 | #58 Top 10 Speaking Tipsposted by LSF Guest, Premium MembershipWednesday, May 5th 2010 @ 11:40 PM |
Wouldn’t it be great if you could read the minds of the people seated in your audience? What do they want to see most in their speakers and presenters? This is the question I have asked audiences for over 25 years. Here are the results of my research:
1. Be Enthusiastic.
Regardless of how naturally enthusiastic you are in everyday life, putting energy into your presentations is a must. Use large conversational gestures; move around; use voice inflection; connect with eye contact; smile; use facial expression; speak
from the heart with passion; use enthusiastic words such as “I love this,” “I am so excited…,” “I am so proud…,” “This is really terrific,” etc.
2. Be Interesting.
Sprinkle your presentation with segments that spark the interest of the audience. Tell a story; use humor; conduct an audience involvement activity or a question and answer session; use a metaphor; name-drop the name of someone or something famous. Be a person in-the-know.
3. Know Your Subject.
Be an expert. Come to the session fully prepared. Become upto-date on any current happenings in your area of expertise. Think about the 20 most likely questions you will be asked… and be able to answer those questions.
4. Keep Your Organization Simple.
No need to complicate things here. Keep it simple; 3-7 main points will be plenty. Audiences love when you number the main points. A quick and snappy organization includes an attention-getter for the opening, a preview of what you are going to talk about, 3-7 main points simply presented, a summary, and an attention-getter at the end. It’s like a sandwich: bread on each end and the meat is in the middle.
5. Have a Simple Message.
In one sentence or less, what do you want the audience to remember from your talk? That’s it. Keep it simple, and repeat the message a few times in your presentation, especially in the summary. Make it memorable. Make it stick.
6. Relate to the Audience.
Find three things that you have in common with the audience and use that information in your presentation. It could be things like golf, family, travel, favorite sports team, animals, education, career, etc. Dig deep!
7. Be Confident.
This is not an easy task when you are giving an important presentation. Be well prepared; arrive in the meeting room early so you have plenty of time to check out the room and equipment; practice deep breathing; keep your presentation conversational; remember that you are the expert in the room, and the audience will benefit by hearing what you have to say.
8. Use a Passionate Voice.
Your voice is a window to your emotions. Keep it lively with lots of vocal inflection, change the volume, change the pace, and pause to create interest.
9. Use Great Eye Communication.
Beyond just looking at people, connect with them. Look at one individual eyeball to eyeball for about 3-5 seconds (about 2 sentences), and then look at another person for 3-5 seconds, and then another person for 3-5 seconds. Scatter your eye communication around the room. Both you and your listener will feel a very strong connection. It’s more than just looking; it truly is communication.
10. Use PowerPoint® Sparingly.
For the most part, audiences dislike PowerPoint® presentations. Be in the top 5% of the population who uses this visual tool effectively. Use large type; create no more than 6 lines down, use pictures and video instead of words; most of all – be a dynamic speaker and keep your attention on the audience, not the slides. Limit the use of PowerPoint® to twenty minutes at a time. Death by bullets should be a thing of the past.
Educational Article from Sue Gaulke
For more information about how you can become a confident, dynamic speaker in two days, please see our website: www.successworksusa.com
Home of the SpeakersTrainingCamp®: public workshops, on-site training,
Instructor Certification
Successworks 1-800-473-1969
Wouldn’t it be great if you could read the minds of the people seated in your audience?
What do they want to see most in their speakers and presenters? This is the question I
have asked audiences for over 25 years. Here are the results of my research:
1. Be Enthusiastic. Regardless of how naturally enthusiastic you are in everyday life,
putting energy into your presentations is a must. Use large conversational gestures; move
around; use voice inflection; connect with eye contact; smile; use facial expression; speak
from the heart with passion; use enthusiastic words such as “I love this,” “I am so
excited…,” “I am so proud…,” “This is really terrific,” etc.
2. Be Interesting. Sprinkle your presentation with segments that spark the interest of the
audience. Tell a story; use humor; conduct an audience involvement activity or a
question and answer session; use a metaphor; name-drop the name of someone or
something famous. Be a person in-the-know.
3. Know Your Subject. Be an expert. Come to the session fully prepared. Become upto-
date on any current happenings in your area of expertise. Think about the 20 most
likely questions you will be asked… and be able to answer those questions.
4. Keep Your Organization Simple. No need to complicate things here. Keep it
simple; 3-7 main points will be plenty. Audiences love when you number the main
points. A quick and snappy organization includes an attention-getter for the opening, a
preview of what you are going to talk about, 3-7 main points simply presented, a
summary, and an attention-getter at the end. It’s like a sandwich: bread on each end and
the meat is in the middle.
5. Have a Simple Message. In one sentence or less, what do you want the audience to
remember from your talk? That’s it. Keep it simple, and repeat the message a few times
in your presentation, especially in the summary. Make it memorable. Make it stick.
6. Relate to the Audience. Find three things that you have in common with the audience
and use that information in your presentation. It could be things like golf, family, travel,
favorite sports team, animals, education, career, etc. Dig deep!
7. Be Confident. This is not an easy task when you are giving an important presentation.
Be well prepared; arrive in the meeting room early so you have plenty of time to check
out the room and equipment; practice deep breathing; keep your presentation
conversational; remember that you are the expert in the room, and the audience will
benefit by hearing what you have to say.
8. Use a Passionate Voice. Your voice is a window to your emotions. Keep it lively
with lots of vocal inflection, change the volume, change the pace, and pause to create
interest.
9. Use Great Eye Communication. Beyond just looking at people, connect with them.
Look at one individual eyeball to eyeball for about 3-5 seconds (about 2 sentences), and
then look at another person for 3-5 seconds, and then another person for 3-5 seconds.
Scatter your eye communication around the room. Both you and your listener will feel a
very strong connection. It’s more than just looking; it truly is communication.
10. Use PowerPoint® Sparingly. For the most part, audiences dislike PowerPoint®
presentations. Be in the top 5% of the population who uses this visual tool effectively.
Use large type; create no more than 6 lines down, use pictures and video instead of
words; most of all – be a dynamic speaker and keep your attention on the audience, not
the slides. Limit the use of PowerPoint® to twenty minutes at a time. Death by bullets
should be a thing of the past.
For more information about how you can become a confident, dynamic speaker in
two days, please see our website: www.successworksusa.com
Home of the SpeakersTrainingCamp®: public workshops, on-site training,
Instructor Certification
Successworks 1-800-473-1969
