Whether we’re talking in a team meeting, giving a presentation in school to an audience, we all have to speak in public from time to time. Everyone has probably been in the position where the nerves got the best of them. It’s completely understandable because nothing is scarier than facing a huge group of people possibly judging your talk. Good news is that there are things we can do to make it easier!
We have interviewed our in house expert Sonia Samtani and here are her top tips!
1. Find your resting pose
During a presentation, finding a resting position is important. When you aren’t using your hands to gesture things, you don’t want to do anything too distracting, but you also don’t want to be feeling awkward and uncomfortable, so tip number 1 is to try out different resting poses, and see what you feel most comfortable in!
2. Believe in what your saying!
93% of communication is a non-verbal state of mind. That is why believing in what your saying, and being fully comfortable with who you are is going to make the communication process most effective. No audience is going to remember everything word-for-word, and is most likely going to paraphrase the information, so you shouldn’t feel as though reading everything word-for-word is important. Simply be yourself, believe in your viewpoints, and the audience will react accordingly.
3. Have a powerful opening and ending!
Having a powerful opening and ending in a speech is extremely crucial because it can change the way the audience views your presentation. Usually, the first 3-4 seconds of a presentation can determine whether the audience will give you there full focus or simply look to their phones. That’s why it is really important to start with something interesting, it could be a cool fact, a story, a video, or even an intriguing question to captivate the audience. Having a powerful ending is just as important. It is then that the audience will determine whether the presentation was great or whether it was just ok. Remember it is always important create a long lasting impression!!
Photo Credit: Kai Oberhäuser