• Introduction – tell the audience what you are going to say. The introduction should prepare the audience for what follows.
• Background – introduce necessary terms. It should give the key elements of what you have to tell the audience.
• Main results – tell the audience what you have to say.
• Conclusions – tell the audience what you have told them.

3.    Form. What you have to tell the audience i.e. content is communicated by how you say it i.e. form. Prepare appropriate visual aids. Let the audience know from the word go whether you welcome question during or after the presentation. If someone points out a mistake, thank them. Answer all questions appropriately and honestly; if you do not know an answer say so and ask if someone else could give a response. Be sure to speak clearly and distinctly. Avoid filling pauses with “uhm”, “like” and “you know”. Humor can be very effective, but do not tell a joke that might offend someone.
4.    Relax. Some nervousness is definitely expected but this should be a force for productivity. One way to relax is to meditate (or use some other preparation) in the late morning or early afternoon. If you have not done this, try it. If you do not choose to try specific exercises to relax, think about how far you have come and that you have something to say that no one else in the room knows. Exert your knowledgeability with confidence.

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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.

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Public speaking is an important part of my work, and something that I get great joy and satisfaction from. I’m not a natural public speaker though, in-fact I still get little nervous almost every time I get up to give a talk or presentation, but I’ve learned certain tricks and methods that help me “get those butterflies to fly in formation”. So, at the prompting of the guys at Missing Link, I’m going to be sharing some of what I’ve learned about presenting in a series of blog posts on the topic.

In this post I’m going to share what I consider five fundamentally important tips for presenting more effectively. They’re all simple, not necessarily easy, but can vastly improve the quality and impact of a presentation if they’re applied. More…

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1. Write a clear statement of the problem and its importance.
2. Research. Collect material which may relate to the topic.
3. Tell a story in a logical sequence.
4. Stick to the key concepts. Avoid description of specifics and unnecessary details.
5. If you are making a series of points, organize them from the most to the least important. The less important points can be skipped if you run short of time.
6. Keep your sentences short, about 10-20 words each is ideal. This is the way people usually talk.
7. Strive for clarity. Are these the best words for making your point? Are they unambiguous? Are you using unfamiliar jargon or acronyms? Read more…

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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.
6 Structure. It’s not a bad idea to carry a notebook, so that you can jot down ideas that come to you for your speech.
7 Confidence And Breathing. Before you stand up to speak, concentrate on steadying your nerves and breathing deeply and easily – and, above all, keep smiling.
8 Research In Time. No matter what subject you’re speaking on, your audience will always respond well to what you have to say if your speech appears to them to have been well researched.
9 Nerves. Everyone suffers from nerves but the way to beat them is to remember that practise makes perfect.
10 Fluffs. Don’t worry if you fluff your delivery, lose your place or find your mouth going dry. Your audience will be patient, so have a sip of  water, take a deep breath and repeat the line.

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