Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com and check out The Public Relations Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators
This comes from Dale Carnegie Training News Letter:
By Anita Zinsmeister, President
Dale Carnegie® Training of Central & Southern New Jersey
- Word Count: 486
- Time To Read: 1.9 Minutes @ 250 Words Per Minute
An excellent presentation is a result of being dynamic, engaging, and interesting. Without these things, you won’t be able to hold your audience’s attention, and your presentation will not be memorable. To make sure your presentation makes an impact, you need to prepare appropriately.
The Key To Success Will Be In Your Preparation.
A common misconception is this: great speakers get it right on the first try. This is seldom true. The presentation likely went through several drafts and was adjusted multiple times.
Click Here To Read Inc.’s Article: 15 Ways to Calm Your Nerves Before a Big Presentation.
To help you jump-start your next presentation, we have listed a few tips below.
5 Tips To Improve As A Presenter.
1. Focus On Your Body Language – People pay attention to your body language consciously and subconsciously. If you fidget, cross your arms, hunch over, or fail to keep eye contact, your audience will notice. Stay confident, smile, and hold yourself in an engaging way to make a connection with your audience.
2. Include Stories – Finding a way to tie in your personal experiences is a great way to make an audience more engaged. Show them how your ideas work in real life by giving them a practical example. This will draw them in and let them connect on a personal level.
3. Research Your Audience – Whom will you be speaking to? This has an effect on how you speak and what you include in your presentation. Are they experts in their field? Are they familiar with the topic? Are they looking in from the outside? If they are new to the topic, you might need to include definitions of common terms.
4. Prepare Yourself Mentally – Before you begin, take time to calm your mind. There are many examples of ways to get yourself in the right head-space for a presentation. Not all of them will work for you. You need to find your way to inner peace. Some become calm by listening to loud music. Others need complete silence. Figure out what works best for you.
5. Always Practice – The two main factors of a good presentation are how well you know the material and how comfortable you are speaking to an audience. You can work on both by practicing.
Practice in front of a mirror to get the content down and to focus on your body language. When you feel confident in those aspects, practice in front of friends or colleagues. You’ll be able to get some of the jitters out and get feedback.
Executive Summary: Your final presentation is only a small part of what the audience sees. They don’t see the research, changes, refinement, and effort it takes to make an excellent presentation. You’ll be able to stand out by properly preparing and practicing. Start by focusing on your body language, and make sure you practice in front of a small audience first.
Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com and check out The Public Relations Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators