presentation skills success, public speaking tips, presentation skills

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Page 1: Presentation Skills Success, Public Speaking Tips, Presentation Skills

Presentation Skills SuccessStrategy and tips for you to prepare, write, rehearse and deliver your next presentation – based onthe experience of the “Speech Coach for Executives” – George Torok. You can speak withconfidence, clarity and conviction when you polish your presentation skills. The power of publicspeaking is a key leadership skill. Your ability to communicate will take you farther than any otherskill set. Communicate well. Communicate effectively and communicate your message so thatothers listen, understand and act. This article can be a career enhancing opportunity for you. Studythis article and watch your presentation skills achieve greater success. You will be amazed at whatyou can do when you polish your presentation skills to deliver your message with impact.

· First thoughts on your presentation Why you?How can you get more done? By being a superior communicator. The secret of managing people is to masterthe art and science of communication. Superior communication skills are a combination of listening,negotiating and speaking.

Public Speaking, Presentation or Speech?Deliver your message with impact. It is not just a speech or presentation. I use the words speech, publicspeaking and presentation interchangeably in this article. It is your message that is important. Yourpresentation is the vehicle for delivering your message and to create results. A successful presentation is one

that moves people to action. You know it was a success if after you speak, they buy, work or follow. To dothat requires skill. Devour this article. You will capture the essence of superior presentation skills. First Rule of Great Presentations

A great presentation does not just happen. It is planned, rehearsed then delivered with flair. A good presenteris one who learns the skills of presentations - not one who hopes for talent to carry them. Public speaking is aset of skills not a talent. You can be a good presenter if you learn the skills for presentation success. You willbe a great speaker if you learn from every presentation you deliver. Great presenters start as poor speakers –then they get better.

Learn from other Great Speech MakersWho are the public speakers you admire? Ask yourself why you admire them. What techniques do they use intheir speeches that you can use? What principles can you adapt to your presentations? It could be a greatpolitical leader, business executive or innovator. Whether it is a Churchill, Henry Ford or Einstein – ask

yourself, “Why does their delivery work so well? How can I use that technique or principle in my speech?”Look for the skills they used and make them your own.

· Preparing your Presentation

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Purpose of your presentationImagine that you have been scheduled to speak to a group. An important question for you to review is “Whyam I delivering this presentation?” Don’t answer, “Because I was asked.” Instead ask why does this groupneed to hear from you? What message is so important that you must take their time to speak to them? You

must be clear on the purpose of your speech before you can write it. Please don’t give a speech just becauseyou are the boss. Don’t waste their time and embarrass yourself. Have something worthwhile to say. If youstart by knowing what you want to happen then you will begin to create an effective speech.

Your audience is the reason you are thereUnderstand your audience. What do they want? Why would they listen to you? If you want to reach them withyour presentation you must reach them through their needs. While you are talking they are asking themselves,“What’s in it for us?” If you have not spoken to this group before, interview a few of them before yourpresentation. Mention the names of some audience members during your presentation. It will help youconnect with the group.

Read “Establishing Rapport with your Audience”

Design your presentation backwardsThe most common way to write your speech is to start at the beginning and write to the end. That is not an

effective way to write a speech. Instead write the speech backwards. Start with the destination and work backto the opening. You will write your speech faster and clearer if you start with the end in mind. Know yourpurpose. Write the closing line that hammers home your message. Then write the points to support that close.Then write your opening that launches you into that presentation. Designing your speech is also a set ofcommunication skills.

Read “Write Your Speech in Five Minutes”

Presentation StructureThere are many presentation structures that you can choose from. When you speak to a business group themost effective approach is to state your conclusions first, the actions required then follow with supportinginformation. That would be an effective business speech.

The most boring and ineffectual presentation style to use with a business group is the scientific method thatmany of us learned in school. The scientific method starts with a problem, followed by a hypothesis, amethod, results and conclusion. That sounds logical but most people in business today do not have thepatience to listen to that litany. We want the answer first. Speak – don’t lecture.

Q&A structureAnother simple presentation structure that works is to tell your audience that you will answer the mostcommon questions you have heard. Then you state the question and answer it. This is one of the easiest ways

to give a speech. It sounds like a conversation and you will find it easier to remember. All you need toremember are the questions because you already know the answers. The best speech feels like a conversation. Pain and ReliefAn effective sales technique is to first reveal or describe their pain, fear or problem. Then you offer the relief

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to the pain. The relief from pain and desire for pleasure are powerful motivators. Just don’t dwell on the paintoo long. Think ‘plop, plop fizz, fizz.’ Illustrating your main points

We need images to understand. A good image for the accountant and numbers type is a chart. Bankers,financial planners and money folk love charts and graphs. Use pie charts, bar graphs and piles of coins toillustrate and emphasize your points when talking to financial types. Images can contribute more to thesuccess of your presentation then words.

