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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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Home Blog Education Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Getting the perfect presentation design is just a step toward a successful presentation. For the experienced user, building presentation skills is the answer to elevating the power of your message and showing expertise on any subject. Still, one can ask: is it the same set of skills, or are they dependable on the type of presentation?

In this article, we will introduce the different types of presentations accompanied by the skillset required to master them. The purpose, as always, is to retain the audience’s interest for a long-lasting and convincing message.

Table of Contents

The Importance of Presentation Skills

Persuasive presentations, instructional presentations, informative presentations, inspirational presentations, basic presentation skills, what are the main difficulties when giving a presentation, recommendations to improve your presentation skills, closing statement.

Effective communication is the answer to reaching business and academic goals. The scenarios in which we can be required to deliver a presentation are as diverse as one can imagine. Still, some core concepts apply to all presentations.

 We define presentation skills as a compendium of soft skills that directly affect your presentation performance and contribute to creating a great presentation. These are not qualities acquired by birth but skills you ought to train and master to delve into professional environments.

You may ask: is it really that evident when a presenter is not prepared? Here are some common signs people can experience during presentations:

• Evasive body language: Not making eye contact with the audience, arms closed tightly to the body, hands in pockets all the time.
• Lack of interest in the presenter’s voice: dull tone, not putting an effort to articulate the topics.
• Doubting when asked to answer a question
• Irksome mood

The list can go on about common presenter mistakes , and most certainly, it will affect the performance of any presented data if the lack of interest by the presenter is blatantly obvious.  Another element to consider is anxiety, and according to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, 73% of the population in the USA is affected by glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking, judgment, or negative evaluation by other people.

Therefore, presentation skills training is essential for any business professional who wants to achieve effective communication . It will remove the anxiety from presentation performance and help users effectively deliver their message and connect with the audience.

Archetypes of presentations

Persuasive presentations aim to convince the audience – often in short periods – to acquire a product or service, adhere to a cause, or invest in a company. For business entrepreneurs or politicians, persuasive presentations are their tool for the trade.

Unless you aim to be perceived as an imposter, a proper persuasive presentation has the elements of facts, empathy, and logic, balanced under a well-crafted narrative. The central pillar of these presentations is to identify the single factor that gathered your audience: it could be a market need, a social cause, or a revolutionary concept for today’s society. It has to be something with enough power to gather critiques – both good and bad.

That single factor has to be backed up by facts. Research that builds your hypothesis on how to solve that problem. A deep understanding of the target audience’s needs , concerns, and social position regarding the solution your means can offer. When those elements are in place, building a pitch becomes an easy task. 

Graphics can help you introduce information in a compelling format, lowering the need for lengthy presentations. Good presentation skills for persuasive presentations go by the hand of filtering relevant data and creating the visual cues that resonate with what your audience demands.

One powerful example of a persuasive presentation is the technique known as the elevator pitch . You must introduce your idea or product convincingly to the audience in a timeframe between 30 seconds and less than 2 minutes. You have to expose:

• What do you do 
• What’s the problem to solve
• Why is your solution different from others 
• Why should the audience care about your expertise

For that very purpose, using engaging graphics with contrasting colors elevates the potential power of your message. It speaks professionalism, care for details, and out-of-the-box thinking. Knowing how to end a presentation is also critical, as your CTAs should be placed with care.

Therefore, let’s resume the requirements of persuasive presentations in terms of good presentation skills:

• Identifying problems and needs
• Elaborating “the hook” (the element that grabs the audience’s attention)
• Knowing how to “tie” your audience (introducing a piece of information related to the hook that causes an emotional impact)
• Broad knowledge of body language and hand gestures to quickly convey your message
• Being prepared to argue a defense of your point of view
• Handling rejection
• Having a proactive attitude to convert opportunities into new projects
• Using humor, surprise, or personal anecdotes as elements to sympathize with the audience
• Having confidence
• Be able to summarize facts and information in visually appealing ways

You can learn more about persuasive presentation techniques by clicking here .

In the case of instructional presentations, we ought to differentiate two distinctive types:

• Lecture Presentations : Presentations being held at universities or any other educative institution. Those presentations cover, topic by topic, and the contents of a syllabus and are created by the team of teachers in charge of the course.
• Training Presentations : These presentations take place during in-company training sessions and usually comprise a good amount of content that is resumed into easy-to-take solutions. They are aimed to coach employees over certain topics relevant to their work performance. The 70-20-10 Model is frequently used to address these training situations.

Lecture presentations appeal to the gradual introduction of complex concepts, following a structure set in the course’s syllabus. These presentations often have a similar aesthetic as a group of professors or researchers created to share their knowledge about a topic. Personal experience does tell that course presentations often rely on factual data, adequately documented, and on the theoretical side.

An example of a presentation that lies under this concept is a Syllabus Presentation, used by the teaching team to introduce the subject to new students, evaluation methods, concepts to be learned, and expectations to pass the course.

On the other hand, training presentations are slide decks designed to meet an organization’s specific needs in the formal education of their personnel. Commonly known as “continuous education,” plenty of companies invest resources in coaching their employees to achieve higher performance results. These presentations have the trademark of being concise since their idea is to introduce the concepts that shall be applied in practice sessions. 

Ideally, the training presentations are introduced with little text and easy-to-recognize visual cues. Since the idea is to summarize as much as possible, these are visually appealing for the audience. They must be dynamic enough to allow the presenter to convey the message.

Those key takeaways remind employees when they revisit their learning resources and allow them to ruminate on questions that fellow workers raise. 

To sum up this point, building presentation skills for instructional presentations requires:

• Ability to put complex concepts into simpler words
• Patience and a constant learning mindset
• Voice training to deliver lengthy speeches without being too dense
• Ability to summarize points and note the key takeaways
• Empathizing with the audience to understand their challenges in the learning process

The informative presentations take place in business situations, such as when to present project reports from different departments to the management. Another potential usage of these presentations is in SCRUM or other Agile methodologies, when a sprint is completed, to discuss the advance of the project with the Product Owner.

As they are presentations heavily dependent on data insights, it’s common to see the usage of infographics and charts to express usually dense data in simpler terms and easy to remember. 

Informative presentations don’t just fall into the business category. Ph.D. Dissertation and Thesis presentations are topics that belong to the informative presentations category as they condense countless research hours into manageable reports for the academic jury. 

Since these informational presentations can be perceived as lengthy and data-filled, it is important to learn the following professional presentation skills:

• Attention to detail
• Be able to explain complex information in simpler terms
• Creative thinking
• Powerful diction
• Working on pauses and transitions
• Pacing the presentation, so not too much information is divulged per slide

The leading inspirational platform, TEDx, comes to mind when talking about inspirational presentations. This presentation format has the peculiarity of maximizing the engagement with the audience to divulge a message, and due to that, it has specific requirements any presenter must meet.

This presentation format usually involves a speaker on a stage, either sitting or better standing, in which the presenter engages with the audience with a storytelling format about a life experience, a job done that provided a remarkable improvement for society, etc.

Empathizing with the audience is the key ingredient for these inspirational presentations. Still, creativity is what shapes the outcome of your performance as people are constantly looking for different experiences – not the same recipe rephrased with personal touches. The human factor is what matters here, way above data and research. What has your experience to offer to others? How can it motivate another human being to pursue a similar path or discover their true calling?

To achieve success in terms of communication skills presentation, these inspirational presentations have the following requirements:

• Focus on the audience (engage, consider their interests, and make them a part of your story)
• Putting ego aside
• Creative communication skills
• Storytelling skills
• Body language knowledge to apply the correct gestures to accompany your story
• Voice training
• Using powerful words

After discussing the different kinds of presentations we can come across at any stage of our lives, a group of presentation skills is standard in any type of presentation. See below what makes a good presentation and which skills you must count on to succeed as a presenter.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a crucial aspect of giving an effective presentation. Nothing says more about respect for your audience and the organization you represent than delivering the presentation on time . Arriving last minute puts pressure on the tech team behind audiovisuals, as they don’t have enough preparation to test microphones, stage lights, and projector settings, which can lead to a less powerful presentation Even when discussing presentations hosted in small rooms for a reduced audience, testing the equipment becomes essential for an effective presentation.

A solution for this is to arrive at least 30 minutes early. Ideally, one hour is a sweet spot since the AV crew has time to check the gear and requirements for your presentation. Another benefit of this, for example, in inspirational presentations, is measuring the previous presenter’s impact on the audience. This gives insights about how to resonate with the public, and their interest, and how to accommodate your presentation for maximum impact.

Body Language

Our bodies can make emotions transparent for others, even when we are unaware of such a fact. Proper training for body language skills reduces performance anxiety, giving the audience a sense of expertise about the presented topic. 

Give your presentation and the audience the respect they deserve by watching over these potential mistakes:

• Turning your back to the audience for extended periods : It’s okay to do so when introducing an important piece of information or explaining a graph, but it is considered rude to give your back to the audience constantly.
• Fidgeting : We are all nervous in the presence of strangers, even more, if we are the center of attention for that moment. Instead of playing with your hair or making weird hand gestures, take a deep breath to center yourself before the presentation and remember that everything you could do to prepare is already done. Trust your instincts and give your best.
• Intense eye contact : Have you watched a video where the presenter stared at the camera the entire time? That’s the feeling you transmit to spectators through intense eye contact. It’s a practice often used by politicians to persuade.
• Swearing : This is a no-brainer. Even when you see influencers swearing on camera or in podcasts or live presentations, it is considered an informal and lousy practice for business and academic situations. If you have a habit to break when it comes to this point, find the humor in these situations and replace your swear words with funny alternatives (if the presentation allows for it). 

Voice Tone plays a crucial role in delivering effective presentations and knowing how to give a good presentation. Your voice is a powerful tool for exposing your ideas and feelings . Your voice can articulate the message you are telling, briefing the audience if you feel excited about what you are sharing or, in contrast, if you feel the presentation is a burden you ought to complete.

Remember, passion is a primary ingredient in convincing people. Therefore, transmitting such passion with a vibrant voice may help gather potential business partners’ interest.  

But what if you feel sick prior to the presentation? If, by chance, your throat is sore minutes before setting foot on the stage, try this: when introducing yourself, mention that you are feeling a bit under the weather. This resonates with the audience to pay more attention to your efforts. In case you don’t feel comfortable about that, ask the organizers for a cup of tea, as it will settle your throat and relax your nerves.

Tech Skills

Believe it or not, people still feel challenged by technology these days. Maybe that’s the reason why presentation giants like Tony Robbins opt not to use PowerPoint presentations . The reality is that there are plenty of elements involved in a presentation that can go wrong from the tech side:

• A PDF not opening
• Saving your presentation in a too-recent PowerPoint version
• A computer not booting up
• Mac laptops and their never-ending compatibility nightmare
• Not knowing how to change between slides
• Not knowing how to use a laser pointer
• Internet not working
• Audio not working

We can come up with a pretty long list of potential tech pitfalls, and yet more than half of them fall in presenters not being knowledgeable about technology.

If computers aren’t your thing, let the organization know about this beforehand. There is always a crew member available to help presenters switch between slides or configure the presentation for streaming. This takes the pressure off your shoulders, allowing you to concentrate on the content to present. Remember, even Bill Gates can get a BSOD during a presentation .

Presentations, while valuable for conveying information and ideas, can be daunting for many individuals. Here are some common difficulties people encounter when giving presentations:

Public Speaking Anxiety

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, affects a significant portion of the population. This anxiety can lead to nervousness, trembling, and forgetfulness during a presentation.

Lack of Confidence

Many presenters struggle with self-doubt, fearing that they may not be knowledgeable or skilled enough to engage their audience effectively.

Content Organization

Organizing information in a coherent and engaging manner can be challenging. Presenters often grapple with how to structure their content to make it easily digestible for the audience. Artificial Intelligence can help us significantly reduce the content arrangement time when you work with tools like our AI Presentation Maker (made for presenters by experts in presentation design). 

Audience Engagement

Keeping the audience’s attention and interest throughout the presentation can be difficult. Distractions, disengaged attendees, or lack of interaction can pose challenges.

Technical Issues

Technology glitches, such as malfunctioning equipment, incompatible file formats, or poor internet connectivity, can disrupt presentations and increase stress.

