Would you like to experience the benefits of being a good speaker? Speaking before groups offers a tremendous opportunity for personal and professional development. Never before have excellent communication skills been more important than they are today.

This article contains fifteen elements for making a successful presentation. Use these ideas, and you will speak with greater self confidence and ease before a group of any size.

1. BUILD RAPPORT AND TRUST.

Talk with-not at --your audience. Establish some common ground. Communicate with sincerity and warmth, and make eye contact.

In speaking to a large group of secretaries, I established rapport quickly by telling them about my mother's success as a secretary and how much I admired her. I gave them examples of why competent secretaries are the backbone of my successful organization.

2. DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE OPENING.

Grab your audience's attention from the start. Use a dramatic or startling statement, a human interest or personal story, a question, an anecdote or illustration, a relevant quote-or a humorous opening, if appropriate. I recently heard a speaker open with, "I wrote that great introduction you just heard. It gives me something to shoot for when I speak."

3. DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE ENDING

Close with a bang. Use a relevant quote, a poem, or an appeal for action. Give your audience a sincere compliment, a powerful story, or a summary of your main points. Make sure your closing---whatever it is---is relevant to your topic. Also, your entire speech and the ending should be tailored to your audience.

4. REDUCE NERVOUSNESS.

According to the book of lists, public speaking is the number one fear, greater even than the fear of death.

Before presenting: Thoroughly prepare and rehearse before your speaking engagement. When you are about to begin, take several deep breaths. Visualize yourself giving a relaxed presentation.

During the presentation: Focus on your message and your audience, not on yourself. Give yourself opportunities for physical movement. Don't try to be perfect. Make nervousness work for you. Channel your nervousness into enthusiasm; let your adrenalin take over. Butterflies in your stomach? Let them soar, taking you with them.

5. MAKE YOUR PRESENTATION COME ALIVE.

Talk to the audience in terms of their interests, problems, and concerns. Communicate with vitality and conviction. Talk to, and make eye contact with individual members of the audience. Change the pace with vocal variety and humor, using pauses to emphasize points. Use inspiring human interest stories, making only a few points and supporting them with examples, illustrations, anecdotes, and analogies. Use natural gestures; physically move from time to time instead of remaining behind a podium.

6. USE VOCAL VARIETY.

Variety speed, volume, and pitch. To emphasize points, speed up or slow down, speak more softly or loudly, and allow your voice to rise and fall. Speak conversationally to an audience, but with greater force and energy. Appropriate vocal variety and gestures will naturally occur.

Page 1 of 3 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 3 | Next