Many people dread the idea of presentations. They hate standing up in front of people and speaking publiclly. It can feel terrifying, with all eyes on you. Suddenly you forget how to use your mouth. And, what do you usually do with your arms?? You start to sweat, and words tumble out of your mouth. If that sounds familiar, you need some killer tips to improve your performance and confidence. If you’re running a business, it’s likely that you’ll need to make a few presentations. Are you prepared? Personally, I quite enjoy doing presentations. So long as I am well prepared, it’s empowering to give a good speech. Here are some of my top tips.
Get to the point
Even the very best public speakers struggle to hold people’s attention throughout the whole presentation. As an audience, we get distracted, and we start to think about other things. That means you’ve got to start with a bang. The first few seconds are the most important. So, get straight to the point. Give them what they came for immediately. My favourite tip? Start with the conclusion. Give them the headline conclusion right at the start. Then, you can go into more detail. But grab their attention first.
Tell a story
After the crucial introduction, the tricky part is weaving a compelling central part. This is where you’ll start to lose your audience. It’s the dense part of the presentation where you discuss figures and case studies. It’s not easy to make this part compelling. One trick that most of the best orators use is storytelling. Weave an intriguing and captivating story. Base it on real life, and use it to hold your audience’s attention. Throughout the story, you can inject the necessary facts and figures.
Personality and performance
This is the hardest part of a presentation to teach. For some people, performing and public speaking come quite naturally. Now, I’m not saying you need to be the world’s best comedian. You don’t need to jump around and act out the presentation. I’m talking about the way you tell the stories and deliver the headlines. Simple variations in voice tone and facial expression is enough to keep the audience listening. Use your hands, and move around a little. Demonstrate passion and excitement for the subject. Avoid a dull, monotone delivery.
Use visual accompaniments
They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well, it’s certainly true when it comes to presentations. Why would you reel off a long list of figures when you can quickly display them on a chart or graph? Speeches and presentations are for persuading and convincing. It needs to be crystal clear and simple. So, if there are any complex figures or issues, use a visual accompaniment. Use projectors to display graphs and case studies. Use a handout or brochure to show your full product list.
Leave them with a powerful thought
All that’s left to do is wrap up the presentation in a way that connects with the audience. I find the best thing to do is leave them with a thinker! Change their perspective on something, or show them a new future. Leave them inspired and thoughtful.
That’s all there is to it! Make it concise, compelling, and always leave them with a powerful thought. Got any other great tips I should know about?
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