Time Management

Striking the right balance between providing enough information and staying within time limits is a common challenge. Going over or under the allotted time can affect the effectiveness of the presentation.

Handling Questions and Challenges

Responding to unexpected questions, criticism, or challenges from the audience can be difficult, especially when presenters are unprepared or lack confidence in their subject matter.

Visual Aids and Technology

Creating and effectively using visual aids like slides or multimedia can be a struggle for some presenters. Technical competence is essential in this aspect.

Language and Articulation

Poor language skills or unclear articulation can hinder effective communication. Presenters may worry about stumbling over words or failing to convey their message clearly.

Maintaining appropriate and confident body language can be challenging. Avoiding nervous habits, maintaining eye contact, and using gestures effectively requires practice.

Overcoming Impersonal Delivery

In virtual presentations, maintaining a personal connection with the audience can be difficult. The absence of face-to-face interaction can make it challenging to engage and read the audience.

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

Presenting to diverse audiences requires sensitivity to cultural differences and varying levels of familiarity with the topic.

In this section, we gathered some tips on how to improve presentation skills that can certainly make an impact if applied to your presentation skills. We believe these skills can be cultivated to transform into habits for your work routine.

Tip #1: Build a narrative

One memorable way to guarantee presentation success is by writing a story of all the points you desire to cover. This statement is based on the logic behind storytelling and its power to connect with people .

Don’t waste time memorizing slides or reading your presentation to the audience. It feels unnatural, and any question that diverts from the topic in discussion certainly puts you in jeopardy or, worse, exposes you as a fraud in the eyes of the audience. And before you ask, it is really evident when a presenter has a memorized speech. 

Build and rehearse the presentation as if telling a story to a group of interested people. Lower the language barrier by avoiding complex terms that maybe even you aren’t fully aware of their meaning. Consider the ramifications of that story, what it could lead to, and which are the opportunities to explore. Then, visualize yourself giving the presentation in a natural way.

Applying this technique makes the presentation feel like second nature to you. It broadens the spectrum in which you can show expertise over a topic or even build the basis for new interesting points of view about the project.

Tip #2: Don’t talk for more than 3 minutes per slide

It is a common practice of presenters to bombard the audience with facts and information whilst retaining the same slide on the screen. Why can this happen? It could be because the presenter condensed the talk into very few slides and preferred to talk. The reality is that your spectators won’t retain the information you are giving unless you give visual cues to help that process. 

Opt to prepare more slides and pace your speech to match the topics shown on each slide. Don’t spend more than 3 minutes per slide unless you have to introduce a complex piece of data. Use visual cues to direct the spectators about what you talk about, and summarize the principal concepts discussed at the end of each section.

Tip #3: Practice meditation daily

Anxiety is the number one enemy of professional presenters. It slowly builds without you being aware of your doubts and can hinder your performance in multiple ways: making you feel paralyzed, fidgeting, making you forget language skills or concepts, affecting your health, etc.

Meditation is an ancient practice taken from Buddhist teachings that train your mind to be here in the present. We often see the concepts of meditation and mindfulness as synonyms, whereas you should be aware that meditation is a practice that sets the blocks to reach a state of mindfulness. For presenters, being in the here and now is essential to retain focus, but meditation techniques also teach us to control our breathing and be in touch with our body signals when stress builds up. 

The customary practice of meditation has an impact on imagination and creativity but also helps to build patience – a skill much needed for connecting with your audience in instructional presentations.

Having the proper set of presentation skills can be quite subjective. It goes beyond presentation tips and deepens into how flexible we can be in our ability to communicate ideas.

Different presentations and different audiences shape the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, having a basic understanding of how to connect, raise awareness, and empathize with people can be key ingredients for your career as a presenter. A word of advice: success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication and patience to build communication skills . Don’t condition your work to believe you will be ready “someday”; it’s best to practice and experience failure as part of the learning process.

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Presentations are a common part of our personal and professional lives. Whether you're a student, an employee, or an entrepreneur, mastering the art of presentations is a valuable skill.

A well-crafted presentation speech can inspire, inform, and engage your audience, leaving a lasting impact. 

So how can you craft an engaging presentation speech?

In this guide, we will walk you through the process of creating and delivering a compelling presentation, step by step. From writing your speech to mastering public speaking techniques, we've got you covered. 

So, let's dive in! 

• 1. What is a Presentation Speech?
• 2. How to Write a Presentation Speech?
• 3. How to Start a Presentation Speech?
• 4. How to End a Presentation Speech? 
• 5. Presentation Speech Examples 
• 6. Tips for Making Your Presentations More Engaging
• 7. Presentation Speech Topics

What is a Presentation Speech?

A presentation speech is a type of speech that serves to convey information, share ideas, persuade, or inspire a specific audience. A presentation speech is carefully planned and typically delivered in a formal setting, such as a classroom, a boardroom, or a conference.

In other words, a presentation speech can be defined as: 

A public speech that attempts to inform or convey a particular message effectively to a specific audience. 

Main Components of a Presentation Speech

The key elements that set a presentation speech apart are its intentionality and structure. Here's a breakdown of these crucial aspects: 

• Purpose 

Every presentation speech has a clear purpose, which could be:

• To persuade
• To entertain
• To inspire and motivate 

Understanding your purpose is the foundation upon which you build your speech.

A presentation speech typically follows a structured format that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction lays out the context, the body conveys the main content, and the conclusion reinforces the key points. 

Effective presentation speeches are tailored to the needs and expectations of the audience. Knowing your audience helps you choose the right tone, style, and content.

• Visual Aids

Presentation speeches often make use of visual aids like slides, props, or multimedia elements to enhance the message and keep the audience engaged.

How to Write a Presentation Speech?

Creating an effective presentation speech requires careful planning and organization. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you write a presentation speech effectively:

Determine the Audience

The first step in crafting a presentation speech is to understand your audience. Consider their background, knowledge, interests, and expectations. Are they experts in the subject, or are they new to it? This information will shape the tone and depth of your speech.

Choose a Topic

Select a topic that aligns with both your expertise and the interests of your audience. Your topic should be engaging and relevant. It could be a current issue, a problem-solving solution, or a subject of general interest. Make sure your passion for the topic shines through.

Research and Gather Information

To build a strong speech, gather credible information from a variety of sources. Use books, articles, online resources, and expert interviews. Keep track of your sources and make note of key statistics, quotes, and examples that support your message.

Make an Outline

Creating a structured outline for your presentation speech is essential for keeping your message organized and ensuring that your audience can follow your points easily. 

Here's how to construct a well-organized presentation speech outline:

Review and Revise

After you've written your speech, review it for clarity, coherence, and conciseness. Here are the steps you should take for reviewing your speech:

• Ensure that each point supports your main message and is easy to understand. 
• Check for grammar and spelling errors.
• Practice your speech in front of a mirror or with a friend. Pay attention to your delivery, pacing, and timing. Make necessary revisions based on your practice sessions.

Remember that a well-written presentation speech not only conveys your knowledge but also connects with your audience on a personal level. Your goal is to inform, persuade, or inspire, and the steps outlined here will help you achieve just that.

How to Start a Presentation Speech?

Now that you’ve written your presentation and its content, the time has come to deliver your speech. So, how to open a presentation speech effectively? 

The beginning of your presentation speech is your chance to make a strong first impression and captivate your audience's attention. 

Here are key steps to help you start your presentation speech effectively:

Begin with a Hook

Grab your audience's attention with a compelling opening. This could be a surprising fact, a thought-provoking quote, a relevant anecdote, or even a rhetorical question. The goal is to pique their interest right from the start.

Here are some example phrases that you can use to catch your audience’s interest:

• "Did you know that..."
• "Imagine a world where..."
• "I'd like to start with a story..."
• "Have you ever wondered why..."
• "Let's begin with a surprising statistic..."
• "Picture this scenario..."
• "Today, I want to share a secret with you..."
• "What if I told you that..."
• "To get your attention, I'll start with a riddle..."
• "I have a question for you:"

Learn more about crafting better hook statements with our complete guide to writing engaging hooks with hook examples .

Introduce Yourself

After the hook, briefly introduce yourself. Share your name and a few words about your background or expertise that make you a credible source on the topic. 

These example phrases below demonstrate how you can get the audience to know you:

• "Hello, I'm [Your Name], and I've been working in [relevant field] for [number of years]."
• "I'm [Your Name], and I've had the privilege of [mention significant achievement or experience]."
• "Good [morning/afternoon/evening], my name is [Name], and I'm here as a [your role] at [your organization]."
• "For those of you who don't know me, I'm [Your Name], and I specialize in [relevant expertise]."
• "It's a pleasure to be here with you today; I'm [Your Name], and my journey in [relevant field] has been truly inspiring."

Make sure to keep your introduction short and direct. If you take 20 minutes to introduce yourself, you might lose the audience’s interest in your speech. So, keep it clear and short. 

Mention the Topic or Purpose

After hinting at the topic through the hook and introducing yourself, you should clearly state the purpose or topic of your presentation. 

Let your audience know what they can expect to learn or gain from your presentation. This sets the stage for your audience, giving them a sense of direction.

• "Today, I'm going to share with you the key strategies to..."
• "The purpose of this presentation is to shed light on..."
• "In the next [time duration], I will explore the critical aspects of..."
• "I aim to help you understand the importance of..."
• "By the end of this presentation, you'll have a clear grasp of..."
• "Our goal today is to uncover the secrets of..."
• "I want you to leave here with actionable insights into..."
• "My objective is to show you how to achieve [specific goal]."
• "We're going to dive deep into the world of [presentation topic], and you'll walk away with..."

How to End a Presentation Speech? 

The conclusion of your presentation speech is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impact on your audience. A strong conclusion should effectively summarize your key points, reinforce your message, and inspire action or reflection. 

Here's how to end a presentation speech on a high note:

Summarize Key Points

Begin by recapping the main takeaways of your speech. Summarize the key points in a concise and clear manner. This reinforces the core message and helps your audience remember what you've shared.

Here are some helpful phrases you can use:

• "To recap our journey today..."
• "In conclusion, let's revisit the key takeaways..."
• "In summary, we've explored..."
• "To sum it up..."
• "As a quick reminder..."
• "So, to put it all together..."
• "In a nutshell..."
• "To reiterate our main points..."
• "Let's briefly go over what we've learned..."
• "In brief..."

End with Impact

Craft a memorable closing statement that reinforces the significance of your topic. This statement can be a thought-provoking quote, a powerful anecdote, or a call to action It should be emotionally engaging and leave a strong impression.

If your presentation aims to inspire action or change, make a clear and persuasive call to action. Encourage your audience to take specific steps based on the information you've provided. Whether it's signing a petition, making a change in their personal lives, or joining a cause, specify what you want them to do next.

For instance, you can end with these impactful words:

• "As we conclude, consider this..."
• "To leave you with something to ponder..."
• "This statistic is a sobering reminder..."
• "Let's close with an inspiring story..."
• "As we finish, remember..."
• "I want you to carry this message with you..
• "Now, I encourage you to take the next step..."
• "Let's turn knowledge into action..."
• "I challenge each of you to..."
• "It's time to make a difference, starting with..."

Thank the Audience

Express gratitude to your audience for their time and attention. A simple "thank you" goes a long way in building rapport and goodwill. 

You can also take some ideas from these “thank you” phrases:

• "I want to express my sincere gratitude to each one of you for being here today."
• "Thank you all for your time and attention throughout this presentation."
• "I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to share this information with you."
• "Your presence here means a lot, and I appreciate your engagement."
• "I'd like to take a moment to thank you for joining me in this discussion."
• "A big thank you to our attentive audience for being a part of this conversation."
• "I appreciate your willingness to be here and participate in this presentation."
• "Your presence has made this presentation more meaningful."
• "Thank you for being such a wonderful and responsive audience."
• "Your interest in this topic is greatly appreciated."

Open the Floor for Questions (if applicable) 

If you plan to have a question-and-answer session, invite your audience to ask questions. Be prepared to provide thoughtful and informative responses. The conclusion of your presentation speech should leave your audience feeling informed, inspired, and motivated. 

Presentation Speech Examples 

Taking help from good and structured presentation speeches will allow you to write and deliver the address smoothly. Here are some examples of presentation speeches you can follow to write a well-structured presentation. 

