Presenting yourself effectively in front of people is a great
quality. In today's competitive world, everyone is trying to make his/her
best to accomplish every opportunity they get.
To make best of every
opportunity you have, it's utmost important that you should present
yourself effectively in front of your audience. They may be your family
members, friends, colleagues, relatives, teachers, business partners,
client, general public or anyone with whom you interact.
If you are unable to express yourself effectively, the people around you will lose interest to talk with you.
Thus, we must
learn effective public speaking and presentation skills to achieve our
aims and make our life better and I must say enjoyable.
So without wasting a single minute, let's learn some
effective public speaking and presentation skills.
Public speaking is a process of speaking to a group of people in a
structured manner. The purpose of public speaking is to inform, or to influence the
listeners. It is closely related to 'presentation'.
One major difference
between public speaking and presentation is that public speaking may be
non-commercial and addressed to a large audience. Presentation may have
commercial angle to influence the audience to accept a business
proposal or some other offer, and it may addressed to a smaller
audience.
GUIDELINES TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SPEAKING / PRESENTATION SKILLS :
The following are some of the guidelines to improve public speaking or presentation skills :
1. Structure the talk :
Think of your presentation as a story. Just like
any story, it needs a good beginning, strong body content and a
memorable end.
• Start or begin with a good quotation, short incident / story which is
relevant to the topic and/or by asking some relevant questions to the
audience.
• The body of your presentation should be equally strong.
• Close your presentation with effective comments or critical evaluation
or bit of advice to the audience depending on the topic and the nature
of the audience.
2. Time Management :
Maybe you have 5 minutes. Maybe you have 50
minutes. Either way, customize your presentation to fit the time
allotted. Respect your audience by not going over time. Nowadays, most
of us get bored to listen to long talks. At the same time, the talk must
be specific and to the point.
3. Analyze the Audience :
The speaker needs to analyze the audience in terms of :
• Size and composition - i.e., number and demographic profile.
• Probable audience reaction - I.e., reasons for their attending, their
general attitude towards the topic in particular and talks/speeches in
general, their possible objections, questions and other reactions.
• Level of Audience Understanding - I.e. their subjective knowledge, grasping power, familiarity with the vocabulary, and so on.
• Audience relationship with the Speaker - I.e. their usual reaction to
speakers, whether they are friendly, open-minded or hostile, their
expectations from the speaker, and so on.
4. Research :
" Good speakers stick to what they know. Great speakers
research on what they need to convey their message."
Try your level best to
provide your listeners with new information or put a new interpretation
on existing information. Get facts and figures to support your
presentation. A good number of people like to hear the facts and figures
rather than general information. For instance, instead of saying, India
has a huge population, you may say, India has huge population of over
1.2 billion.
5. Seek Volunteers :
You may seek volunteers from the audience to
present a case or to conduct a test or to express their feelings or
comments on certain aspects of the talk. Volunteers may be invited on
the stage, especially, when their is a large audience. At times, the
volunteers may create a better impact on the audience with their views
or expressions.
6. Gestures :
Punctuate words with gestures. Gestures should complement
your words in harmony. For instance, if you are saying, a little fellow
shouted at you, show the audience, the size of little fellow with your
hand gestures. Appropriate gestures add impact to your presentation.
7. Incorporate Humour :
Almost all of us enjoy humour. You need to
incorporate humour in your talk wherever and whenever relevant.
Therefore, the context and the timing of humour are relevant. However,
you should avoid cheap humour. Some of the audience gets irritated with
cheap humour.
Even Shakespeare used humour in the middle of the tragedies. He wrote
"Humour is a powerful and effective tool that gives the audience's mind a
chance to breath in the face of heavy material".
It also makes you more
likable and fun to listen too. Humour is also much more likely to make
your information more memorable. You don't have to be a stand up
comedian to use humor in speeches and presentations, and also you don't have
to tell jokes either.
There are many ways to add humour that don't
require any skill at all. You can show funny visuals, tell funny
incidents, or juggle with words. Make sure your humour relates to the
point you are trying to make and you will be much more successful.
8. Voice :
It is the most important element of your presentation. You should speak with confident voice.
• The volume of the voice may be low, medium or high depending on the
situation such as the size of the audience, the availability of mike or
sound system, etc.
• The pitch of the voice, I.e. the intensity of voice must be
appropriate. You must vary the pitch of your voice to hold the attention
of the audience.
• You should use vocal variety depending on the importance of certain
elements of your presentation. At times, you speak in a exited voice,
and at times, you may speak in a serious tone. A monotone voice makes
your presentation lackluster.
9. Enthusiasm :
You need to be enthusiastic of your presentation. You
should be happy to make your presentation, rather than behave as if you
are forced to do so. If you do not show enthusiasm; the audience will
not listen with enthusiasm and they may lose interest in your talk.
Therefore the speaker needs to be more enthusiastic to generate
enthusiasm and interest among the listeners.
10. Facial Expression :
Human faces are capable of wide range of
expressions and emotions. A smile on the face indicates cheerfulness, a
sarcastic smile may indicate disinterest or disagreement, a frown may
denote upset or worry, etc. As far as possible, the speaker needs to be
cheerful to make the presentation more effective.
11. Act and Speak Ethically :
You need to act and speak ethically during
your presentations. Avoid criticizing your competitors. Do not make fun
of other speakers, if any. Also, do not make fun of any member of the
audience. Avoid giving unethical advice to the audience.
12. Complement Words with Visuals :
Complement words with visual aids.
Visual aids should aid the message; but they should not be the message. Do
not over use the visuals, otherwise audience may lose concentration on
your presentation.
13. Eye Contact :
The eye contact is vital in public speaking or
presentations. Looking at someone directly in the eye suggests openness,
and confidence. When you are speaking to a group, you should avoid
gazing on one or two persons, but you should look at everyone in the
room to let everyone feel involved.
14. Seek Feedback :
Always try to seek feedback from as many people as
you can. You must ask questions to the audience to the audience to
respond. Encourage the audience to ask questions and respond
effectively. Make your presentation a dialogue rather than a monologue.
Remember : No speaker is perfect. Aim for continuous improvement, and understand
that the best way to improve is to solicit (ask earnestly) candid
(frank, honest) feedback from the audience.
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