Know Your Audience
Understand the audience’s background, knowledge, needs,
level of sophistication and expectations. This will help
you determine your topic and its depth, your choice of language
(technical or basic), use of humor/idioms, type of visuals
and level of formality.
Remain Flexible
Tune into your audience’s reaction. If they appear
confused, in disagreement or bored, be prepared to alter
the content or delivery style accordingly.
Maintain Good Posture
Project confidence and competence by standing with your feet
6” apart, keeping your weight on the balls of your
feet. Keep your hips squared with your shoulders and hold
your head steady with your chin parallel to the ground.
Don’t pace, rock, sway, or shift your weight restlessly.
Use Appropriate Non-Verbal Communication
Lean slightly toward your audience and look them directly
in the eye. This will convey honesty and interest. Maintain
eye contact for each complete thought and then look down
or to the side briefly. Be careful not to stare, dart your
eyes from side-to-side or gaze upward.
Smile naturally and often, open your eyes widely and move
your eyebrows expressively. Make sure that your facial expression
matches your spoken message.
Keep your arms comfortably at your sides and gesture naturally.
Avoid hand wringing, clenching, crossing arms, putting your
hands in your pocket, fidgeting or flailing your arms.
Take Deep Breaths and Relax
Take deep, energizing breaths from your midsection, allowing
your ribs to expand and your lungs to open up fully. Diaphragmatic
breathing will allow you to release your exhalation smoothly,
and will help you feel calm and reduce nervousness. Speak
immediately after inhaling deeply. Take replenishing breaths
in natural places such as where there is punctuation or
logical phrasing. Do some warm-up exercises such as simple
stretches to reduce physical and mental tension.
Speak with Clarity and Energy
Warm-up your voice. Yawn and sigh to open up the oral space
and release the jaw. Hum gently on a comfortable note,
sliding up and down a pitch, feeling a “buzz” in
your lips and nose. Drink lukewarm water and avoid caffeine
and dairy products.
Speak at a comfortable, slow pace. Finish
the ends of words and do not use relaxed speech. e.g. say,
talking vs. talkin’. Direct
your voice to your listener by looking at him or her. Modulate
your voice so it is not too soft or too loud.
Use Interesting Inflection Patterns
Avoid speaking in a monotone. Use natural variations in rate,
pitch and loudness to emphasize points and maintain interest.
At the ends of statements, drop the pitch of your voice
to sound confident and assured.
Choose Your Content Carefully:
Be organized, concise and relevant. Use smooth and logical
transitions between the introduction, body and conclusion
of your presentation. Have 3-5 main points. Tell stories
to illustrate or emphasize a point, clarify difficult concepts
and add interest. Start with an attention getter and end
with a strong statement that the audience will remember.
Create Strong Visuals:
Use your slides or charts to enhance your presentation. Keep
them colorful and easy to read from a distance. Minimize
text. Know your materials thoroughly so that you do not
need to rely on written notes or slides. Be careful not
to turn your back to the audience or block your visuals.
Be Prepared:
Rehearse your presentation. If possible, audio record or
videotape yourself ahead of time. Make sure that you are
within your allotted time.
Let your expertise and enthusiasm for the topic shine through.
Marjorie Feinstein-Whittaker,
M.S., is a corporate speech trainer in Boston, MA.
|