Award Presentation Speech Example

Product Presentation Speech Example

Thesis Presentation Speech Example

Presentation Speech Script Sample

Presentation Speech Template

Tips for Making Your Presentations More Engaging

Delivering a presentation speech that captivates your audience and leaves a lasting impression requires more than just good content. It also involves effective communication and engaging delivery. 

Here are some essential tips for giving better presentations:

Master Your Body Language

Sometimes, your body language speaks more than your words – make it say 'confident and engaging.'

• Maintain good posture; stand or sit tall with confidence.
• Make eye contact with your audience to establish a connection.
• Use hand gestures purposefully to emphasize key points.
• Move around the stage or speaking area to engage with different audience members.
• Smile and convey enthusiasm; it's contagious.

Focus on Voice and Tone

Presentations depend on your ability to speak. Use your speech strategically to enhance your presentation.

• Speak clearly and at a moderate pace, ensuring everyone can understand you.
• Vary your tone and pitch to avoid a monotone delivery.
• Use pauses strategically to emphasize important points or allow your audience to digest information.
• Adjust your volume to ensure everyone in the room can hear you without straining.
• Practice vocal warm-up exercises to avoid vocal strain.

Prepare for Nervousness & Anxiety

Embrace the butterflies in your stomach as the energy that fuels a stellar presentation. Here’s how you can do that:

• Prepare thoroughly; knowledge and practice reduce anxiety.
• Deep breathing and relaxation techniques can help calm nerves before and during your presentation.
• Visualize a successful presentation and focus on your message rather than your anxiety.
• Embrace the natural adrenaline rush as a source of energy and enthusiasm.
• Start with a familiar or engaging point to build confidence.

Welcome Questions and Feedback

The question and answer session can be a great opportunity to engage with your audience. Make it successful with these tips:

• Encourage questions and feedback to engage your audience and clarify any doubts.
• Be polite and patient when responding to questions or criticism.
• Use feedback as an opportunity for conversation and engagement.
• Anticipate relevant and common questions and practice their answers beforehand.

Tailor to Your Audience

The best speeches are those that are loved by the audience. Tailor your speech according to their expectations.

• Customize your speech to the interests and needs of your specific audience.
• Use language and examples that resonate with your listeners.
• Address any potential concerns or objections your audience might have.
• Research your audience's background and preferences in advance.
• Make sure your content is relevant and relatable to your audience.

Engaging Visual Aids

Visual aids should enhance, not overpower, your speech. Here is how to use them effectively:

• Use slides or visual aids sparingly, and keep them simple and clear.
• Avoid overcrowding slides with text; use visuals to complement your spoken words.
• Ensure that visuals are easy to read and understand from a distance.
• Practice with your visual aids to smoothly incorporate them into your speech.
• Be prepared to present without visual aids in case of technical issues.

Presentation Speech Topics

Now that you know how to write and deliver an engaging presentation, you may be wondering about a topic to speak on. You need a strong and interesting topic to make your presentation speech impactful. 

Here are some compelling presentation speech ideas to help you out:

• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Job Market
• Climate Change and Sustainable Practices
• The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
• The Art of Time Management
• The Future of Renewable Energy
• The Psychology of Decision-Making
• Mental Health Awareness and Reducing Stigma:
• Innovations in Space Exploration
• The Art of Negotiation
• The Role of Music in Society

Looking for compelling and thought-provoking topics for your presentation speech? Check out 100+ informative speech topics to inspire your next presentation.

To Conclude,

In the world of presentations, your ability to inform and persuade relies on the way you craft and deliver your speech. Mastering the art of a presentation speech requires careful planning, engaging delivery, and an accurate understanding of your audience.

So remember to make your outline, use engaging visual aids, and practice effective body language. With practice, patience, and passion, you can become a confident and impactful presenter. 

Need further help in making your presentation speech? No worries! 

MyPerfectWords.com is a professional paper writing service that provides high-quality service for all academic assignments. Whether you have a speech or a research paper to write, come to us. We have a team of experts to help you with all your writing needs. 

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Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

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Moxie Institute

Public Speaking Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills – Ultimate Guide

• Posted on September 23, 2019

How to Prepare for a Presentation

How To Start A Persuasive Speech With A Great Introduction

How To Create Meaningful Content In Your Presentation

Visual Aids: Utilizing Visuals to Engage Your Audience

How To Speak Like A Pro

Mastering Body Language

How To End Your Persuasive Speech With Authority

Want to give a persuasive speech that inspires others and amplifies your reputation? No matter where you’re at in your career or what industry you work in, you will always benefit from developing public speaking and presentation skills .

We created this ultimate guide as your pathway to becoming a powerful and confident speaker. It will provide you with valuable resources and public speaking tips curated by our world-class speaker coaches.

If you’re a high-performing professional with consistent speaking or presentation engagements, check out our presentation skills courses . Our coaching services and workshops will help you and your teams captivate your audience and speak with Moxie.

(This article was updated on 7/6/2021)

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PRESENTATION SKILLS

Artists practice endless rough sketches and drafts before their actual piece. Athletes practice endless physical drills before their big game. And successful public speakers and presenters prepare their talk and practice it.

These two factors are the most obvious way you can improve your presentation skills and yet, we find they are the two things our clients do the least.

Often, it’s simply because no one is taught how to properly prepare for and practice a presentation.

Throughout these chapters, we will discuss every component and detail that needs to be included in a persuasive speech or presentation.

We cover key presentation tips on how to master your public speaking abilities, improve your communication skills, and control your emotions and environment so that they don’t control you!

Ready? You got this!

PRESENTATION SKILLS ARE CRUCIAL TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Delivering a speech, giving great presentations, and speaking with authority are key business tools for virtually any professional, but especially those who are leaders in their profession.

Those opportunities to give presentations may be as significant as volunteering to be the host for your company’s annual conference, or as routine as directing client inquiries and questions to the appropriate personnel.

Regardless of your field, public speaking and presentation skills will always be critical to your success.

Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn’s Executive Chairman, and former CEO, highlighted this himself:

“The biggest skills gap in the United States is soft skills. Written communication, oral communication, team building, people leadership, collaboration.” " – Jeff Weiner

If you are in a position where you are present in front of clients, colleagues, or customers, this guide is packed with valuable public speaking tips to WOW your audience.

From executives and consultants to leading professionals or sales representatives, your role requires you to be able to convey a product, a concept, or an idea.

This is why improving your presentation skills is a core asset. By developing these skills, you will be able to excel at your professional responsibilities as well as gain influence and make a difference.

Think of the increase in sales, better client relationships, and superior leadership you could achieve by becoming a more dynamic communicator who can give a persuasive speech.

Or how about landing those crucial contracts by confidently presenting your proposals and communicating the value of your services with authority?

No matter what you do, you don’t have to be a professional speaker to find a reason to learn effective public speaking skills.

If you’re ready to dive in and set yourself up for success, we’re ready to help you command the stage. We offer world-class one-on-one speaker coaching services plus live, online Speak with Moxie classes .

Either way, you’re in the right place to gain insightful public speaking tips and prepare yourself to give a persuasive speech for your next opportunity.

THE BEST PUBLIC SPEAKERS HAD TO PRACTICE TO OVERCOME GLOSSOPHOBIA

You may not realize it, but you are more than likely to have something in common with millions of people around the world: glossophobia .

That’s just the fancy scientific term for the fear of public speaking . In fact, studies show that 73% of the population is afraid of the same thing— each other.

We may be biased, but one of the keys to overcoming the anxiety that overwhelms 73% of Americans is to pursue speaker coaching or presentation skills training and consistently practice the techniques and tools you learn.

Practice, practice, PRACTICE – with a coach.

Even public speaking gurus like Winston Churchill weren’t natural-born speakers. To be honest, that’s technically not even a thing.

Even if an individual is comfortable speaking in front of others, it does not negate the need to be equipped with presentation skills best practices and techniques.

Becoming a great orator like Churchill takes intentionality and, you got it, practice. In fact, when Churchill was first elected as a representative within the British government, he froze for three entire minutes.

That’s right, Churchill had stage fright too!

After that failed attempt at public speaking, Churchill vowed to become a refined presenter who could give a persuasive speech at any moment. He spent years seeking tips for public speaking, deliberately practicing his technique, and meticulously outlining his speeches.

It wasn’t until hundreds of speeches later when Churchill became prime minister during WWII, that he revisited that same platform in the House of Commons and earned his title as one of the greatest public speakers of all time.

If Winston Churchill had to practice for all those years to become the greatest, then remember to be patient with yourself and keep at it!

We believe all it takes is passion, perseverance, and preparation .

If you don’t know where to start, a great coach or master trainer can be a HUGE plus on your journey to giving masterful presentations. Our purpose-driven team is dedicated to helping empower you to achieve your public speaking goals.

Are you feeling ready to make unforgettable presentations in front of audiences? Then read on!

7 EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING TIPS THAT ARE GUARANTEED TO IMPROVE YOUR PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR A PERSUASIVE SPEECH

Well, quite frankly, there is a LOT that you should know about becoming a great public speaker.

We have plenty of resources and talented coaches at Moxie Institute who can guide you through this process but for the purposes of this article, we’ve curated some of our fundamental public speaking tips to get you started!

CHAPTER 1: HOW TO PREPARE FOR A PRESENTATION

The effort that you put into this preparation phase will make or break your presentation—and your audience will notice.

We believe you should prepare for each presentation or public speaking engagement with the same dedication and fervor, irrespective of whether they’re Hollywood-sized or just a part of your 9-5.

In summary, here are our top tips for taking over the stage:

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

The key to a powerful presentation is delivering on the promise you made to them. You have to put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself, “what should they walk away with from this presentation?”

Define the objective for your persuasive speech and do everything within your power to stay on topic. Each sentence in your speech should be seamlessly woven together to point back to the objective of the presentation.

Relevancy is key.

LESS IS MORE

…especially when it comes to covering targeted material. As you are preparing your presentation, you’ll want to outline enough detail that your audience will find the information useful, insightful, and actionable.

A practical technique is to start by turning off your spell checker and writing your entire speech without holding anything back or editing it . Just go for it!

Once you’ve fleshed it out, only then should you start the rigorous editing process and condensing your speech to remove anything that’s not required.

CREATE AN OUTLINE THAT INCLUDES:

a. A catchy, compelling introduction b. A body that effectively expounds on your introduction c. A conclusion that circles back to your objective

UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE

Who’s going to be listening to you?

Targeting your speech with your audience in mind will help you curate appropriate content and save you from making irrelevant statements. Everything you say should add value to your audience’s understanding of your message, idea, or product/service.

EARLY IS ON TIME AND ON TIME IS LATE

We can’t control certain factors so don’t be afraid to schedule a significant amount of time to cushion your arrival in case Mother Nature or your GPS decides to act up.

Make sure you arrive at the location early enough to get settled and get comfortable with the space. Alternatively, test your technology ahead of time to avoid any connection issues.

A PERSUASIVE SPEECH = PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE.

This can’t be emphasized enough!

By practicing your speech, you will alleviate a lot of the speaking anxiety and pressure you may normally feel when you’re standing on the stage or in front of others.

You may not like the idea of it, but practicing is essential.

Practice in front of trusted friends or colleagues. Practice at home, in the car, anywhere you feel comfortable. By doing this in different settings, you will train your mind to become more comfortable with your speech. When the time comes, you will know your content so well that you won’t have to worry about it and will speak more comfortably.

Thanks to practice, you may even ad-lib new ideas or thoughts seamlessly during the talk. This mimics how we talk in normal conversations (which we never pre-plan) making you seem more confident.

Disclaimer: ad-libbing does not work if you haven’t practiced. You’ll just be seen as rambling as you try to connect random thoughts together.

A relaxed speaker who knows their material always appears more professional and credible.

IMAGINE YOUR SUCCESS

Visualization is a critical piece to successfully preparing for a presentation, yet many people don’t take advantage of this tool.

All it takes is a quiet space and a commitment to visualize yourself giving the presentation of a lifetime.

We often take the downward spiral route with visualization—picturing yourself getting on the stage, forgetting your introductions, having a panic attack, and never being able to face the audience again.

Instead, take a positive spin and imagine yourself effortlessly giving a persuasive speech to boost your confidence. We recommend practicing positive visualization in the weeks leading up to your presentation to help turn those nerves into excitement .