Telling StoriesTell stories. Paint word pictures that create images in the listeners’ minds. If they can see it they are morelikely to understand and remember your message. The best public speakers are storytellers Use stories andanecdotes to illustrate and reinforce the main points of your presentation. Learn to master the skill ofstorytelling. Listen to newscasters, entertainers and other speakers.

The best stories are personal. Because they are yours - they are easier to remember and they make yourpresentation unique. We listen to stories. We hate lectures. If you forgot that lesson - just ask your kids. Theway to find personal stories that can be used in your presentations is to write them down. Make a list ofsignificant things that happened to you and those around you; the first time… the best, the worst, the biggest

mistake, the best break, the greatest ah-ha, the funniest moment, the most frustrating incident, the dumbestthing you did, the most embarrassing moment… The things that hurt you the most make the best stories to tell in your presentations. Rehearse your stories toedit them down into a short story that is easy to listen to. The hardest thing for you might be to leave out

details. The hardest thing for your audience is listening to you describe unnecessary details. Just make thepoint. Researching your presentationGet your facts straight. Don’t stand there saying, “I think so” or “I’m not sure.” Don’t lie and pretend to

know something you do not. So spend time collecting and confirming your information. Too many publicspeakers are quick to present their opinions without providing clear substance. Avoid that trap. Be careful of presenting hearsay as evidence – unless you preface it as that. You might interview customersfor their comments or check with the front lines for their unofficial feedback. That is ok – but present it

honestly. Do a quick search on one or a few of the Internet search engines to find some new insights on thetopic of your presentation. These Internet ‘facts’ might not be confirmable so present them as what you found– ‘Stuff from the Internet’.

Test for relevanceReview your speech for relevance to your audience. After every statement that you plan to make ask yourself,“So what?” Because that is what your audience will be asking. If you cannot answer this question clearly andsuccinctly – then rework it or remove it from your speech. What do you want them thinking, “Yeah right on!”or “So what?”

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Remembering your speechThe best public speakers do not memorize their presentation. Instead know your topic and the issues. Thenmake notes for yourself. But don’t read your speech. That is so boring. Instead write key words that remindyou of your messages. Write your speech notes on index cards. That is much easier to handle instead of

fumbling with a sheet of paper. Rehearsing your presentationRehearse your speech on your feet at least three times. It is okay to rehearse parts of it in your car or sitting at

your desk. But because you will deliver in on your feet – you rehearse the speech on your feet. It feelsdifferent when you speak on your feet. Get used to the feel of delivering your presentation. The best way toreinforce a set of skills is by repeating the pattern the way you plan to deliver. Golfers and musicians rehearsetheir patterns so the skills of the big day are natural to them.

The fear of public speakingStudies show that our number one fear is the fear of public speaking. Hard to believe but it is more prevalentthan the fear of death. If you have a fear of public speaking or feel some anxiety you are not alone. Even greatspeakers like Churchill experienced this fear. But he worked on his delivery skills so he could deliver evenwhen he was nervous. I am a professional speaker who has spoken to audiences all over North America yet I

also experience speech anxiety. The fear of public speaking might be with you forever. But your audiencedoes not need to know. Overcoming the fear of public speaking

In most cases the symptoms of the fear are not noticeable to your audience. You might feel terrified but youraudience doesn’t know. There are several ways to get past speech anxiety. Focus on the success of yourpresentation. Before you step up to speak take a couple of slow deep breaths. Speak slowly. Don’t let it runaway from you.Avoid the Nine Presentation Sins

· Delivering your PresentationLast minute details before you begin speakingGet into the room before your audience arrives to check the setup and get the feel of the room. This helps to

make it your room. Walk around the room and sit in a few different chairs to take in the feel of your room andhow your audience will see you. Check your equipment and put on your busiest slide to check for readability.Drink one or two glasses of warm water to both lubricate your vocal cords and hydrate yourself. Publicspeaking dehydrates you. Emergency preparation

Check the exit doors and paths from the building. If an emergency occurs the audience will look to you, thespeaker, for leadership and maybe their lives. Be prepared to tell people how to leave the room and building.If it becomes necessary - do it in a calm, commanding and confident voice. Public speaking carries theresponsibility of leadership. Everything you do while speaking will be better if you prepare the skills todeliver.

