking. Good public speaking tactics can include using hand gestures and taking a few small strides across the stage. Just make sure they’re appropriate, natural, and restrained. Moving about can help you appear more at ease and connect with your audience.

Permit a Q&A

Q&A sessions are one of the most underutilized public speaking strategies. A lot of speakers simply finish what they were going to say before sitting down. How wasteful!

The benefit of a Q&A session is that you may hear the issues that your listeners are facing firsthand and openly address them to support your position.

Advice from the audience for improving public speaking
To engage the audience, allow questions and answers.
Making your own list of queries and potential objections that audience members can raise will help you get ready for a Q&A session (with answers). Make sure you are familiar with the list by thoroughly studying it.

Don’t get upset if someone does bring up an issue you hadn’t considered. They don’t anticipate you to be an expert. It’s acceptable to ask for their contact information and promise to contact them when you get the answer.

Include Silence to Maintain Focus

A crucial component of excellent public speaking advice is sometimes overlooked: quiet. That’s accurate. You’re not required to speak every second of the day. It’s essential to include pauses. One of those abilities for public speaking that is underappreciated is this one.

It allows you to rest your voice. A brief pause (three to four seconds) allows you to take a breather and maintain concentration.
It’s advantageous to both you and your audience. They will probably become distracted if you go quickly and without a break between each location. Including some breathing space encourages natural speech flow.
Additionally, silence aids in the transition of ideas. It emphasizes points and provides distinct pauses between them. Maintaining a focused, interested audience can be accomplished by adding suspense.

Avoid battling the fear.

Instead of attempting to overcome your fear, accept it. Worrying about whether or not others will notice that you’re anxious will simply make you feel more anxious. Remember that the jitters aren’t all terrible; if you can channel that anxiety into positive enthusiasm, you’ll be in great shape. Captain, you have our respect! Dear Captain!

You successfully conveyed your message to receptive listeners. You conveyed your message clearly and cogently while presenting it with assurance and style. But you could still be concerned about whether they’ll actually recall what you say.

This is an important point to keep in mind as you finish your speech. The final talent on our list of public speaking abilities is the recap. Your speech should come to a close with a brief summary of your main ideas.

This might just take a little while. Keep in mind that you are not repeating yourself verbatim. You’re restating your essential points in a concise manner. This enables you to finish strong. The information that you believe is most crucial will be repeated for your audience. In this way, long after you have finished speaking, they will remember those concepts.