Principles of effective Presentation

Perception: Stop trying to be a great “public” speaker.

People want to listen to someone who is interesting, relaxed, and comfortable. In the routine conversations we have every day, we have no problem being ourselves. Yet too often, when we stand up to give a speech, something changes. We focus on the “public” at the expense of the “speaking.” To become effective at public speaking, you must do just the opposite: focus on the speaking and let go of the “public.”

Think of it as a conversation between you and the audience. If you can carry on a relaxed conversation with one or two people, you can give a great speech. Whether your audience consists of two people or two thousand and whether you’re talking about the latest medical breakthrough or what you did today at work, be yourself; talk directly to people and make a connection with them.

Discipline: Practice makes perfectly good.

Your goal is not to be a perfect public speaker. There is no such thing. Your goal is to be an effective public speaker. Like anything else in life, it takes practice to improve those public speaking skills. We too often take communication for granted because we speak to people everyday. But when your prosperity is directly linked to how well you perform in front a group, you need to give the task the same attention as if you were a professional athlete. Remember, even world champion athletes practice every day.

Description: Make it personal.

Whatever the topic, audiences respond best when the presenter can personalize their message. It’s a terrific way to get intimate with large audiences. Take the opportunity to put a face on the facts of your presentation. People like to hear about other people’s experiences—the triumphs, tragedies, and everyday humorous anecdotes that make up their lives. Telling stories will give you credibility, and help your listeners engage more often. Whenever possible, insert a personal-interest element in your public speaking. This technique will make your listeners warm up to you, but it will also do wonders at putting you at ease by helping you overcome any lingering nervousness.

• The presentation ideas should be well adapted to your audience. Relate your presentation message/idea to the interests of the audience. A detailed audience analysis must be made before the presentation, i.e., an analysis of the needs, age, educational background, language, and culture of the target audience. Their body language instantly gives the speaker the required feedback.
• A good presentation should be concise and should be focused on the topic. It should not move off-track.
• A good presentation should have the potential to convey the required information.
• The fear should be transformed into positive energy during the presentation. Be calm and relaxed while giving a presentation. Before beginning, wait and develop an eye contact with the audience. Focus on conveying your message well and use a positive body language.
• To communicate the desired information, the speaker should use more of visual aids such as transparencies, diagrams, pictures, charts, etc. Each transparency/slide should contain limited and essential information only. No slide should be kept on for a longer time. Try facing the audience, rather than the screen. The speaker should not block the view. Turn on the room lights else the audience might fall asleep and loose interest. Organize all the visuals for making a logical and sound presentation.
• A good presentation must be planned. The speaker must plan how to begin the presentation, what to speak in the middle of presentation and how to end the presentation without losing audience interests at any point of time.
• Rehearse and practice the presentation. This will help the speaker to be more confident and self-assured. The more the speaker rehearses the better the presentation turns to be.
• The speaker should encourage more questions from the audience. He should be honest enough to answer those questions. If any biased question is put forth by the audience, rearticulate it before answering.
• Summarize the presentation at the end. Give final comments. Leave a positive impact upon the audience.
• The speaker must have a presentable appearance while giving a presentation. The speaker should stand with feet far apart maintaining a good balance. He must use confident gestures. He must use short and simple words.
• Try to gain and maintain audience interest by using positive quotes, humour, or remarkable fact.
• The speaker must be affirmative and optimistic before giving presentation. He should ensure all tools and equipments to be used in presentation are working well.
• The speaker must state the objectives of the presentation at beginning of the presentation.