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Your confederateAlways have at least one confederate. This is a simple yet important secret to presentation success. Yourconfederate should sit near the back of the room so they can survey the room, help late arrivers and do thingswithout disturbing the audience. They will take care of the lights, handouts, ushering people to their seats andeven asking a planted question. It is their job to head off problems before they erupt. They should know how

to work the lights and who to call when problems arise. Eye ContactTalk directly to people. The best presentation is delivered as a conversation to every person in your audience

one person at a time. If you want to be believed – talk to every individual – looking him or her in the eye. Don’t make the big mistake committed by many novice public speakers - staring at the spot on the back wall.This one technique is a powerful element of successful presentation skills. Emphasizing key points

If you want people to remember something – repeat it at least three times during your speech. The first timethey might hear it. The second time they might mull it over. The third time it might stick. “I have a dream”.Do you know how many times Martin Luthur King repeated that phrase in his famous speech?

Read “Emphasizing Key Points”

Establishing rapportTalk about things to which your audience can relate. Don’t talk down and don’t baby them. To build rapportwith your audience they must relate to you. Don’t pretend to be something you are not. But show how you arelike them. Be human. Expose a flaw. Show that you are not perfect. If you pretend to be perfect they will hateyou – and not listen.

Read “Establishing Rapport”

Stay on timeStart your presentation on time and finish on time. If you start all your meetings and presentations on timepeople will learn to show up on time. Do not repeat yourself for latecomers. If there is a small group at

starting time then be prepared to ‘start’ with a discussion instead of your speech. Those that are there willbelieve that you started on time and those arriving late will seat themselves quickly feeling a bit guilty forbeing late. Finish on time – even if it means leaving something out. For that reason – always get your important message

out early. Never keep the key message till the end of your speech. They might be asleep by that time. Positiona small clock where you can see it so you know where you are in your presentation. Don’t commit the sin ofasking, “How are we doing for time?” You should know – you are the speaker.

Deliver your speech with credibilityIf you are the CEO, President or the boss – you have credibility by position. You might lose your credibilityby committing presentation sins. You can enhance your credibility by the sources of information you quote.You can quote from a publication they read and respect. You can quote from a well-known and respectedperson. You can quote from some member of your audience – remember your research?

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You can also imply credibility by waving a source document or book as you speak. Notice how preachers usethis technique by holding the bible.

Read “Introducing Your Speaker”

Help your audience remember the important partsRepeat the points you want them to remember. Use an anecdote or story to illustrate the point. Pause justbefore and after you state the key points.

We find it easier to remember images and feelings. If you want your audience to remember the key points ofyour presentation attach those points to images or emotions. Men tend to connect visuals with memory whilewomen tend to connect emotions for memory. Be sure to address both needs in your presentations.

Read “Power of the Pause”

Look your bestSmile. You look your best when you smile. You look most trustworthy, friendly and confident when yousmile. We do not want to listen to a speaker who is frowning. Don’t grin like a fool all the way through yourspeech. Instead smile before you start. Smile when you say something important. Smile when you end. Makeit a warm friendly smile. When you smile you look confident and help to improve the confidence of your

audience. Smile. Sounding your best

Drinking water before you speak will lubricate your vocal chords. Breathing deeply and slowly will allow youto project your voice and pause when you want to – not when you need to. Speak slower that you normallyspeak. The audience needs to hear you, think about it and internalize it. Try these simple exercises to get your voice in shape before you speak. Yawn. Yes, yawning relaxes yourvocal chords and opens the voice channel. The second trick is to hum. Humming seems to set up a resonance

within your vocal cavity. Using equipment and technologyIf you are using a computer projector and PowerPoint in your presentation then avoid the mistakes committed

by many presenters. Ensure that your slides enhance your points. Don’t make the common mistake ofdesigning your presentation around the slides. Instead, first create your presentation then decide how toillustrate your points. You might have sat through some horrible PowerPoint Presentations. That happenswhen speakers with poor presenters attempt to hide their lack of skills behind a PowerPoint presentation.

Read “Power Tips for Presentations with Computer Projectors”Read “Tips on Presenting with Overhead Projectors”

Read “PowerPoint Sins” Ensuring success in your presentationYour audience does not know your script. Be ready to adapt your presentation to the audience and conditions.

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Be prepared to leave something out. It might be tough on you but your audience does not know what you leftout or forgot. Instead focus on them and your message. If they get it then forget the rest of your speech. Correcting things that go wrong

If you look and sound calm the audience does not know that anything is wrong. They might even think thatyou planned the interruption. When things go wrong, smile, pause, breathe and sound confident. Adapt yourpresentation. Never appear to panic. Instead focus on your message and what you want them to do.

Handling Q&AAt some point during your presentation you might offer to answer questions from the audience. Never do thisas an afterthought. Don’t make the mistake of delivering and finishing a spectacular speech then opening toquestions. That is a weak way to close. Instead before you finish your speech, announce that you will takequestions for x minutes. Then close off the questions and finish with your closing statement. That way you getthe strong close you planned – not the answer to a lame question.