BODY LANGUAGE

It probably doesn’t come naturally.

You have to practice particular power stances, hand gestures, smiles, pauses, and more. But all these non-verbal communication techniques are just as important as the verbal component of your speech.

Studies show that practicing power poses help improve your confidence! While your physical body is engaging in the confident poses, your mind follows suit. Power poses are especially helpful in giving you a boost of confidence and eliminating those jitters before your presentation!

JOIN A PUBLIC SPEAKING GROUP

Whether it’s in your community or an internal group within your company, being around other individuals who are dedicated to improving their presentation skills is a great opportunity to receive consistent feedback and practice in front of other like-minded professionals.

As the saying goes, “ If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. ”

Most public speaking groups will afford you the opportunity to present a short speech on a routine basis, giving you consistent feedback and practice in front of other like-minded professionals.

PHYSICAL LOCATION

If you’re able to, try and visit the physical location where you will be delivering your presentation so that you can get a feel for your environment and practice in the room, examine the space, etc.

If this is not possible, visualize the space and how you will effortlessly move around to engage the audience.

CHAPTER 2: HOW TO START A PERSUASIVE SPEECH WITH A GREAT INTRODUCTION

A great introduction gives you a chance to capture your audience’s attention. It is the essential hook that will keep your audience wanting to hear the next great thing you have to say about your topic.

If your audience loses interest at the beginning of the presentation, you will most likely lose them throughout the body and rarely gain them back in your conclusion. We refer to our TED Talk-proven ideas as the P.U.N.C.H. method. These public speaking tips and strategies will help open your presentation with a bang!

We also offer results-oriented presentation skills training : our speaker coaching services and speech writing experts will help you craft the perfect introduction or entire speech plus develop the techniques to present them with confidence.

Taking into consideration your audience and your content, here are some ideas to get your next speech started:

STORYTELLING:

One of the most effective introduction methods is storytelling.

Humans are naturally wired to respond to compelling stories.

Stories are memorable and help keep your audience on their toes. It’s why they are used in presentations and for branding/marketing. Studies showed that while people remember only 5% of the statistics they hear, over 60% remember stories .

Just make sure your story is relevant to the objective and that you are able to smoothly transition into the body of your presentation afterward.

Speaking to your audience’s passions, interests and expertise will get their attention–and keep it.

This video about storytelling structure will have the crowd wanting more!

HISTORICAL OR CURRENT EVENT:

You can also start off with an update on a current event or talk about a historical occasion. Either way, make sure the event is relevant and carries value for the audience.

Look for characteristics of the event that could turn into a transition point into your content .

For example, if your presentation is about human rights, you could use the bravery of the men and women that fought for civil rights during the 1960s and use that as an example of the characteristics needed to fight oppression in today’s day and age before transitioning into the solutions you have to offer.

Start off with a question—the more unconventional the better. You can even ask the audience to raise their hands to get them engaged.

For example, let’s say you wanted to talk about exercise and fitness. Which question do you think an audience would you find more interesting?

A) “Hands up, who here likes to exercise?” B) “Hands up, who here would like to guarantee they will live 2 years longer?”

You could also reiterate the question at the end of the presentation to drive your point home.

Based on the example above you would say: “I hope today I’ve shown you that exercise doesn’t just make your life easier. It makes it longer. So again, I ask you, would you like to live 2 years longer? Thank you.”

Quotes by historical figures, quotes based on research, or quotes by celebrities and influencers may be good choices depending on your presentation content.

Starting off a speech with a significant quote and then expanding on it is a great alternative for shorter presentations. Whichever method you choose, the goal is the same: captivate your audience and lead them to think deeper.

CHAPTER 3: HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL CONTENT IN YOUR PRESENTATION

You can have all the passion in the world but if you’re not delivering the content in your presentation with accuracy, knowledge, and expertise, you might not convince your audience to trust you and think more about the topic.

Nailing the technique is one thing, but you’ve got to master the content in order to make your persuasive speech fully come alive.

Conduct thorough research on the topic of your presentation.

We suggest even thinking of some questions the audience may have concerning your presentation so that you can prepare for them in advance.

INTERNALIZING FOR CONFIDENCE:

By internalizing the core of your message, you exude more confidence because you are speaking with confidence, authority, and understanding. This also helps to manage your anxiety since you are presenting within the scope of your knowledge base.

To give a persuasive speech, you have to show passion about the content, it’s a HUGE bonus because you will speak from a place of authenticity .

INCLUDE INTERACTION:

Ask questions, get the audience to move around, have them share thoughts or ideas—there are many options you can choose.

The point is to ensure they go from passively listening to actively engaging with you. You don’t have to do this constantly, just in relevant/appropriate moments.

It’s a great way to get the energy going at the start of your talk and boost it at key moments throughout. It’s the reason many comedians start their shows with questions like “ How are we feeling tonight, you all having a good time? ” It gets the audience cheering and clapping.

Whatever you choose, we highly recommend you make your presentation interactive and talk TO the audience, not AT them.

LEVERAGE THE Q&A:

Humans love having their opinions heard.

If your presentation is in a smaller setting where you are able to ask inviting questions, take advantage of it! It will help keep the audience engaged.

If the presentation room is not conducive for Q&A’s, you can have the crowd talk to each other in pairs or small groups by having them share their answers to your questions with each other.

Thanks to technology, you can even set up a virtual, live poll where participants can answer the question with their mobile device.

Everyone feels heard and the introverts will thank you.

When appropriate, adding a little humor here and there is always a great way to keep the presentation light-hearted.

Make sure you understand your audience, though, so you’ll know your jokes will land and you can avoid the awkward silences.

Check out this video on how to easily build credibility with an audience and ensure they listen to—and trust—your advice, ideas, and opinions.

CHAPTER 4: VISUAL AIDS: UTILIZING VISUALS TO ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE

Preparation. Check . Powerful Introduction. Check . Relevant and Compelling Content. Check and check!

Congrats—you’re getting the building blocks to a persuasive speech nailed down!

The greatest supplement to a powerful presentation is a powerful visual presentation. You don’t have to be an amazing designer, but at the least, you should stick to these three important rules.

1 IDEA PER SLIDE:

Keep your slides simple and concise so that people can focus on what’s really important: you!

Slides are meant to be a supplement to the presentation, not the presentation itself. They should essentially be useless without the partnership of your speech. Each slide should summarize what you’re saying or draw attention to one clear point.

This means you can use as many slides as you like since you will be spending so little time with each one.

A 10 slide deck stuffed with words, bullet points, and images can be expanded into 30+ slides each with one clear message.

The best part? It will take you the same amount of time to present. The difference is that now your audience won’t get bored looking at the same visual or read ahead and lose interest as they wait for you to catch up.

This is key to making your message clear and holding their attention.

NO LONGER THAN 20 MINUTES:

Unless you have clear instructions from the organization or conference committee, shoot for presentations that are no longer than 20 minutes.

TED Talks are some of the most powerful, emotional, and inspiring presentations in the world and they usually average just 18 minutes.

This is a great practice because when you condense your talk like this, you will always cut the unnecessary details and facts first. What’s left is the critical information your audience needs to know. It makes your persuasive speech clearer, smoother, and easier for your audience to remember. Trust us, they will appreciate your brevity!

Audiences almost never leave a presentation thinking “I wish it could have gone on longer.”

NO LESS THAN 30 POINT FONT:

Can the audience in the back of the room see your slide?

This is the question to ask every time you create a new slide. Even if you’re presenting in a small room, you want to use large fonts so that your message, idea, or data can be read easily.

By setting this font size limit, the people in the back row will thank you. This also limits the number of words you can fit in one slide which will help you create simple, clear designs.

Watch our video below for more advice and examples from Fia!

If you follow these rules you should make visuals that are simple and brief.

You don’t want to overwhelm the audience with visual information that distracts them from the purpose of the presentation. Complicated charts and graphs are often unnecessary and can be simplified to only show the most relevant information.

Your visual aids should simply assist with the overall message . And although Powerpoint is a great place to start for most presentations, there are plenty of options out there to let you get creative.

If you are short on time or lack the creative juices to create a memorable slide deck, check out Moxie’s slide design services so you can focus on your delivery.

CHAPTER 5: HOW TO SPEAK LIKE A PRO

These are public speaking tips for the very act of moving your mouth and forming words—because surprisingly, we’re never taught how to do this properly!

This is where most people fall short. They never actually practice giving the presentation. Or if they do, it’s simply to memorize it rather than perform it.

Give it a once-through with no breaks, as you would at the actual event. It’s a pretty physical thing now, isn’t it?

It’s like the switch from reading sheet music to playing it. Your energy is now being put into a number of things: Breathing, moving your mouth, gesturing, and coordinating it all.

You can write a killer persuasive speech, but it needs the benefit of a killer delivery.

This calls for mastering the physical act of speaking.

The human voice was the original musical instrument. The instruments that we think of as full of personality share traits with the human voice:

Let’s pick these crucial skills apart…

The power , or volume of your voice in speaking, will dramatically affect how your presentation is received.

Controlling your power means controlling your breathing.

Nerves make many green speakers breathe shallow and fast. This results in a voice that doesn’t reach very far. It has also resulted in more than one speaker passing out.

So by all means get in the habit of breathing with your diaphragm. You’ll not only be able to call upon your voice for increased volume, but you’ll also be able to take some of the red out of your nerves. Even slowing down your heartbeat a notch.

How will you know when to speak loudly or quietly?

An increase in volume can communicate urgency. It can also be used to motivate. But it’s like a bright yellow highlighter. If you underline everything in a book, nothing stands out.

By emphasizing everything, you emphasize nothing.

Loudness can be used by a discerning speaker to drown out a nearby distraction so the audience isn’t so easily redirected. But excessive and prolonged volume will eventually leave you with an audience that hears how loud you are and nothing else.

The nuances of mid-to-lower volume should be used more often.

Are you trying to get your listeners to adopt a different way of thinking? Moderate levels will gently introduce your ideas into their space. Same thing if you’re trying to be persuasive. How many times have you been persuaded with shouting?

Dig into your childhood for the stereotype of the boring/annoying salesman. We’ve all seen it in cartoons. What made them boring/annoying? They spoke at the same speed every time they opened their mouths. They were too fast or too slow with no variation.

Nerves might make you speak at a breathless speed onstage. If that’s your entire presentation, then the information will be lost. If you’re droning like Eeyore during the whole affair, everyone will check their email, fall asleep, or both.

So combine the two.

Slow down for critical points that really need to survive the end of the program. Speed up at tasteful intervals to summarize less important details.

And for real impact, employ pausing.

One of the urban legends out there concerns a certain professor that would keep a coffee cup on his desk when he spoke. At planned intervals, he would take a sip from his cup.

One of his students found out that the cup never had anything in it. The student confronted the professor about it, wondering why on earth he would pretend to drink coffee while speaking. The professor explained that it was his way of letting vital information sink in. The time that it took for him to mime a sip was long enough for his last few words to make an impression as they hung in the air.

That’s the power of the pause.

Make it part of how you pace your presentation and key thoughts will be embedded in your audience’s memory like nails hanging vital exhibitions.

Have you ever heard a song that was only one note?

A presentation with no change in pitch …

Or rather, with no modulation …

…is a presentation given by someone auditioning for the role of a robot.

Modulation is a subtle art that can change the meaning of sentences. A rise in pitch can transform a statement into a question. It can convey excitement and alarm. A drop in pitch can make words portentous, or can transition from one emotion to another.

It can do things that power and pace alone can’t. Don’t be a robot.

FUNDAMENTAL MECHANICS

Let’s suppose you became a pro at power , pace , and pitch . What could still need attention?

Those jitters might give you issues with the very physical act of speaking: moving your mouth and your lower jaw.

Tension in the jaw muscles and keeping your head down will restrict the movement of both your jaw and your mouth. This leads to slurred and indistinct words, amounting to speaking in a language your audience doesn’t understand.

Practice relaxing your lips, jaw muscles, and even muscles around your throat. Look in a mirror if you have to. Watch yourself for moments that you’re clenching your teeth.

