basics of public speaking & presenting

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP

THE COMMUNICATION GROUP – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

BASICS OF

PUBLIC SPEAKINGPRESENTING TO YOUR

AUDIENCE

MY STORY

I speak a lot and am always surprised when hear

thepresentation was of interest. I know Iam not

afraid ofpublic speaking, and I know Iam

passionate aboutsubjects other people are

curious about too. However, Inever for one

minute assume my presentations will be

‗powerful‘ – I always assume people are busy

and haveshort attention spans due to current

day-to-day culture.Therefore, I‘ve been thinking

quite a lot about how onegives a powerful

presentation.

What is the definition of a ‗powerful

presentation?‘

In my eyes, it‘s when a crowd gathers after the

presentation toask more questions. And you

are invitedto give the samespeech elsewhere

by someone in theaudience or the sponsorsof

the event.



Most lecturers and ―gurus‖ on the subject wouldbecontent torattle off helpful directives on the topic, eachone being aderivation of the same theme.

―It is the synergy of 1) content, 2) design and 3) delivery that makes a presentation,‖ they would say. Yes, that‘s helpful… but it‘s vague and I feel does not answer the question in a way one can truly learn from.There is no checklist for you to follow that would prepare you for every situation. What will work in some instances will not work in others. But to truly deliver a powerful presentation I know I need to understand the following:

1. Design your presentation ‘tools‘-i.e. PowerPointor Keynote-well. There is no need to have dull slides.

2. Preface well. Tell your audience what you hope they will get out of it right up front.

3. Know your objectives. If you don‘t understand what you‘re talking about then it‘s doubtful anyone else will.

4. Be truthful. Grandiosity ends up being boring and not factual.

5. Know your audience. What sorts of people will

be attending the presentation? What are their

learning styles and levels of understanding on

the topic?

6. Know how you‘re planning on arriving from

point A to point D to avoid waffling.

Rehearsing helps a lot. Try it, and do this with

people you respect and who are able to give

you objective/constructive criticism. Time

yourself and edit your slides to the desired

time slot. This doesn‘t mean you should

become ‗staged‘ in your presentation.

7. Your content should be engaging and

interesting, certainly, but it‘s just as important

that the steps you take in communicating your

message be clear and unambiguous.



8. Know your desired outcome. What do you

wish to parlay? And what is the desired take-

away? What do you want the attendees to

learn? A successful presentation always

leaves the audience wanting to know more.

9. Know your fellow presenters. What are their

areas of expertise, and in what ways could

they bolster your argument?

10. Anticipate the difficult questions. Make a list of

the most difficult, controversial questions that

could be asked of you. Make sure you can

answer them clearly and effectively.

11. Wear something you feel fabulous in. It helps.

Trust me.

12. Feel confident in being spontaneous.

13. Don‘t be pedantic. You have know idea how

many people in your audience already know

this subject and/or know it better than you.

You are merely a good communicator of

information.

14. And don‘t bang on too long. No-one is

interested in dullards.

15. And, have fun for goodnesssake. Life is short.

For all of us.Engaging the

audience, thatintangible fourth step

after―content, design, anddelivery,‖ is alot

easier to do if you understandthe above.

The readiness is all—well, at leastall you have

control over. The resthappens during the

presentationitself and unfolds differently each

time, depending on yourpersonality, your

confidence level,and your accessibility as a

publicspeaker.

Enjoy and good luck.




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