Preparing an Effective Presentation
Strategies to Enhance Your Speaking Skills
Whenever someone asks for tips on presenting or public speaking, my first impulse is to say, “Prepare, prepare, prepare, prepare.” Many of the problems speakers encounter can be traced back to a lack of preparation. In fact, almost every speaker that walks into my office for coaching walks out with the realization that they weren’t nearly as prepared as they thought they were.
Having a script, an outline or a fancy slide deck does not make you prepared. Preparation goes far beyond content creation. Once your content is ready you might be halfway there—because, knowing your material is not the same thing as delivering the material. Those are two separate skill sets. You can know the material like the back of your hand and still hit a wall when it comes to communicating it clearly and effectively.
Format your notes so they actually help you. Speakers often try presenting from pages or slides that have large sections of small type and not enough white space. When the text is too dense on the page it’s very easy to lose your place and you’ll tend to keep your eyes glued to your notes. Use at least 14-point fonts and place small blocks of double-spaced text at the top, middle and bottom of the page. The rest will be white space. Your notes should support you, not distract you. And less is more.
Rehearse the speech. To be fully prepared, you must practice doing exactly what you’ll be doing when you actually give the speech. That means standing up and talking through your material, out loud. Reading over your notes is not rehearsal. If you make a video of your rehearsal, it gets even better. You will immediately discover what’s working well and what needs your attention. In a very short time, you’ll become your own coach.
Master the beginning and end. The opening and closing could arguably be the most important parts of your presentation, but they often get the least amount of preparation. Craft a compelling opening.
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