Speaking Like A Pro

category: Business4Mom
by Lisa Druxman,

Last month I had the pleasure of participating in the National Speakers Association’s Speaking School. Say that five times fast! Most members of NSA are professional speakers. However, many of the attendees that day were from all walks of life. They just wanted to improve their ability to present in whatever line of work they were in. Public speaking is a skill that needs practice just like anything else. I hope my notes from the day inspire you the next time you step on stage.

Preparing Your Presentation
1. Create a great title and a short strategic introduction
a. People learn more from you if you are likeable. Find ways to connect with your audience right from the
start. Music. Humor
2. Prepare your presentation in modules, making sure to touch their emotions along the way. Add an element of surprise throughout so they don’t know what to expect. For example, bring someone up as a model or do an activity instead of just presenting slide by slide
3. Powerful summary and closure
a. If you are going to do Q&A, hold it towards the end but don’t finish with it. It’s not powerful enough. Finish with your close.
b. When you get questions, make comments such as “good question or I’m glad you asked that”
c. When you don’t know, be honest. If there’s someone else in the audience or from your team who can answer, that’s great. Otherwise, have them email you for an answer.
d. Always repeat the question
e. If no one asks questions, say “one question I often get asked is….” And then answer that
f. Consider getting questions ahead of time when venue permits.
g. Have a polite way to defer questions that are not appropriate or should not be answered during your session.

Be Prepared –
1) Make sure you know your content. You should just need to glance at a slide to know what you are going to say. Unless you are reading a piece of research, a stat or a quote, do your best not to read the slides.
2) Have “saver” lines prepared for the unexpected.
a. Phones ringing in your session
b. Lights go out
c. Power point doesn’t work
d. You fall
3) Create a master checklist of everything that you should bring to your presentations. Don’t reinvent it each time, but you can add to it if you realize something is missing. Examples:
a. Projector
b. Projector remote control
c. Laptop
d. Presentations
e. Props
f. Hard copy of your introduction
g. Business Cards
h. Signage
i. Brochures

Power Points- Make sure it will be readable to the audience
- Use special effects if they build excitement, not a distraction
- Don’t use bullet point after bullet point
- Consider your Power Point to compliment your presentation. You can insert movie or video clips, music, etc
- Play with different layouts and formats to get your point across. There are templates online and that you can buy

Room Set Up- Empty seats create an empty feeling. When possible make sure they do not set up with extra seating. If they do, close off back aisles and force everyone to move to the front. Will create better energy.

I am proud to be a member of the NSA and look forward to my continued growth as a speaker!

Comments

1 Comment so far

Rachel Pustilnik | 11 July 2008, 17:44
Thanks Lisa for these tidbits! I love the adice to ‘create saver lines’ bc I would be the person who would fall during my presentation!

One other piece of advice – practice your speech beforehand. Do it by yourself and for a small audience (friend, spouse, etc). Thanks for sharing!