How to Improve Your Presentation Skills

“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”

-       Dale Carnegie

Public Speaking: The two words that strike the great fear in most people (probably second only to ‘Nazi Germany’). In fact the fear of Public Speaking even has a term in psychology: glossophobia. Most of us would undoubtedly like ‘Public Speaking’ to be completely obliterated (quite like Hitler’s grand plans), but unfortunately the truth is that it is just getting bigger and bigger (and more important) by the day.  In fact in today’s cutthroat, competitive world it is almost essential for success. Whether in college or in the professional sphere the ability to communicate effectively and convincingly will propel you much higher than any other skill set. This article will help you enhance your position and help you achieve greater success. Read on to find how you can polish your presentation skills and deliver that all-important message with considerable impact.

One thing you might have noticed is how the words ‘speech’, ‘public speaking’, ‘presentation’ and ‘communication’ have been used interchangeably. For those wondering why, the reasons for doing so are two-fold. First, it is simply because none of them matter as much as what you are actually delivering- the Message. Think of each as simply a vehicle for driving your all-important message to the audience, moving them to action and eventually attaining the desired results. Second, because none of them are talents, they are all skills and to be specific a single skill- Public Speaking. Simply put, no one is born with talent in speaking and in fact sometimes even the best speakers can get it horribly wrong. Public Speaking is a skill painfully acquired through practice, planning, diligence and keen observation. Whether your message achieves its desired outcome (or not) is affected by your skills as a speaker and ability to move the crowd. So, without much ado let’s focus on acquiring the skills that will help turn even a garden-variety speaker into a real Cicero.

‘Lend me your ears!’

The first thing to remember about your presentation is that your success is entirely dependent on your audience. Hence, it’s crucial you do some background research on their interests and needs. Then structure your presentation such that the message you’re conveying essentially revolves and caters to those interests and needs. You can do this by asking two basic questions. First, ask yourself “What is the purpose of my presentation?” The answer should provide you with a definite agenda for the entire duration of your speech. The agenda should eventually culminate with you enticing some sort of positive action from the audience. Second, put yourself in the audience’s shoes and ask ‘What’s in the presentation for us?’ or ‘Why should I listen to this?’ This will help you build your presentation with a complete focus on satisfying the audience.

‘Build bridges not walls!’

After understanding your audience, structure your presentation to connect with them. Speak to your audience instead of bombarding them with information in a boring, scientific way. Do kids plead with their parents for a ‘Lecture on good table manners’ or for ‘A Fantasy Tale’? It’s obvious, no one wants to be lectured and be told to do something. If it wasn’t so, don’t you think we all would have stayed awake through University? Tell them stories, because everyone wants to be inspired and to be wowed! Talk about mistakes, lucky breaks, funny and embarrassing moments and cleverly weave them with the message you wish to convey. Form a personal connect with your audience and help them to relate to the problem. You’ll be amazed at how positively they react!

Imagine as if you’re embarking with the audience on a majestic journey and that the destination is only known to you. So, to keep them continually enthusiastic and enthralled you must design your presentation with finesse. Most people write their speech from beginning to end and quite often lose their message midway, unintentionally leading their audience to the not-so Promised Land. Don’t make the same mistake! Write your speech backwards. Start with the destination and work back to the opening. Not only will you always keep the audience on the path you desire but you’ll be surprised at how much faster and clearer you structure your presentation.

The Rule of Three states that the people are only going to recollect three things from your presentation. Needless to say, you want the audience to take away and recollect your message and not unnecessary details in your presentation. So before you start writing your presentation, plan what your three key messages will be. This could be your message itself broken into three major components. Once you’ve identified your core points, focus on structuring your presentation around these three key themes. It is essential that you state your main points first and illustrate them wherever possible. Then supplement each using non-convoluted facts and figures. Remember one rule: If in doubt, leave it out. Keep it short and simple. No one ever complained of a presentation getting over too soon, did they?