Read “Handling Questions with Authority”

Tame the HecklersHow do you handle hecklers? Prepare yourself for the worst questions. Write down all the possible objections

and your answer to each. Rehearse the answers when you rehearse your speech. Answering questions well is acrucial part of your presentation skills. No matter what happens – remain calm. The worst thing for you to dois to react. Instead, respond and guide the audience back to your message. If you have established rapport withyour audience they will be on side with you. Don’t alienate your audience by appearing angry or out ofcontrol.

If a heckler makes a negative comment you can respond with, “Thank you for your opinion” and move on. Don’t let yourself get dragged into a dirty argument. Don’t give the heckler credibility. Finish Your Presentation Strong

End your presentation with a strong message. You can choose from several techniques. A call to action is oneof the best endings to get your audience into action immediately after your speech. Other endings you can useinclude a rhetorical question; a positive statement; or a famous quotation. But never end with, “Well that’s allfolks.” That is an extremely weak ending. Instead end on a positive action-generating note.

· Post Presentation

Review your presentation and growAsk a trusted colleague to attend your presentation and give you constructive feedback. Be specific in whatyou ask from them; e.g. “How well was my point illustrated? Did my humor work well? Did I connect withthem?” When you ask specific questions you will get specific answers. The most important question you canask yourself is, “Did I make happen what I wanted to happen?” If the answer is yes – it was a successfulpresentation. Did they buy, were they convinced, did they march in the direction you pointed? That is the

measure of a successful speech. That is the purpose of your presentation skills in action. Also look at whereyou might still improve your skills. And plan to work on this before your next presentation.

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When someone compliments you on the presentation be gracious and ask him or her, “What was the best ideaor strongest message that you will take away and use?” You might be surprised at what they ‘heard’ versuswhat you ‘said’. The fastest way to improve your presentation skills is to review every presentation youdeliver. What worked well? What could you change?

Leverage your presentationMake your presentation more than an event and part of the process. Summarize key points and questions fromthe presentation in your newsletter and send a note to everyone. Perhaps the speech would make a good article

with some editing. Speaking is only one part of your overall set of communication and leadership skills.These skills are meant to help you get done what you need to get done – by you and by others. Your next presentationFile your notes from the presentation so you can refer to them next time you present. Include in the file your

comments about what you thought worked well and what you need to improve. Include suggestions toyourself on what to try differently next time. Remember the great masters of golf and music are continuallyimproving their skills. They never sit back on rely on talent alone.

· Presentation Resources for you

To become a powerful presenter work with a speech coach.http://www.speechcoachforexecutives.com/To learn the fundamentals of public speaking join Toastmasters. It is a none-profit association that teachespublic speaking skills.http://www.toastmasters.org/For an easy-to-use reference for public speaking read the bestseller “Secrets of Power Presentations” by

Peter Urs Benderhttp://www.peterursbender.com/

· Final Words of Encouragement for you Public Speaking is a set of skills. It is not about talent. It is a set of techniques practiced, rehearsed anddelivered. You will never deliver the perfect speech. But you might deliver a powerful and effective speech. I

know many wonderful presenters – but I do not know one who has ever delivered a perfect presentation. Theskill of public speaking is both an art and a science. The more you learn and practice the science the easier theart will work for you. You can be a powerful and skillful presenter. But it will take time, practice and energy.And those are the elements of greatness.

For success with your presentations:Speak well;Speak effectively;Speak with confidence;

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Speak to make things happen;Speak imperfectly – and speak again.

· Epilogue

Presentation Skills Success ongoing…It never really concludes. To be a better public speaker – you must commit to be an ongoing learner.Communications is a set of skills that can be learned, honed and taught. The ability to communicate is one ofthe most sought after success skills. As human beings we process a unique ability to communicate with eachother. And after thousands of years of trying to communicate we have an incredible knack for

miscommunication. We make mistakes when we speak and when we listen. So the brave keep trying to honethat essence of delivering the perfect speech or amazing presentation.

· Remember you will never deliver the prefect presentation. Never.

· With study and practice you can deliver some amazing presentations.

· As a public speaker you will grow as long as you seek to grow. I suggest that you print this article, and mark it up with a highlighter, pen and post-it notes. It is a long articleand packed with helpful tips for you. Refer to it before your presentations to remind you of powerfulspeaking techniques. Read it between your public speaking assignments to reinforce your presentation style.

And most importantly plan to be a better speaker.

My wish to you…

· Best of public speaking success to you.

· May you continue to grow as a skilled presenter.

· May you one day deliver a presentation that has youraudience saying – “Wow – how do we get some of that?”

© George Torok www.Torok.comProfessional speakerExecutive Speech CoachRadio Show Host

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