Conquer your public speaking fears with these powerful tips
The demand for information about how to use social media means that Nigel Morgan is proving a popular keynote speaker and whether alone or with The Social Media Guys it is great fun for the speakers and audiences alike, however quiet questions afterwards are often about how to deliver powerful presentations - hence this guest post from a vastly more experienced public speaker who specialises in personal branding.
Author of Walking Tall, Lesley Everett first appeared on this blog almost a year ago when she penned: How visible are you? What does social media say about you? A popular guest post that came about after she deftly interacted during a talk on Twitter delivered by The Internet Psychologist Graham Jones, which led to this terrific Twitter Case Study. This time she seeks to help banish those nerves with some sterling advice on delivering presentations. If this interests you then do check out Powerful PowerPoint tips for perfect presentations, another guest post, this one written by top sales negotiator and Morgan PR associate Steve Jones.
Lesley Everett writes:
As a keynote speaker I have delivered hundreds of speeches all over the world and it’s something I love to do. However, I am fully aware from coaching executives that this can be some peoples biggest nightmare! I am sure you can remember sitting through a presentation that had you falling asleep in your chair and equally the one that left you buzzing and full of inspiration. Three of my fundamentals for presentations that deliver the latter are:
- Be individual and unique - be yourself don’t try to change your personality to address an audience. Experienced speakers who capture the attention of the audience will express their personality, using their body language, voice and conversational language.
- Keep their attention - remember your presentation should be built on two elements: what you want to say and what your audience wants to hear. A powerful technique to use when presenting is to create pictures in the mind of the listener.
- Give them memorable messages and inspiration for taking action - the best presentations are delivered by people who have an absolute passion for their subject. By passing on ‘real life stories’, tips and knowledge built up by your experience you can inspire people and make them enthusiastic to make changes.
To deliver a polished presentation I recommend that you practice and time it - always keep within the time allowed, otherwise you risk irritating the event organiser. However, you shouldn’t over rehearse or your performance will lack spontaneity and you may come across as over confident.
Remember to check on your dress, grooming and any distracting habits you may have. Get a friend or colleague you trust to give you feedback on your practice session - you may not be aware that you play with your hair or tie constantly, which an audience could concentrate on rather than what you are saying! If you are moving around a stage practice in what you will be wearing so you know that you shirt doesn’t gape or your skirt ride up.
In summary:
- Plan, rehearse (but not overly) and use a checklist
- Remember to incorporate what the audience wants to hear as well as what you want to say
- Be passionate and enthusiastic about your subject
- Use eye contact to engage the whole audience - don’t fixate on one person as you will risk making them feel very uncomfortable
- Vary your tone and modulation and remember to build in pauses, to keep interest
- Create pictures in the audiences mind, you can use visual aids but don’t let them overpower you
- Make sure your beginning and ending have impact
- BE YOURSELF and bring out your personality
We work with individuals to enhance their presentational brand and help them to build personality into their delivery for maximum impact.
Clearly Lesley knows her stuff and you can find more detailed tips in my book, Walking TALL, Key steps to total image impact available online from the Walking TALL shop. What do you think? Is her advice useful? Do you have any tips yourself? Please reveal your thoughts in the comments below.