Friday, April 1, 2011

Ways to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

By Micheal Dorel


We have all been the innocent victims of uninspiring presentations, and so I want to spare you and your audience this pain! I have helped lots of people deliver professional and visually appealing presentations. Here are a handful of things I have learned over the years: 6 simple guidelines to help improve your next presentation:

Grab your audience's attention. People can tell if you are excited about your presentation from the moment you start talking. Find an interesting or funny story to kick things off with in the intro. March up to the stage with a confident look.

Use the visuals as a backdrop , not as the primary event. The main attraction of the presentation ought to be you. The slideshow and images should emphasize what you are already saying, not vice versa. Imagine that in your next presentation, your Lcd projector breaks right before it's time for your speech. Would you still be able to pull it off?

Don't get too text-heavy in your PowerPoint slides. Simply put the key ideas in your slides with a graphic. If there is too much text, it is difficult to see from far away, and for the people that can see it, they are going to read it all on their own instead of listening to you.

Avoid using the same-ol, same-ol templates in Microsoft PowerPoint that everybody else uses. That's the best way to lose your listeners. If you don't have the time or artistic flare to make a great PowerPoint presentation, you may want to consider hiring a company that does PowerPoint outsourcing.

Open it up for discussion. Surveys reveal that most people today retain only 10% of what they hear but 80% of that which they discuss. If your material is conducive to small group discussions, split them into small groups to have them discuss it. You will raise your effectiveness by 70%!

Make it Funny. Look for a humorous video on YouTube that augments your point. A little humor can go a long way during a long meeting.

I hope your next presentation is a success!




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