There is no one way to give the perfect presentation. This is because there are many styles and guidelines that one can follow and there is no truly flawless presentation. However, there are a few key elements that should be included in every presentation.
First: Give Them Energy!!
How can you expect the crowd to stay away if you’re preaching to them like a dead horse?!? Stay active and keep your voice engaged. Some ways to really do this is by getting the audience involved and attentive. Including them in the speech or asking questions could save you from a snore fest.
Second: Be clear and concise
Nobody likes to listen to a speech that they can’t understand. If your audience is giving you a blank face or an off to space stare, they may have missed something or your details are getting lost in translation. The other reason may be you’re over elaborating on certain things. Tips for improving this are just focusing in on a couple topics or simply stopping to allow the audience to ask question.
Third: Be organized
Let them know when you’re ready to start, where the meat is, and when you’re wrapping things up. There are those out there who just love to predict and expect where you’re going next and wouldn’t it be wonderful to give them the luxury of doing so? If you find that you’re not organized, the best thing to do is to start with outlines and focus on the transitioning sentences and really analyze of those make sense. Then, from the outline, move onto notecards so that you can stay focused and hit the key points.
Last (and most importantly…): Confidence!!!
Nothing is a bigger turn off to an audience than when they look to the front of the room and see someone who does not look like they know what they are talking about. This looks like fidgeting, shaking, too much walking back and forth, and especially umm and likes. All of these actions are cues to the people in the audience that you need more rehearsing and you aren’t very ready to give this speech. They also serve as a huge distraction!!! Sometimes, when I’m sitting back there watching a speaker, my friends and I count the number of “likes” and “umms” and completely lose interest in the speech!
So of course, these wont be everything you need to make a good presentation, but they are the basics. Just remember to keep these main points in mind the next time you present in front of a class or even in daily conversation- it helps for both!!
Signing out
(Bang)
—- Brandon Hummons