When you practice your presentation, enunciate each syllable as solidly as possible. When we give these tips for public speaking, people say it feels artificial and overly precise. You aren’t going to talk that way onstage. This is just to train your mouth how to move.

When you pull it all together, power , pace , pitch , and clear enunciation, you’ll find that your persuasive speech is indeed like music, and you are a remarkable instrument.

CHAPTER 6: MASTERING BODY LANGUAGE

Your audience isn’t just listening to you, they’re also watching you. Your visuals are a great addition but ultimately, you are the visual focal point of the presentation.

Mastering your body language is not something that happens overnight—it takes practice. But with these public speaking tips, you can develop the non-verbal communication skills that complete the presentation package.

Body language is the combination of non-verbal messages that are communicated by your body. Public speaking greats are aware of these movements and are able to effectively maneuver their body language to support their message.

When you utilize body language the right way, it is reflected in your presentation as confidence and authority. Body language also helps with audience engagement by subconsciously showing your own interest in the topic.

Developing body awareness throughout your presentation will be a competitive advantage to delivering your next speech with authority.

You may even have bad habits which undermine your authority. Fia highlights the most common body language issues below and provides guidance on how to overcome them.

HAND GESTURES:

During a presentation, your hands are very noticeable which means your gestures are a key component of mastering your body language. Avoiding awkward, jittery hand movements is key.

Instead, allow them to rest peacefully at your side and incorporate them to make a purposeful point in your speech, emphasize a section, or to indicate a transition.

Remember, you never think about your hand gestures when talking with friends, so don’t overthink it! Often your natural movements are what works best.

By injecting meaningful, supportive, energetic movement, you capture your audience’s visual attention, while your content captures their auditory attention.

EYE CONTACT:

Intentional eye contact helps to build connections with the audience. Spend about 2-3 seconds looking at a particular person in the crowd, then move on.

It’s important to know that you should never stare at your PowerPoint to avoid eye contact. This breaks any chance of connecting with your audience, makes you appear nervous, and unprepared.

If locking eyes with others is a surefire way to ignite your nerves, you can look over the audience’s heads or right in between their eyebrows instead of directly into their eyes.

Ideally, you should practice your presentation enough so you barely look at it.

COMMAND THE SPACE:

Make meaningful movements around the stage to emphasize a point or to transition into the next section of your presentation.

If you are able to, do a practice run on the stage that you will be speaking on beforehand, to mark certain positions on the stage that you can leverage throughout your speech. Take advantage of the space in front of you.

This is also a great way to reduce anxiety because you will feel more familiar with the space when it comes to the real thing.

If it’s happening at an event venue, reach out and see if you can drop by during the day to practice, staff members are often more than happy to help you out.

Before your talk begins, try this awesome warm-up series that Fia has taught to TEDx speakers to do before they step out on stage.

CHAPTER 7: HOW TO END YOUR PERSUASIVE SPEECH WITH AUTHORITY

The conclusion is the last thing your audience will remember about you—make it count!

Consider ending with examples that demonstrate the topic of your presentation.

For example, if you are in a sales presentation for a new product, give some testimonials from customers who were able to conduct a trial run.

If you asked a question at the beginning, see if the audience answers the same way after gaining new information.

SUMMARIZE YOUR PERSUASIVE SPEECH WITH A CALL TO ACTION (CTA):

Ideally, your conclusion will summarize the key points of your presentations and empower your audience into action with your message.

However, you have to be clear with what that call to action is. What do you want them to do? What are they supposed to do with the information you have just given them?

It’s your job to provide the context and call to action. Speakers who just provide information and walk away leave their audiences feeling motivated to change or help but confused about what to do next.

TIE IN THE STORY OR INTRODUCTION FROM THE BEGINNING:

If you began your speech with a story, now would be a great time to call back and incorporate the content of your presentation into it.

CALL TO (RHETORICAL) QUESTION:

This concluding method is similar to a direct call to action, except it poses the CTA in the form of a rhetorical question.

The focus is to ask a question that targets the audience’s ability to take  what you have delivered  in the presentation and  make it practical.  A good persuasive speech should leave the audience wanting more.

Consider asking questions that will capture the essence of the message and phrase it in a way that the audience can internalize and think about afterward.

WE KNOW YOU CAN GIVE A PERSUASIVE SPEECH–YOU GOT THIS!

Giving a persuasive speech is an art form and there will be a lot of trial and error along the way. But what matters is that you commit to practicing the skills we mentioned in this ultimate guide and refining them every time.

We have all taken part in uncomfortable public speaking moments: whether it’s you or someone else on the stage, the awkwardness and the distractions take away from how memorable the presentation could have potentially been.

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Presentation Skills

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message across. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging.

It is, however, possible to improve your presentation skills with a bit of work. This section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Many people feel terrified when asked to talk in public, especially to bigger groups. However, these fears can be reduced by good preparation, which will also lay the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

There are Different Types of Presentations, but They’re All Presentations

There are any number of occasions when you may be asked to speak in public or to a group of people. They include:

• Presenting or making a speech at a conference or event.
• Objecting to a planning proposal at a council meeting.
• Making a speech at a wedding.
• Proposing a vote of thanks to someone at a club or society.
• On behalf of a team, saying goodbye and presenting a gift to a colleague who is leaving.
• Seeking investment or a loan to help you set up a new business.

These can all be considered presentations.

They do not, however, all require the same approach. You would not, for example, use PowerPoint to thank a colleague who was leaving. It would be unusual (though it has been done) to use it in a speech at a wedding. However, a conference audience would be somewhat surprised NOT to see slides projected onto a screen.

It follows, therefore, that there is no single set of rules that apply to all presentations. There are, however, some things that every presentation opportunity has in common. These include:

You will present better if you have prepared effectively . This does NOT necessarily mean that you have written out your speech verbatim and rehearsed it until you know it off by heart—although that might work for some people. It does, however, mean that you have to be confident that you are saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right people.

You need to be clear about your audience and your message . Every presentation will be better if you have clearly considered the message that you want or need to convey, and how best to convey it to your audience. These two pieces of information drive your style, structure, content, and use of visual aids.

You must never overrun your allocated time .  In other words, don’t outstay your welcome. Almost every speech or presentation is better if it is shorter. Nobody minds going for coffee early or finishing before they expected to do so. Everybody minds being held up.

Generally speaking, your audience starts on your side. As a rule, your audience is there (more or less) voluntarily. They have chosen to listen to you, and they want to enjoy your presentation. The occasion is yours to lose.

An Important Point

There is one very important point to remember: if what you’re doing or saying is not working, do something else.

One of the worst feelings as a presenter is that you have lost your audience. You know that’s happened, but you continue to stumble through your remaining PowerPoint slides for the next 15 minutes, as your audience checks their phones and wishes it was coffee time. You think you have no choice, but that’s not actually true.

When you present, you are in charge of the room . The audience has effectively handed you control and is sitting back waiting for you to do something. You may have prepared a specific talk, but if you see that isn’t working, you can always change it. You are, after all, the expert.

You can, for example:

• Skip through some slides to a section that they may find more interesting;
• Ask your audience whether there is particular information that they were expecting that you are not providing;
• Suggest that everyone looks a bit sleepy, and maybe it would be better to start questions early, or have a discussion; or
• Ask the audience at the start of the presentation what they are expecting and what they want you to cover. That way, you can tailor the presentation to fit their expectations.

Just as when you are facilitating, you want to help your audience get the most out of your presentation. The best way to do that is to accept feedback—which may include smiles, nods of interest, or people getting their phones out.

Quick Guide to Effective Presentations

If you need to improve your presentation skills quickly, then a really good place to start is with our Top Tips for Effective Presentations .

This will give you some ‘quick wins’ that will help you improve your presentations. If you’re already an experienced presenter, this page should be a useful refresher, or even take your skills from good to great.

Our tips include general ideas about connecting with your audience, information about the importance of voice and body language, and detailed tips about preparing slide-shows.

The most important tip of all, however, is to remember that it's all about your audience.

Keep that in mind, and your presentation skills will almost instantly improve.

If you have more time to develop your presentation skills…

…then the Presentation Skills section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Our Presentation Skills section is split into two parts.

• The first gives you a step-by-step guide to putting together and delivering a professional and effective presentation .
• The second provides more detailed information about presenting and communicating in particular circumstances .

You can either use our step-by-step guide to walk you through the presentation preparation and delivery process, or you can focus on particular areas that are an issue for you.

Preparing for Your Presentation

The guide starts by explaining What is a Presentation?

We define a presentation as a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. Effective presentations usually require careful thought and preparation—although this preparation need not take very long.

Preparation is the most important part of making a successful presentation.  Our page on Preparing For A Presentation explains what information you need before you can really start to plan your presentation and decide what you are going to say. The most important aspects include the objective of the presentation, the subject, and the audience.

Irrespective of whether the occasion is formal or informal, you should always aim to give a clear, well-structured delivery. To do so, you need to organise your presentation material . You can either do this in your head, or use a technique like mind-mapping to help you identify links and good flow.

By the time you come to write your presentation , you should know exactly what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it. You may want to use one of the standard presentation structures, such as ‘What, Why, How?’. You will also find it helpful to consider how to tell your story most effectively, and to use stories in your presentation to illustrate points. There is more about this in our page on writing your presentation .

You also need to decide on your presentation method . Presentations range from the formal to the informal. Your choice of presentation method will depend on many factors, including the audience, the venue, the facilities, and your own preferences.

Visual aids can add another dimension to your presentation, helping to hold your audience’s attention, and also act as a reminder of what you wanted to say. However, they need handling with care. Only use visual aids if they are necessary to maintain interest and assist comprehension . If visual aids are not used well, they can ruin a presentation.

See Working with Visual Aids to avoid falling into the trap of the dreaded ‘ Death by PowerPoint’ .

A particular case of visual aids is the use of data in a presentation.

There are times when using data in a presentation can really help you to tell the story better. It is, however, important not to blind your audience with statistics. You also need to remember that many people find numbers difficult to understand. Our page on Presenting Data gives some hints and tips about using data effectively in a presentation situation.

On the Day of the Presentation

There are a number of aspects to delivering your presentation on the day.

The practicalities of how you manage your presentation can make a significant difference to its success, and to your nerves! For example, turning up early means that you have will have a chance to see the room, and ensure that you can operate all the necessary equipment. There is more about how to cope, including managing sound systems, audio-visual equipment and lecterns in our page on Managing the Presentation Event .

Many people also feel very nervous before and during a presentation. This is entirely normal, and can even be helpful if you can channel it in the right way. There are some tried and tested strategies and techniques to manage your nerves so that you can concentrate on delivering an effective and engaging presentation.

See Coping with Presentation Nerves for some ideas that will help.

How you present yourself can also affect how your audience responds to your presentation.

You need to fit with your audience's expectations if they are not going to spend quite a large chunk of your presentation dealing with the differences between expectations and reality.

For more about aspects of self-presentation, see our page on Self-Presentation in Presentations .

You also need to consider how to manage your presentation notes .

Few people are able to give a presentation without notes. You will need to know your own abilities and decide how best to make the presentation. You might manage your talk by using full text, notes on cue cards, keywords on cue cards, or mind maps. There is more about this in our page on Managing your Presentation Notes .

After the presentation, you may be faced with a question-and-answer session. For many people, this is the worst part of the event.

Decide in advance how and when you wish to handle questions. Some speakers prefer questions to be raised as they arise during the presentation whilst others prefer to deal with questions at the end. At the start of your presentation, you should make clear your preferences to the audience. See our page on Dealing with Questions for more ideas about how to make the question session pleasant and productive, rather than something to dread.

Presenting Under Particular Circumstances

You may find that you need to give a presentation under certain circumstances, where your previous experience is less helpful.

Circumstances that may be new to you include:

• Giving a Speech , for example, at a wedding.

One particular special case is attending public consultation meetings.

Our pages on Attending Public Consultation Meetings , and Managing Public Consultation Meetings provide information to help whether you are a concerned member of the public, or responsible for organising a public meeting.

You may also find yourself required to organise or manage a press conference.

Although this may not strictly be what you would describe as a ‘presentation’, it is nonetheless an event at which you are required to present your organisation in a particular light.

Our page on Managing a Press Conference gives some ideas about how best to do that.

Finally, should you be unlucky enough to be involved in a serious crisis or disaster that affects your organisation, our page on Crisis Communications gives some ideas about how to manage press and public relations on these occasions.

