When it comes to public speaking, you will be surprised how many people feel uncomfortable and overwhelmed with fear. However, delivering great presentations can be crucial for your career advancement. Good news is that you need to learn a few simple techniques and develop certain strategies to make do.
Why it is beneficial for you to develop good presentation skills:
- to advance in your career
- to know how to persuade clients and stakeholders to buy your products
- to inspire and motivate co-workers so they recognize you as a powerful leader
- to create additional income opportunities
We will introduce you some techniques on how to deliver more effectively an attention-grabbing presentation so you could show credibility, inspire and motivate your audience.
Set an agenda
Start by introducing your agenda. Tell the audience who you are, give them your credentials. Then let them know what they are going to get from your presentation. The first five minutes you should deliver a killer opening so to convince people why should they listen to you. You have to give them something to captivate their attention. According to a study, humans' minds begin to wonder after 10 minutes of listening. For the time being, you have to be able to arrest their attention.
Arrange your presentation:
Opening
Aim for establishing an emotional connection and credibility with the people in the room. This should be the key to make a strong opening. Get them interested from the very beginning and you will see that the rest of your presentation will go far more smoothly. Begin in a way likely to succeed by telling an engaging story, posing a question or announcing some shocking news, facts or statistics. Don't waste 5 minutes or even more only to introduce yourself and thank the people for being there. When starting with an interesting story make sure the characters in it are related to the people sitting in front of you. Use today's date if it has some relevance to your theme or it is of national or international importance you have to acknowledge it. If there is something special in general about this date, don’t miss the opportunity to address something that everybody shares. This is efficient way to create a bond with your audience.
Body
You probably want to share with the audience every detail you know about the issue in particular. Well, don't. Keep it as short as possible so you could get them interested. Highlight three key points and stick to them. You will be able to give detailed information when the Q&A part begins. Until then remember to go back to the main points. When tackling an issue present it from more than one perspective. You will gain much credibility if you explain the problem from both sides. After you do that you can develop your argument. Also, feel free to ask the audience questions. Thus you will make them not only listen but think.
Closing
Remain positive and consistent until the end. Add new knowledge to your audience and leave them feeling educated, with clear vision and ready to come up with fresh ideas or solutions. Deliver a great conclusion reviewing the key points and end the theme. Let the audience know when you are done with the presentation, don't leave them wondering or expecting anything else. Most presenters start on the right foot but in the end provide the listeners with a poor closing. Reasons for this vary from running out of ideas and energy to insufficient time to complete the final part and this reflects on the overall presentation. Be on the ball all the time. Note that, it is highly likely that your audience will remember best your last words when finishing the presentation so make them count.
Additional tips:
1/ Do your research beforehand - use the internet, borrow some books from the library
2/ Learn to sound like an expert in the field when speaking loud – to do that you have to listen and talk to experts, collect some advice.
3/ Get to know your audience - ask them questions about their occupations, for example, so you can get an idea of what kind of people are sitting in front of you.Manage your time - try to keep track of the time while speaking.
4/ Use technology to better illustrate your viewpoint and make your theme more interesting.
5/ Practice makes perfect - the best way to become more talkative and deliver stellar presentation is to practice - in the shower, in the mirror, with a friend or group of friends or even random people.
6/ Overcome your fear, stay confident and comfortable - prepare yourself before you come out. Practice breathing, drink a glass of water, do anything that makes you calm.
7/ Use positive, semi-formal and polite tone of voice.
8/ Tailor your message with accordance to the people in the room.
9/ Use small talks and try to add more importance to them.
