4 Effective ways to deliver a great presentation

4 Effective ways to deliver a great presentation

Do you get sick to your stomach and overwhelmed with anxiety every time you are told to present in front of a group of people? Well you are not alone. A shocking 54% of people rate fear of public speaking before the fear of death itself. The good news is that public speaking is a skill that can be learned as we’re not all born with this ability. How would you like to feel at ease the next time you are told to present? How would you like to deliver an impactful speech? Well get your note pad out and let’s get started!

Step 1- Practice and Rehearse

Now this first step might seem like a no brainer, however most people fail to get this basic effective step. When you don’t practice and rehearse you increase the chances of you standing in front of the audience searching for your words. That leads to anxiety and an overall bad presentation. If you plan to deliver a great presentation you need to look confident not only in the message that you share but also in the way you present yourself on stage. 90% of your presentations success will come down to how well you are prepared, so make sure you know your message inside and out. Begin with the end in mind; what is the message you want to deliver, how do you want people to feel after your speech? And what do you want to accomplish with your speech? Being prepared or not prepared can be the difference between a successful speech and a failure. A really good rule of thumb when it comes to delivering presentations is to have one hour of material for every twenty minutes you are scheduled to speak. Being overly prepared is never a bad thing so practice and rehearse so you can wow your audience.

Step 2- Know your Audience

One part of public speaking that is vital for a successful presentation is this: to wow the audience, you must know the audience. Think about how you might communicate differently to your best friend versus a client. Different people will respond differently to the same message, so you must adjust the way by which you deliver the information based on who you’re speaking with. I come from the sales industry and it is there that I learned the magic power of rapport and speaking in people’s terms. We need to use analogies the audience will understand. Now you might be reading this and saying yourself “how I can know people I have never met before”. It is not as hard as you might think. Simply find out the demographics of your audience, such as their gender, age range, marital status, occupation and educational background. You may not require all of this information, but try obtaining the statistics that are relevant to your presentation from the event organiser. The crowd might have common demographics or might be completely varied, but this will give you an idea as to how you can deliver your message in a comprehensive manner.

Step 3- Have a Killer Opening

First impressions are everything, so make it a strong one. When it comes to public speaking gaining the attention of your audience is one of the most crucial elements. After all, if you don’t have their attention then your message won’t be heard, regardless how important it may be. You may be speaking to an audience but they may have already tuned out and therefore never retain your information. They might focus more on what they should have for supper or their plans for the upcoming weekend. Make sure you open great and gain their attention. People’s attention spans are not what they used to be so it is more crucial now than ever before to wow the audience. Make sure that you establish that you are an expert, show that you are enthusiastic to be there and be energetic. One of the best ways to start off any speech is to use the Dale Carrnige classic, "Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them." This is a very powerful and effective way to start any speech. Below is a list of some other ways you can deliver a successful speech.

• Make a monster claim

• Ask engaging questions

• Start with telling a scary statistic

• Start by making a shocking statement

• Start by giving a positive statement

• Start your speech by referring to current events

• Start your speech by referring to historical events

• Start your speech by referring to a well known person

• Start with a quote from recent research

• Start your speech by giving them hope

• Start with humor

• Open with a problem

• Tell a story

Step 4- Trigger Emotions

Have you ever had a teacher in school that no matter how hard you tried you just wanted to fall asleep? We have all been there. Do you enjoy reading great books or watching movies? Well great books and movies have one thing in common: they trigger emotions. Do you want your audience to fall asleep or do you want them to be entertained and engaged in your speech. Asking the audience to visualize is a great way to evoke emotion. Below is a list of ways you can help trigger the audience’s emotions.

• Tonality

• Volume

• Speed

• Body language

• Language

Final Words

Remember if you want to deliver a great speech you must gain the audience’s attention, maintain it and evoke their emotions. As humans, we tend to listen intently to stories, so I will leave you with this winning formula as a bonus. State a fact, followed by a story with which the audience can relate. Then state another fact followed with a powerful quote. As a great speaker you will have to use the volume and speed of your voice to keep the listeners at the edge of their seats. Whenever you feel like you might be losing their attention simply ask the crowd or an individual a question to engage them with participation to keep them alert. Now, follow these steps and go prepare for your next speech. It does not have to be scary, so try having some fun with it.

Give a great speech!

Thanks for reading!

Raphael Huwiler