Start with: What is a Presentation? Top Tips for Effective Presentations

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How to Improve Your Presentation Skills: 12 Ways to Give a Speech Worthy of a Standing-Ovation

Whether you’re brand new to public speaking or a seasoned veteran, there’s always room to improve your presentation skills and comfort level in front of a crowd.

Solidifying your presenting skills can even help you in your everyday communications, personal and professional. They will help you learn to feel comfortable and confident speaking with anyone.

If you are new to public speaking and interested in learning more or are ready to take your presentation skills to the next level, I’m excited to share my top tips on how to sharpen your skills to become the best public speaker. I have personally used these techniques to improve my own presentation skills throughout my career as a public speaker.

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12 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

To put yourself on track to becoming the best public speaker you can be, follow these 12 tips to improve your presentation skills, all the way from having more beneficial conversations at work to getting standing ovations at your next public speaking engagement.

Here’s a cliché we’ve all heard a dozen times before: Practice makes perfect.

This is especially true when it comes to public speaking.

Practicing allows you to strengthen your presenting skills and perfect the message you want to get across to your audience. It allows you to determine the appropriate tone, body language, pauses, and anecdotes you can use to deliver a memorable presentation.

While it may seem time-consuming and annoying at first, practice helps prevent you from needing to feel like you have to, “just wing it,” during your speech. In other words, the more you practice, the more comfortable you will feel presenting.

To help practice, consider doing the following: 

• Write a script of your key points to reference.
• Ask a friend to act as your audience while you practice and give you honest feedback
• Record yourself presenting and take notes on what you could focus on in order to improve.  

Though it can be very nerve-wracking to deliver a speech, practicing will also help ease your nerves and strengthen your presenting skills. You will feel much more comfortable delivering your message if your key points are engrained within your mind.

Use Engaging Visual Aids

Our world is full of distractions. Our attention spans are short and easily swayed. This is why adding visual aids to your speech can help keep your audiences’ attention .  

Visual aids like charts, graphs, infographics, images, and videos could help engage your audience as you are delivering your points. Considering that over 65% of the population are visual learners, visual content could help reinforce your message.

Visual aids could range from funny memes to serious images. These visual aids are meant to evoke emotions and strengthen your key points.

Focus on What You Know

Whatever you decide your subject is, become the expert in it. Study and research the current trends in that area and prepare to answer questions about the topic.

Understanding and being passionate about what you’re speaking about will help you build confidence and convey your points in a natural way.

The audience will absorb more of your material if they believe you know what you’re talking about.

Incorporate Your Personality

If your goal is to give a truly memorable and engaging presentation, let your personality shine through!

Your credibility can actually increase if the audience feels connected to you. This is your opportunity to connect with your audience through funny anecdotes , quotes that have inspired you, and emotions that have hit home for you.

You’re not just a talking head, so loosen up your body language and show the audience who you are. You will create a memorable experience for your audience if they get a glimpse of your personality. You will find that you appear more interesting if the audience feels like they can relate to you.  

Speak Slowly

People tend to speak faster when they’re nervous. While practicing can help ease your nerves, remember to always speak slowly when you’re delivering your speech, and don’t forget to breathe.

Make sure to articulate your words. Use deliberate pauses to emphasize important key points in your presentation and to keep your audience engaged. Working in well-timed pauses will also help you keep your pace and cadence.

Keep Water Handy

If you’ve ever seen someone speak publicly, you’ve likely also seen a glass of water at their arm’s reach. This is sometimes because nerves may cause your mouth to feel dry mid-speech, as a dry mouth is a common result of anxiety. It is also because as you talk and project your voice, your throat may start feeling sore or dry. 

Keeping water close by will help keep your speech and stage presence on track and as perfect as possible.

Taking a sip of water during your speech can also give you a moment to catch your breath and refocus on your topic if you’re feeling nervous or stressed.

Plus, staying hydrated throughout the day before your presentation can help you avoid feeling dizzy or lightheaded during your speech.

Relaxing is an important presenting skill. Your body and mind must be calm in order for you to come across as calm, collected and professional.

Breathe in, breathe out, trust yourself , and relax. Stretch and shake out your body. Let go of any stiffness you’re holding on to.

You want to feel relaxed and fluid as you step out to present. Your body language should convey the feeling of comfort and confidence.

A great way to boost endorphins and ease your anxiety before a big presentation is through working out. Take a long walk, go to a boxing class, or try some yoga at home. Whatever you to, getting your blood flowing will help you relax for your speaking engagement.

Ensuring that you know your subject by heart can help ease the tension you feel. That’s why practicing is such an important piece of a successful presentation. This will help you trust your ability to deliver an incredible presentation.

Ask Questions

People love to make their voices heard and feel like they’re part of the conversation. Presentations can often feel one-sided, but they don’t have to be. To keep your audience engaged and your speech a memorable experience for your audience, you can include them in the conversation.

Ask the audience what they think, take a poll, invite meaningful questions – these are all ways you can boost engagement.

Engaging with your audience will allow you to establish and deeper connection with them and be seen as much more relatable. This will also allow you to get first-hand information on what your audience is looking to gain from your presentation, and adjust accordingly to give them what they want.

The Ultimate Blueprint To Build A Business As A Highly-Paid Professional Speaker 6-Figure Public Speaking

Check and Adjust to Your Surroundings

Wherever you’re presenting — in a hotel, conference center, or on Zoom – make a point to show up early to scope out your surroundings. This will help you feel more comfortable when it’s time for you to present.

Here are some important elements to consider about the location.

• What is the temperature in the room? Too hot? Too cold?
• Will you have direct lighting? Does it need to be adjusted so it’s not shining in your eyes?
• Is all the equipment working properly?
• Is there a backdrop on stage?
• Is there external noise that may distract from your presentation?
• Is there a teleprompter and can you see it from the stage?
• Is the projector/screen optimized to share your visual aids?

If your presentation is virtual, check out these five tips that will help your virtual presenting skills.  If you are giving it via a slide deck, be sure to read my article on  powerpoint presentation ideas to get some tips.

Stay Personable

While you may be the subject matter expert on the topic to which you’re presenting, it’s important to still stay relatable and personable with your audience.

Keep the conversation simple. Use words that everyone can understand. Explain complex theories in simpler terms. Use anecdotes to make comparisons that everyone can relate to. Be open to providing further clarification whenever needed.

You want to ensure that your audience feels understood and respected when you’re communicating with them, so stay on topic and always sound approachable.

Start and End with a Bang

There are many ways to start and end a speech, but only some are truly impactful. Your first and last impressions can be the most memorable markers in your speech.

Your first impression, if done right, can engage the audience right away . A shocking statement or a fascinating story can get the audience to the edge of their seats from the very beginning.

Your last remarks can leave a lasting impression on your audience. You can summarize what you discussed and end with a call to action . You can finish the speech with the conclusion of the story you began the speech with, as a way to create a narrative throughout your presentation.

Starting strong and finishing with a bang will make your speech a total knock-out. 

Have a Backup Plan

As much as we want to, we cannot control everything. Sometimes, things don’t go our way – there can be technical difficulties, venue issues, audience mishaps — whatever it is, make sure you’re prepared for the unexpected and create a backup plan for moments like this.

If you’ve ever seen a presentation go awry, you’ll notice that a good presenter will keep their cool and find the humor in the situation. Their body language will stay relaxed, they won’t lose their temper, and they’ll find an opportunity to engage with their audience.

This type of confidence is gained through practice. You can enhance your presenting skills by practicing your reaction in moments where things aren’t going according to plan. Knowing how to handle a critical situation will help you feel more relaxed and confident throughout your entire presentation.

The show must go on, right?

It’s easy to say “don’t be nervous,” but it’s much more difficult to act on it.

Even the best public speakers get nervous. Though giving speeches and presentations can be nerve-wracking, let your fear motivate you. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into enthusiasm and charisma.

So if you’re wondering how to improve presentation skills, use these tips for any of your public speaking needs and watch as your presenting skills improve ten-hold.

Even if you’re just preparing for a speech to your team at work, these tips can act as a great tool to help you feel more confident and prepared for any public engagement. They can even just help you communicate more successfully in your everyday life and help you enhance your career.

If you’re looking to take your public speaking to the big leagues and be a 6-figure speaker, check out my Ultimate Blueprint to Building a Career as a Successful Public Speaker .

This comprehensive guide is packed with the best tools and training for public speaking that I’ve learned in my 30+ years of being a public speaker.

Utilize this guide to become a professional speaker, build your own business, earn the respect and esteem of leaders in the industry, and use your message to motivate and inspire people all over the world.

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About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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What are presentation skills?

The importance of presentation skills, 6 presentation skills examples, how to improve presentation skills.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety

Learn how to captivate an audience with ease

Capturing an audience’s attention takes practice. 

Over time, great presenters learn how to organize their speeches and captivate an audience from start to finish. They spark curiosity, know how to read a room , and understand what their audience needs to walk away feeling like they learned something valuable.

Regardless of your profession, you most likely use presentation skills on a monthly or even weekly basis. Maybe you lead brainstorming sessions or host client calls. 

Developing effective presentation skills makes it easier to contribute ideas with confidence and show others you’re someone to trust. Although speaking in front of a crowd sometimes brings nerves and anxiety , it also sparks new opportunities.

Presentation skills are the qualities and abilities you need to communicate ideas effectively and deliver a compelling speech. They influence how you structure a presentation and how an audience receives it. Understanding body language , creating impactful visual aids, and projecting your voice all fall under this umbrella.

A great presentation depends on more than what you say. It’s about how you say it. Storytelling , stage presence, and voice projection all shape how well you express your ideas and connect with the audience. These skills do take practice, but they’re worth developing — especially if public speaking makes you nervous. 

Engaging a crowd isn’t easy. You may feel anxious to step in front of an audience and have all eyes and ears on you.

But feeling that anxiety doesn’t mean your ideas aren’t worth sharing. Whether you’re giving an inspiring speech or delivering a monthly recap at work, your audience is there to listen to you. Harness that nervous energy and turn it into progress.

Strong presentation skills make it easier to convey your thoughts to audiences of all sizes. They can help you tell a compelling story, convince people of a pitch , or teach a group something entirely new to them. And when it comes to the workplace, the strength of your presentation skills could play a part in getting a promotion or contributing to a new initiative.

To fully understand the impact these skills have on creating a successful presentation, it’s helpful to look at each one individually. Here are six valuable skills you can develop:

1. Active listening

Active listening is an excellent communication skill for any professional to hone. When you have strong active listening skills, you can listen to others effectively and observe their nonverbal cues . This helps you assess whether or not your audience members are engaged in and understand what you’re sharing. 

Great public speakers use active listening to assess the audience’s reactions and adjust their speech if they find it lacks impact. Signs like slouching, negative facial expressions, and roaming eye contact are all signs to watch out for when giving a presentation.

2. Body language

If you’re researching presentation skills, chances are you’ve already watched a few notable speeches like TED Talks or industry seminars. And one thing you probably noticed is that speakers can capture attention with their body language. 

A mixture of eye contact, hand gestures , and purposeful pacing makes a presentation more interesting and engaging. If you stand in one spot and don’t move your body, the audience might zone out.

3. Stage presence

A great stage presence looks different for everyone. A comedian might aim for more movement and excitement, and a conference speaker might focus their energy on the content of their speech. Although neither is better than the other, both understand their strengths and their audience’s needs. 

Developing a stage presence involves finding your own unique communication style . Lean into your strengths, whether that’s adding an injection of humor or asking questions to make it interactive . To give a great presentation, you might even incorporate relevant props or presentation slides.

4. Storytelling

According to Forbes, audiences typically pay attention for about 10 minutes before tuning out . But you can lengthen their attention span by offering a presentation that interests them for longer. Include a narrative they’ll want to listen to, and tell a story as you go along. 

Shaping your content to follow a clear narrative can spark your audience’s curiosity and entice them to pay careful attention. You can use anecdotes from your personal or professional life that take your audience along through relevant moments. If you’re pitching a product, you can start with a problem and lead your audience through the stages of how your product provides a solution.

5. Voice projection

Although this skill may be obvious, you need your audience to hear what you’re saying. This can be challenging if you’re naturally soft-spoken and struggle to project your voice.

