7 Steps to planning & delivering an effective presentation

 

Step 1 - Conquer your fear

Step 2  Know your audience

Step 3 Organize your speech

Step 4  Present your speech

Step 5  Non-verbal communication

Step 6  Visual support

Step 7  Managing questions

1. Fear of public speaking

Fear defeats more people than any other thing in the worldв

Ralph Waldo Emerson

How can you handle public speaking nervousness, fears, anxieties and the physical symptoms these feelings produce? There is no single answer. It`s totally natural to be nervous. You overcome nervousness by preparing for your speech mentally, logistically and physically.

The best way to overcome your fear is to fight it by being well prepared.

Mentally

1) Spend a lot more time preparing than speaking. As a general rule, invest three hours of preparation for a 30-minute speech. A six to one ration.

2) Know your opening & closing by rote. Knowing your opening & closing lets you start & end smoothly, thereby connecting with your audience when you are most nervous.

Logistically

Go to the room where you will be speaking as early as possible so you can become comfortable in the environment. During the presentation you can concentrate on your audience, not on the environment.

Physically

Connect with your audience personally. Speakers are usually not that nervous about individuals, only faced with the thought of an audience.

WHY DO PEOPLE FEAR PUBLIC SPEAKING?

1 Saying or doing something to embarrass themselves.

2 Fear of forgetting what they are going to say.

3 Fear of rejection.

4 Fear that no one will respond.

5 Fear that someone will question them and they won`t know it.

9 Ways to conquer your fear

Only prepared speakers deserve to be confident

Dale Carnegie

The more self-confidence you have, the less fear you are likely to experience at the podium.

1 Know your audience.

2 Master your material.

3 Prepare your presentation.

4 Practice.

5 Dress for success.

6 Get to the room early; walk around; make it your own room.

7 Bond with your audience: meet & greet the audience, shake hands, build friendships.

8 Go to an out-of-sight area & do some relaxation exercises.

9 Spiritual support.

В  2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

1) Research your audience so you can address their specific needs& concerns.

2) If your opening remarks imply you understand their problems & that you have a solution, the audience will be flattered by your attention & be attentive to your every word.

By knowing your audience you will determine how best to achieve your objectives in the context of this audience.

If you can somehow convince them that they are achieving their goals while at the same time achieving your own, you will find a helpful & receptive audience.

Achieving the goal of audience is he simplest & most effective manner of obtaining their attention at the beginning.

As you prepare your speech, check off each pint listed below regarding your audience:

• How many people will be attending the presentation?

• What is level of their  knowledge about the topic?

• What is the audience`s attitude toward the subject?

• Is it a specific group or a general audience?

• Why are they attending?

• What are their educational levels?

• What is the general age group of the audience?

• Will there be all men? All women? Mixed audience?

FIVE SIGNALS THE AUDIENCE WANTS TO HEAR FROM THE PRESENTER

During the introduction address these points:

• I will not waste your time.

• I know who you are.

• I am well prepared.

• I know my subject.

• Here is my most important point.

GIVING SIGNALS TO THE AUDIENCE

As you know, my subject this morning is fire prevention. In a few seconds (signal) I am going to give you the three cornerstones of good fire safety (reinforcing signal). But first, I`d like to tell you a true story about a boy, a dog and a box of matches

 I have three pints to cover this morning, and each will take about 5 minutes(signal). But first let me take a few seconds to tell you about

Here is my most important point: If you don`t take anything else away from my talk today, I hope you`ll remember this one point (signal)..

I want to leave you with this one last thought