Research on the Subject
Even if you feel that you know everything about the subject, it wouldn’t hurt to try researching for any additional information or news you can include in your presentation, would it? Don’t rely on the Internet alone. Use other sources like books, news, TV shows, and even films.
Make an Outline
Your first draft should list the variety of topics you wish to discuss in your presentation. Your second draft should focus on determining a cohesive and logical sequence for the topics. The third draft should concentrate on identifying and organizing subjects under each topic.
Delegate What You Can
You won’t be able to take care of everything so make sure to delegate what you can afford to assign to other people. Of course, make sure to delegate only to responsible and reliable individuals. Remember to check on their progress as well because it’s still your presentation and you alone will be held accountable for the success --- or failure --- of your presentation.
Prepare Visual Aids
Business presentations must always be accompanied with a visual aid. In most cases, it would require you to create a Power Point presentation but other forms are acceptable as long as you feel it would be received positively by your audience.
Your visual aids must be attractive but without appearing ostentatious. It must be clearly decipherable even from the end of the room. It must also be timed in accordance with the length of your speech and presentation. It’s ideal for your visual aid to contain only bulleted key points of your presentation since you’ll personally take care of the explanations accompanying each point.
Keep Your Script Short but Sweet
Say what you have to say. If there is additional information necessary but not exactly pertinent, the brochures or pamphlets you’ll be handing out to the audience will take care of that. It wouldn’t be entirely amiss either to give your script a touch of humor but don’t overdo it though! There’s a fine line separating lame jokes from utter hilarity so tread carefully when you crack jokes on stage.
Practice Your Speech
Start with practicing in front of your mirror. Memorize your speech. If you find yourself straying from the script, let it be if you’re still able to get the right message across. Getting your script verbatim is less important than getting yourself understood. Practice in front family and friends next - people who are able to give you the necessary encouragement and support. Practice afterwards with your colleagues - people who are able to provide you with constructive criticism.
Prepare Your Brochures
Every person in the crowd must have a copy of your presentation together with other important brochures, pamphlets, and documents. Place them inside an attractive and functional presentation folder to make it easy for your listeners to handle and browse through them. Have extra copies ready!
Give Yourself a Pep Talk
Don’t let pessimism and fear get you down. You’ve done a great job and you can congratulate yourself right now. Good luck!
Strangely, studies have shown that people are more fearful of public speaking than death itself. The "jitters" or "butterflies in the stomach" one feels during speaking is only felt during the first 5-15 minutes (depending on how quickly a person can relax). From personal experience, once a person starts getting the ball rolling, the presentation goes a lot smoother.
One of the quickest ways to transition quickly from a shaky start to a smooth one is to try mingling with the audience you will be speaking to prior to actually presenting. This allows you to shake hands with the people, build some rapport, and most of all relax yourself.
The important thing to keep in mind is that the audience really wants to see a good presentation and not have the speaker fall flat on his/her face.
Posted by: Business Coaching | February 14, 2008 7:16 PM | Permalink to Comment