Remember to straighten your posture and take deep breaths before speaking, which will help you speak louder and fill the room. If you’re talking into a microphone or participating in a virtual meeting, you can use your regular conversational voice, but you still want to sound confident and self-assured with a strong tone.

If you’re unsure whether everyone can hear you, you can always ask the audience at the beginning of your speech and wait for confirmation. That way, they won’t have to potentially interrupt you later.

Ensuring everyone can hear you also includes your speed and annunciation. It’s easy to speak quickly when nervous, but try to slow down and pronounce every word. Mumbling can make your presentation difficult to understand and pay attention to.

6. Verbal communication 

Although verbal communication involves your projection and tone, it also covers the language and pacing you use to get your point across. This includes where you choose to place pauses in your speech or the tone you use to emphasize important ideas.

If you’re giving a presentation on collaboration in the workplace , you might start your speech by saying, “There’s something every workplace needs to succeed: teamwork.” By placing emphasis on the word “ teamwork ,” you give your audience a hint on what ideas will follow.

To further connect with your audience through diction, pay careful attention to who you’re speaking to. The way you talk to your colleagues might be different from how you speak to a group of superiors, even if you’re discussing the same subject. You might use more humor and a conversational tone for the former and more serious, formal diction for the latter.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to presenting. Maybe you’re confident in your use of body language, but your voice projection needs work. Maybe you’re a great storyteller in small group settings, but need to work on your stage presence in front of larger crowds. 

The first step to improving presentation skills is pinpointing your gaps and determining which qualities to build upon first. Here are four tips for enhancing your presentation skills:

1. Build self-confidence

Confident people know how to speak with authority and share their ideas. Although feeling good about your presentation skills is easier said than done, building confidence is key to helping your audience believe in what you’re saying. Try practicing positive self-talk and continuously researching your topic's ins and outs.

If you don’t feel confident on the inside, fake it until you make it. Stand up straight, project your voice, and try your best to appear engaged and excited. Chances are, the audience doesn’t know you’re unsure of your skills — and they don’t need to.

Another tip is to lean into your slideshow, if you’re using one. Create something colorful and interesting so the audience’s eyes fall there instead of on you. And when you feel proud of your slideshow, you’ll be more eager to share it with others, bringing more energy to your presentation.

2. Watch other presentations

Developing the soft skills necessary for a good presentation can be challenging without seeing them in action. Watch as many as possible to become more familiar with public speaking skills and what makes a great presentation. You could attend events with keynote speakers or view past speeches on similar topics online.

Take a close look at how those presenters use verbal communication and body language to engage their audiences. Grab a notebook and jot down what you enjoyed and your main takeaways. Try to recall the techniques they used to emphasize their main points, whether they used pauses effectively, had interesting visual aids, or told a fascinating story.

3. Get in front of a crowd

You don’t need a large auditorium to practice public speaking. There are dozens of other ways to feel confident and develop good presentation skills.

If you’re a natural comedian, consider joining a small stand-up comedy club. If you’re an avid writer, participate in a public poetry reading. Even music and acting can help you feel more comfortable in front of a crowd.

If you’d rather keep it professional, you can still work on your presentation skills in the office. Challenge yourself to participate at least once in every team meeting, or plan and present a project to become more comfortable vocalizing your ideas. You could also speak to your manager about opportunities that flex your public speaking abilities.

4. Overcome fear

Many people experience feelings of fear before presenting in front of an audience, whether those feelings appear as a few butterflies or more severe anxiety. Try grounding yourself to shift your focus to the present moment. If you’re stuck dwelling on previous experiences that didn’t go well, use those mistakes as learning experiences and focus on what you can improve to do better in the future.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety 

It’s normal to feel nervous when sharing your ideas. In fact, according to a report from the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, public speaking anxiety is prevalent in 15–30% of the general population .

Even though having a fear of public speaking is common, it doesn’t make it easier. You might feel overwhelmed, become stiff, and forget what you were going to say. But although the moment might scare you, there are ways to overcome the fear and put mind over matter.

Use these tactics to reduce your stress when you have to make a presentation:

1. Practice breathing techniques

If you experience anxiety often, you’re probably familiar with breathing techniques for stress relief . Incorporating these exercises into your daily routine can help you stop worrying and regulate anxious feelings. 

Before a big presentation, take a moment alone to practice breathing techniques, ground yourself, and reduce tension. It’s also a good idea to take breaths throughout the presentation to speak slower and calm yourself down .

2. Get organized

The more organized you are, the more prepared you’ll feel. Carefully outline all of the critical information you want to use in your presentation, including your main talking points and visual aids, so you don’t forget anything. Use bullet points and visuals on each slide to remind you of what you want to talk about, and create handheld notes to help you stay on track.

3. Embrace moments of silence

It’s okay to lose your train of thought. It happens to even the most experienced public speakers once in a while. If your mind goes blank, don’t panic. Take a moment to breathe, gather your thoughts, and refer to your notes to see where you left off. You can drink some water or make a quick joke to ease the silence or regain your footing. And it’s okay to say, “Give me a moment while I find my notes.” Chances are, people understand the position you’re in.

4. Practice makes progress

Before presenting, rehearse in front of friends and family members you trust. This gives you the chance to work out any weak spots in your speech and become comfortable communicating out loud. If you want to go the extra mile, ask your makeshift audience to ask a surprise question. This tests your on-the-spot thinking and will prove that you can keep cool when things come up.

Whether you’re new to public speaking or are a seasoned presenter, you’re bound to make a few slip-ups. It happens to everyone. The most important thing is that you try your best, brush things off, and work on improving your skills to do better in your next presentation.

Although your job may require a different level of public speaking than your favorite TED Talk , developing presentation skills is handy in any profession. You can use presentation skills in a wide range of tasks in the workplace, whether you’re sharing your ideas with colleagues, expressing concerns to higher-ups, or pitching strategies to potential clients.

Remember to use active listening to read the room and engage your audience with an interesting narrative. Don’t forget to step outside your comfort zone once in a while and put your skills to practice in front of a crowd. After facing your fears, you’ll feel confident enough to put presentation skills on your resume.

If you’re trying to build your skills and become a better employee overall, try a communications coach with BetterUp. 

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

The importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate

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10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills

Few are immune to the fear of public speaking. Marjorie North offers 10 tips for speakers to calm the nerves and deliverable memorable orations.

Marjorie North

Snakes? Fine. Flying? No problem. Public speaking? Yikes! Just thinking about public speaking — routinely described as one of the greatest (and most common) fears — can make your palms sweat. But there are many ways to tackle this anxiety and learn to deliver a memorable speech.

In part one of this series,  Mastering the Basics of Communication , I shared strategies to improve how you communicate. In part two, How to Communicate More Effectively in the Workplace , I examined how to apply these techniques as you interact with colleagues and supervisors in the workplace. For the third and final part of this series, I’m providing you with public speaking tips that will help reduce your anxiety, dispel myths, and improve your performance.

Here Are My 10 Tips for Public Speaking:

1. nervousness is normal. practice and prepare.

All people feel some physiological reactions like pounding hearts and trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings with the sense that you will perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes you sweat also makes you more alert and ready to give your best performance.

The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice — a lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend to critique your performance.

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2. Know Your Audience. Your Speech Is About Them, Not You.

Before you begin to craft your message, consider who the message is intended for. Learn as much about your listeners as you can. This will help you determine your choice of words, level of information, organization pattern, and motivational statement.

3. Organize Your Material in the Most Effective Manner to Attain Your Purpose.

Create the framework for your speech. Write down the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, central idea, and main points. Make sure to grab the audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds.

4. Watch for Feedback and Adapt to It.

Keep the focus on the audience. Gauge their reactions, adjust your message, and stay flexible. Delivering a canned speech will guarantee that you lose the attention of or confuse even the most devoted listeners.

5. Let Your Personality Come Through.

Be yourself, don’t become a talking head — in any type of communication. You will establish better credibility if your personality shines through, and your audience will trust what you have to say if they can see you as a real person.

6. Use Humor, Tell Stories, and Use Effective Language.

Inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, and you will certainly grab your audience’s attention. Audiences generally like a personal touch in a speech. A story can provide that.

7. Don’t Read Unless You Have to. Work from an Outline.

Reading from a script or slide fractures the interpersonal connection. By maintaining eye contact with the audience, you keep the focus on yourself and your message. A brief outline can serve to jog your memory and keep you on task.

8. Use Your Voice and Hands Effectively. Omit Nervous Gestures.

Nonverbal communication carries most of the message. Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly and without distraction.

9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic End.

Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today I’m going to talk to you about X”? Most people don’t. Instead, use a startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation. Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong statement that your audience is sure to remember.

10. Use Audiovisual Aids Wisely.

Too many can break the direct connection to the audience, so use them sparingly. They should enhance or clarify your content, or capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

Good communication is never perfect, and nobody expects you to be perfect. However, putting in the requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a better speech. You may not be able to shake your nerves entirely, but you can learn to minimize them.

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About the Author

North is a consultant for political candidates, physicians, and lawyers, and runs a private practice specializing in public speaking, and executive communication skills. Previously, she was the clinical director in the department of speech and language pathology and audiology at Northeastern University.

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Public Speaking and Presentations: Tips for Success

This resource includes tips and suggestions for improving your public speaking skills.

Even if you’ve never spoken in front of a large group before, chances are you will encounter public speaking sometime during your life. Whether you’re giving a presentation for your classmates or addressing local politicians at a city council meeting, public speaking allows you to convey your thoughts and feelings in clear ways. Having the right tools can prepare you for successful public speaking and equip you with high-quality communication skills.

Know Your Audience

Different audiences require different modes of public speaking. How you address a room full of preschoolers will vary from how you address a group of professors at an academic conference. Not only will your vocabulary change, but you might alter your pacing and tone as well.

Knowing your audience also helps you decide the content of your speech. For example, if you’re presenting research to a group of scientists, you might not need to define all your scientific language. However, if you present that same research to a group of individuals who are unfamiliar with your scientific field, you may need to define your terms or use simpler language.

Recognizing the extent to which your audience is familiar with your topic helps you center your presentation around the most important elements and avoid wasting time on information your audience either 1) already knows or 2) does not need to know for the purpose of your speech.

Knowing your audience also means tailoring your information to them. Try to keep things straight and to the point; leave out extraneous anecdotes and irrelevant statistics.

Establish Your Ethos and Feel Confident in Your Subject

It’s important to let your audience know what authority you have over your subject matter. If it’s clear you are familiar with your subject and have expertise, your audience is more likely to trust what you say.

Feeling confident in your subject matter will help establish your ethos. Rather than simply memorizing the content on your PowerPoint slides or your note cards, consider yourself a “mini expert” on your topic. Read up on information related to your topic and anticipate questions from the audience. You might want to prepare a few additional examples to use if people ask follow-up questions. Being able to elaborate on your talking points will help you stay calm during a Q & A section of your presentation.

Stick to a Few Main Points

Organizing your information in a logical way not only helps you keep track of what you’re saying, but it helps your audience follow along as well. Try to emphasize a few main points in your presentation and return to them before you conclude. Summarizing your information at the end of your presentation allows your audience to walk away with a clear sense of the most important facts.

For example, if you gave a presentation on the pros and cons of wind energy in Indiana, you would first want to define wind energy to make sure you and your audience are on the same page. You might also want to give a brief history of wind energy to give context before you go into the pros and cons. From there, you could list a few pros and a few cons. Finally, you could speculate on the future of wind energy and whether Indiana could provide adequate land and infrastructure to sustain wind turbines. To conclude, restate a few of the main points (most likely the pros and cons) and end with the most important takeaway you want the audience to remember about wind energy in Indiana.

Don't be Afraid to Show Your Personality

Delivering information without any sort of flourish or style can be boring. Allowing your personality to show through your speaking keeps you feeling relaxed and natural. Even if you’re speaking about something very scientific or serious, look for ways to let your personality come through your speech.

For example, when Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek announced in March of 2019 that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, he still let his trademark dignity and professionalism set the tone for his address. He began his announcement by saying “it’s in keeping with my long-time policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fan base.” Later, he joked that he would need to overcome his illness in order to fulfill his contract, whose terms required him to host the show for three more years. Though the nature of Trebek's announcement could easily have justified a grim, serious tone, the host instead opted to display the charm that has made him a household name for almost thirty-five years. In doing so, he reminded his audience precisely why he is so well-loved.

