Speech delivery
Important presentation pointers
Jun 29th
Audience
1. Eye contact. You should not underestimate your ability to persuade your audience with your eye contact. Eyes communicate powerful cognitive messages.
2. Facial expressions. These communicate cognitive messages and emotions. Smile before you start speaking. Act naturally. Think about what you are saying and compliment it with facial expression to match or enhance the thought.
3. Dropped note cards. Proceed without them, but if you cannot, stop, pick them and then continue.
4. Unfriendly audience. Respond to hostile questions briefly, without becoming defensive. Use pausing and eye contact to handle hecklers. Request hecklers to either keep quiet or get out of the room.
5. Hand gestures. Hand gestures are important to emphasize words and emotions, illustrate verbal messages, or even replace verbal messages altogether.
6. . This is a very important element of your body language. Before starting the presentation, sit or stand straight, walk confidently to the podium.
7. Improvising to salvage situations. If problems occur during the presentation, ignore as much as possible. If you can solve the problem, quickly do it but if you cannot, then proceed on. If you have to break your verbal presentation, then remind the audience where you were and then proceed.
8. Post-presentation evaluation. Evaluate yourself within 24 hours after presentation. Note areas to improve on in your next presentation. Review any evaluations that you receive. Dwell on positive compliments more than the negative ones.
Tips on public speaking
Apr 26th
1 Get Yourself Properly Introduced. Before you speak, you will need to attract and retain your audience’s attention. Find someone to introduce you, preferably a friend or a colleague who speaks with authority or has a big voice.
2 Know Your Audience – and Speak To Them. Know Your Audience. When you speak, make eye contact with people. Move your head round the room, from left to right. People listen if you address them in person.
3 Brevity – Leave The audience Wanting More . Your guests are human – their attention span is limited!
4 Make Yourself Heard And Don’t Race. Before you open your mouth, look up and cast your eye around the room. Pick out one or two people in the very back row – and then start talking to them. Always speak clearly and slowly.
5 Cards and Notes You Can Read. Audiences are always most forgiving when they see reference being made to notes. The only person who thinks it looks bad is you. Read the rest of this entry »