Last, always get your facts right and ensure you stand by them. Instead of using terms like ‘I think’ or ‘It might’ use terms like ‘I’m sure’ and ‘It will’. The audience is bound to trust in you only if you trust in yourself. So, be confident and believe in what you are presenting.

‘Practice what you speak!’

‘Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.’ 

- Vince Lombardi

Irrespective of how good your presentation is on paper it’s sure to bomb if you don’t rehearse it again and again. Practice is that golden arrow that can hit not three birds at once. First, practice will help you perfect your delivery. Second, it will iron out all flaws in the presentation structure. Third, it’ll help calm your nerves. Practice is nothing but getting used to the feel of delivering the presentation. The more you practice, the more you become one with your delivery. You understand important points within your presentation where you must emphasize or possibly slow down your pace in order to get your point across effectively.

Here is a good way to start rehearsing your presentation:

• First, you add the full sentences from your manuscript in your presenter notes. Run through your slides and say the sentences.
• Highlight key words in the sentences (in the notes) and then run through your slides again
• Then, delete the sentences in your notes so you’re left with only the keywords. Practice the presentation from this.
• Remove the notes and now make a practice presentation with only the slides as your support. By now, you’ve been over your presentation 3 times, so you will be able to memorize most of the details just by looking at your slides.

After you’ve completed the steps above, you’re ready to test yourself in front of an audience. Having a dry run in front of a mirror, then saying it aloud to friends or colleagues and even video taping yourself will help you get valuable feedback about things you’re doing right or wrong and also help you analyze if you’re getting your message across. Remember, the goal is to deliver your message with impact and to get that all-important ‘sense of timing’.

‘The D-Day’

On the day of your presentation, remember to be at the venue ahead of time. Getting accustomed to your surroundings is a great way to prepare yourself before your presentation. Take a walk around the room; see from different spots how the audience will see you while talking and how your slides (if used) will look from that distance. A nice way to calm your nerves would be to speak to a few members of the audience before commencement, just to create the initial rapport. Drink lots of water to help lubricate your vocal cords. Public Speaking dehydrates you and you don’t want to have a dry throat while delivering your crucial points!

When delivering your speech remember to always be yourself. Connect with your audience through your body language and tone and keep them engaged through interactivity and concision. Don’t dwell too much on a topic and feel free to pause in the middle of the presentation and ask the audience questions. Attention spans of audiences are very short and hence being concise and direct will help them focus on you (and your message) at all times. A good guideline for concision is the ‘10-20-30’ rule by Guy Kawasaki. It simply states that no presentation should have more than 10 core slides, more than 20 minutes of core speech and no text less than 30-point font. Whether your idea is going to revolutionize the world or help sell lemonade, by following this rule you will be compelled to convey your message to the audience in a short and sweet manner. And you can thank him once you reap the rewards!

Finally, remember to always deliver your message to match the semantics of the audience. For example- if you’re delivering a presentation about a new sales tool to business professionals your semantics are going to be much different than if you were selling a bicycle prototype. So understand the demographic and speak their language.

Now, here's the fun part. We've created a fun, engaging video on tips and tricks of Presentation Skills to help drive home the point. View and Enjoy!

Presentation Skills: Tips & Tricks

Great! Now you're ready to start putting what you've learnt into practice! Use these tips to improve on your speaking skills. Remember, no one is perfect and whether you are a veteran of a thousand speeches or a first-timer you’re only good as your last presentation. Learn from each speech that you give, try to analyze the rights and wrongs and incorporate them into your next presentation. Soon, you’ll realize that you relish the challenge and look forward to your next opportunity at the pulpit. Good luck, implement all the pointers and get ready to imbibe all that applause!

Like our videos? Want to have your own educational videos made? Want more information about our training modules? Interested in our educational content? Have any comments or suggestions? We would love to hear from you.

E-mail us all your questions, comments and enquiries to chalktalk@last-bench.com