Use Humor (When Appropriate)

Using humor at appropriate moments can keep your audience engaged and entertained. While not all occasions are appropriate for humor, look for moments where you can lighten the mood and add some humor.

For example, just two months after the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, Reagan was in the middle of giving a speech when a balloon loudly popped while he was speaking. Reagan paused his speech to say “missed me,” then immediately continued speaking. This off-the-cuff humor worked because it was appropriate, spontaneous, and did not really distract from his message.

Similarly, at the end of his final White House Correspondents Dinner, Barack Obama concluded his speech by saying “Obama out” and dropping the mic. Once again, the humor did not distract from his message, but it did provide a light-hearted shift in his tone.  

Don't Let Visual Aids Distract From Your Presentation

Visual aids, such as PowerPoints or handouts, often go alongside presentations. When designing visual aids, be sure they do not distract from the content of your speech. Having too many pictures or animations can cause audience members to pay more attention to the visuals rather than what you’re saying.

However, if you present research that relies on tables or figures, having many images may help your audience better visualize the research you discuss. Be aware of the ways different types of presentations demand different types of visual aids.

Be Aware of Your Body Language

When it comes to giving a presentation, nonverbal communication is equally as important as what you’re saying. Having the appropriate posture, gestures, and movement complement the spoken element of your presentation. Below are a few simple strategies to make you appear more confident and professional.

Having confident posture can make or break a presentation. Stand up straight with your shoulders back and your arms at your sides. Slouching or crossing your arms over your chest makes you appear smaller and more insecure. However, be sure you’re not too rigid. Just because you’re standing up tall does not mean you cannot move around.

Eye contact

Making eye contact with your audience not only makes them feel connected to you but it also lets you gauge their response to you. Try to look around the room and connect with different audience members so you’re not staring at the same people the whole time. If you notice your audience starting to nod off, it might be a good time to change your tone or up your energy. 

Avoid distracting or compulsive gestures

While hand gestures can help point out information in a slide or on a poster, large or quick gestures can be distracting. When using gestures, try to make them feel like a normal part of your presentation.

It’s also easy to slip into nervous gestures while presenting. Things like twirling your hair or wringing your hands can be distracting to your audience. If you know you do something like this, try to think hard about not doing it while you’re presenting.

Travel (if possible)

If you are presenting on a stage, walking back and forth can help you stay relaxed and look natural. However, be sure you’re walking slowly and confidently and you’re using an appropriate posture (described above). Try to avoid pacing, which can make you appear nervous or compulsive.

Rehearse (if Possible)

The difference between knowing your subject and rehearsing comes down to how you ultimately present your information. The more you rehearse, the more likely you are to eliminate filler words such as like and um . If possible, try practicing with a friend and have them use count the filler words you use. You can also record yourself and play back the video. The more you rehearse, the more confident you will feel when it comes time to actually speak in front of an audience.

Finally, Relax!

Although public speaking takes time and preparation, perhaps one of the most important points is to relax while you’re speaking. Delivering your information in a stiff way prevents you from appearing natural and letting your personality come through. The more relaxed you feel, the more confident your information will come across.

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Articles in category: Speechwriting

How to prepare for presenting to senior executives.

For many employees, the opportunity to present to senior executives is simultaneously a career dream and nightmare. Standing in front of them means that you are doing something right in your position, and you also don’t want to waste the opportunity to make a significant difference. You need to strike a balance between keeping your cool and being humble enough to listen to their input and expertise.

If this were the only challenge, then more people would be successful in their presentations to key decision makers. But, the fact of the matter is that senior executives are one of the toughest audiences , no matter how much speaking experience you have.

This article will outline three significant challenges that accompany presenting to senior executives and will provide actionable steps on how you — as a top professional or executive — can further hone your skills and ensure that you are adequately prepared for the challenges that are to come.

Continue Reading »

Book Review: 101 Ways to Make Training Active (Mel Silberman)

101 Ways to Make Training Active  is a compendium of activities and strategies that trainers, presenters, and discussion leaders can use to improve audience engagement .

The author, Mel Silberman, is a professor emeritus of adult and organizational development at Temple University where he specializes in instructional design and team building.

This article is one of a series of public speaking book reviews from  Six Minutes .

9 Tips to Make Your Speech Memorable

How many truly memorable speeches have you delivered?

The art of creating a memorable speech is something that is often sought after, but rarely achieved. Frustratingly, many people assume that truly memorable speeches are reserved for those with an elusive “born with it” skill set.

In reality, nobody is born with the skills for public speaking, but you can develop them with hard work. A memorable speech is within your grasp. With that in mind, let’s review nine tips that will make your speech memorable for your audience.

Cognitive Biases: A Guide for Public Speakers

You may think that you are a sensible, rational thinker. You likely believe that you’re open-minded, objective, and someone who sees the world as it is.

Unfortunately, your brain is playing mind games with you.

In reality, while you are incredibly intelligent, you’re susceptible to a swarm of cognitive biases which constantly pull you toward irrational thoughts and judgments.

This article is the first of the Cognitive Bias series — a collection of articles which examine cognitive biases, describe how they impact you and your audience, and explore practical strategies you can use in response.

How to Research Your Speech Topic

Researching your speech topic is easy, right? Just fire up a web browser, put in your search terms, check a few pages, and you’re done… right?

Hm. Probably not. It would be nice if 100% of our speech content came from our own minds or a few quick Google searches. In reality, though, conducting proper research requires a little more care. The rewards make the effort worthwhile; a well-researched speech provides lasting value for your audience and distinguishes you as speaker .

In this article, we:

• discover how to embrace a research mindset,
• provide simple strategies that will improve your research habits, and
• discuss numerous resources which you can leverage to craft a winning speech.

8 Ways to Use Contrast in Your Speeches

What quality is vital to virtually all creative art forms, including literature, music, painting, sculpture, photography, drama, and speechwriting?

What quality both sharpens the attention of your audience and makes them understand you better?

In this article, we’ll define contrast, explore its benefits, and examine many strategies for using contrast in your next presentation.

Book Review – Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (William Safire)

Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History  (edited by William Safire) will provide you with hours of speechwriting inspiration.

Every serious speaker should own a speech anthology , and Lend Me Your Ears  is arguably the best.

How to Sequence Your Presentation

There are many ways to organize your presentation . The choices you make seriously impact the success of your presentation.

If you order your material in an intuitive manner that your audience can readily understand, they are more likely to be persuaded.

If you order your material in an awkward manner, your audience will struggle to understand, and they will resist being persuaded by your message.

Given the criticality of your presentation sequence, how do you choose the right one for your topic and your audience?

• survey the available sequence types ,
• give examples of presentations which fit each scheme, and
• discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Spice Up Your Speechwriting (Epiphora)

If you could easily highlight key messages in your speech, would you do it?

If there were a simple way to be more memorable, would you do it?

If you could craft speech phrases that are more quotable, would you do it?

Epiphora is the key to spicing up your speechwriting. In this article, we define epiphora, cite several famous examples, and help you add this rhetorical device to your speechwriting toolbox.

Book Review: Presentation Patterns (Neal Ford, Matthew McCullough, Nathaniel Schutta)

Presentation Patterns: Techniques for Crafting Better Presentations  uses an innovative format to illuminate the elements shared by strong presentations and the habits shared by strong presenters.

The authors — Neal Ford, Matthew McCullough, and Nathaniel Schutta — are highly experienced conference presenters with a knack for exposing the truth in presentations around us.

Book Review: Writing Tools (Roy Peter Clark)

Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer  by Roy Peter Clark will help you communicate better, whether writing speeches, reports, handouts, or articles.

As I breezed through Writing Tools , I confessed to my wife that I felt inspired to write. Thus, the book achieved the rare feat of delivering on the promise of the front cover review (from the Boston Globe ): “Writers will be inspired to pick up their pens.”

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Featured Articles

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• Hans Rosling (TED, 2006) 6 Techniques to Present Data
• J.A. Gamache (Toastmasters, 2007) Gestures, Prop, Writing
• Steve Jobs (Stanford, 2005) Figures of speech, rule of three
• Al Gore (TED, 2006) Humor, audience interaction
• Dick Hardt (OSCON, 2005) Lessig Method of Presentation

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Quotes for inspiration ahead of your next presentation.

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George Washington before the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, 1787.

Since the dawn of humankind, speaking in front of a large audience has been, and remains, a daunting task. So daunting, in fact, that many of us are paralyzed with fear when required to make a speech or presentation. Therefore, for anyone seeking inspiration before preparing their next oral presentation, here are a few useful quotes on the art of public speaking – from writing a speech, to rehearsing it, to ultimately delivering it on stage.

Transposing a flurry of ideas in your head into short, clear sentences on a page is arguably the hardest and most time-consuming part of preparation. “That which is well conceived becomes clearly enunciated, and the words to say it come effortlessly.” French poet Nicolas Boileau, writing in 1674, provides a useful reminder that before clear writing and clear speaking comes clear thinking. No idea can be convincingly delivered if it hasn’t first been revamped into simpler, more direct language. Complex ideas, structures and expressions rarely sway audiences, who tune-out what they don’t immediately grasp.

As humbling as it may be to admit, audiences rarely give speakers the kind of undivided attention and active listening that speakers expect. Therefore, time management is key. Remember to KISS ( K eep I t S hort & S imple) since audience attention fades quickly. Thomas Jefferson writing to a friend in 1773, said, “ The most valuable of all talents is never using two words when one will do. ” The impact and memorability of a presentation is a function of how much meaning is packed into the shortest amount of speaking time. Think of it like an equation: Impact = amount of meaning divided by number of words.

Or, to put it back into plain English: cutting unnecessary words will boost the impact of your speech. For example:

• Use a stronger verb to replace a vague verb + adverb (‘run,’ versus ‘go quickly,’ uses 1 word instead of 2.)
• Use the active voice in place of the passive voice (‘Phillip sang a song,’ versus, ‘A song was sung by Phillip,’ uses 4 words instead of 6.)
• Use plain language, words understood by the widest audience (to ‘send’ versus to ‘dispatch’ )

On Rehearsal

“ A study said speaking in front of a crowd is considered the number one fear of the average person…Number two is death. ” Comedian Jerry Seinfeld created a memorable bit out of this relatable fear.

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You can overcome stage fright through rehearsal. Americans are fond of saying “fake it ‘till you make it,” and perhaps there is a nugget of truth to this expression when it comes to public speaking. In 1879, Mark Twain put it this way, “I never could make a good impromptu speech without several hours to prepare it.” A good speech should appear effortless, almost spontaneous, as if spoken confidently from a place of genuine personal belief, rather than recited from a prepared script. But, just like changing a golf swing, making a speech appear natural and effortless takes many repetitions.

Practice does make perfect and, more importantly, builds self-confidence. Tennis legend Arthur Ashe reminds us, “The key to success is self-confidence. The key to self-confidence is preparation.” Therefore, always make time for many rehearsals.

On Delivery

Whether you rehearse in front of a mirror, or your team, or in an auditorium, your performance will benefit from these run-throughs. You can use these opportunities to experiment with vocal variety, body language, and pauses for emphasis. Additionally, you will likely make edits to your text as you identify wordy, hard-to-deliver sentences that could be cut to make the speech crisper.

Beyond the technical aspects of flawless delivery, it is even more important to connect emotionally with your audience. A perfectly delivered speech that makes no audience connection is less memorable that an imperfectly delivered speech that engages the audience. In the words of American author Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said […] but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

When you don’t connect with the audience, your words, however well-conceived and rehearsed, will fall flat. However, the notion of audience connection is often misunderstood: creating connection with an audience does not require you to be emotional. Being relatable to an audience is enough, and this can be achieved through a well-placed anecdote, by appearing comfortable on stage, or by sharing your enthusiasm for your presentation.

In conclusion, since you will likely give more than one presentation during your career, keep in mind Winston Churchill’s definition of success. “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

As we’ve seen from some of history’s most quotable, whether the year be 1674 or 2024, successful presentations follow a time-tested playbook, from preparation through to delivery.

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