How many times have you heard someone give a great presentation
in front of a group, and thought that you'd love to be able to speak
like the presenter? Or that the speaker had "natural abilities?" Have
you also attended presentations when you felt that the speaker was
awful, boring, uninspiring or boring? How does one's presenting ability impact how others perceive him? What are the factors that make a
public speech good?
(1) The first "must" of a good speech is preparation. The speaker must obviously know his topic well, but must also know the group that he is presenting it do. The best presentations involve a combination of humor, entertainment, participation, visual aids (without being overly dependent), and worthwhile content. Many individuals, such as real estate and financial professionals, give public speeches and/ or presentations, as part of their self - marketing, but unless they address how they do so, may be harming themselves as much as, or more than they help their cases!
(2) A speaker must involve the group from the onset. One of the major errors many speaker make is that they tell the audience "to sit back, relax and enjoy the presentation." When audiences sit back and enjoy, they generally are not participating. A presenter must involve and challenge his audience.
(3) Effective presenters do not read their speeches. While it is alright to have notes, PowerPoint slides (or similar approaches, such as website - links, etc), and even some key ideas, there is no surer way to "lose" one's audience than to merely read to the attendees.
(4) Practice is essential. While a presentation should not appear stoic, stilted, or memorized, when speeches are disorganized, or someone loses his place, the cause is generally lost.
(5) Have an agenda or program and stick to it. Let the audience know at the beginning the topics you plan to discuss, and encourage them to take notes, and to get involved. Any good program reserves sufficient time to answer questions, or clear up confusion.
(6) Do not over-estimate or under-estimate your audience. A good way to avoid that is to say something like, "As many of you know." Always make your points clearly.
(7) Do not believe that stating something once is sufficient. Many statistics have indicated that there something known as the "3 to 7 Rule," which means that in any one presentation you must state something at least three times (preferably in different ways to keep it interesting), and if the presentation is part of a series and the subsequent parts are given within a short period, then you must make the same points again (at least for a total of 7 times). Statistics also indicate that if the next installment of the series is more than 10 days after the first, that the total number of repetitions must be increased.
(8) Involve the audience. Do role playing, proactive exercises, and a speaker must be willing and able to "get right up into an audience member's face."
(9) There must be a beginning, middle and an end. It is best to take brief breaks after sixty to ninety minutes, because most people learn and remember, and pay attention better in shorter intervals.
(10) Never let a particular audience member dominate the program. Often, certain audience members speak to be heard, rather than for learning purposes. A presenter must be able to maintain control at all times.
These ten steps are merely the basics of becoming a proficient presenter and public speaker. It takes confidence, practice and preparation. Speakers should always have as their ultimate goal that every attendee leaves his meeting feeling he spent his time in a valuable and worthwhile manner.
(1) The first "must" of a good speech is preparation. The speaker must obviously know his topic well, but must also know the group that he is presenting it do. The best presentations involve a combination of humor, entertainment, participation, visual aids (without being overly dependent), and worthwhile content. Many individuals, such as real estate and financial professionals, give public speeches and/ or presentations, as part of their self - marketing, but unless they address how they do so, may be harming themselves as much as, or more than they help their cases!
(2) A speaker must involve the group from the onset. One of the major errors many speaker make is that they tell the audience "to sit back, relax and enjoy the presentation." When audiences sit back and enjoy, they generally are not participating. A presenter must involve and challenge his audience.
(3) Effective presenters do not read their speeches. While it is alright to have notes, PowerPoint slides (or similar approaches, such as website - links, etc), and even some key ideas, there is no surer way to "lose" one's audience than to merely read to the attendees.
(4) Practice is essential. While a presentation should not appear stoic, stilted, or memorized, when speeches are disorganized, or someone loses his place, the cause is generally lost.
(5) Have an agenda or program and stick to it. Let the audience know at the beginning the topics you plan to discuss, and encourage them to take notes, and to get involved. Any good program reserves sufficient time to answer questions, or clear up confusion.
(6) Do not over-estimate or under-estimate your audience. A good way to avoid that is to say something like, "As many of you know." Always make your points clearly.
(7) Do not believe that stating something once is sufficient. Many statistics have indicated that there something known as the "3 to 7 Rule," which means that in any one presentation you must state something at least three times (preferably in different ways to keep it interesting), and if the presentation is part of a series and the subsequent parts are given within a short period, then you must make the same points again (at least for a total of 7 times). Statistics also indicate that if the next installment of the series is more than 10 days after the first, that the total number of repetitions must be increased.
(8) Involve the audience. Do role playing, proactive exercises, and a speaker must be willing and able to "get right up into an audience member's face."
(9) There must be a beginning, middle and an end. It is best to take brief breaks after sixty to ninety minutes, because most people learn and remember, and pay attention better in shorter intervals.
(10) Never let a particular audience member dominate the program. Often, certain audience members speak to be heard, rather than for learning purposes. A presenter must be able to maintain control at all times.
These ten steps are merely the basics of becoming a proficient presenter and public speaker. It takes confidence, practice and preparation. Speakers should always have as their ultimate goal that every attendee leaves his meeting feeling he spent his time in a valuable and worthwhile manner.
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