Speaking in public is something that people often love or hate. While there are some people who are fairly indifferent to it, most people feel extremely positive or negative about it. The truth behind it is that there are people who are naturally more comfortable with public speaking than others, but everyone needs to practice, and it is something that you can master over time. Here are three public speaking tips to help you rock that presentation.
Practice makes perfect
There’s no way around this. You must practice your presentation over and over again to be really successful at it. When giving a presentation, the idea is to use it as a guide. Practice it enough that you don’t have to read every word off of the slides or your note cards. This will enable you to use your notes as a guide while still maintaining eye contact and connecting with the audience.
If someone tells you that they don’t have to practice for public speaking events or big presentations, they are most likely lying. Everyone practices in order to become good at something.
Know your audience
One of the key factors in a successful presentation is knowing your audience and catering the presentation to them. Are you speaking to industry professionals who understand the jargon, or are you speaking to external parties who aren’t familiar with the topic?
Catering your presentation to meet your audience’s needs will ensure that they fully understand what you’re talking about and can connect with you more. The more you can connect with your audience and tap into what they want from the presentation, the more successful you’ll be at public speaking.
If you’re comfortable with it, play off your audience and add in a joke or ask them a question that pertains to real time actions. Does the audience look tired? Ask them if they’ve had their coffee!
Remember that you know your presentation better than anyone
You are the expert on your own presentation, so you’re the only one who will know you made a mistake unless you clearly show it. Did you forget to mention something before? Mention it later as an add-in. Unless you fumble and tell the audience that you made a mistake, it’s likely that they won’t know.
If you did make a clear mistake or say the wrong thing, simply acknowledge it and move forward. Part of what makes live presentations fun is that they are live and mistakes happen. No one is perfect, so if you do mess up, just move on. You can’t go back and change it, so just keep persevering and finish your presentation strong!
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It’s common to feel uncomfortable with speaking in public, but if you practice you’ll get more comfortable with it over time. Follow these three public speaking tips to help you rock that presentation and improve your presentation skills!