THE PUBLIC SPEAKING SERIES. Delivery (3)

I speak to hundreds of people as though I'm speaking to one person.
I look them in the eyes, I point at them, I move in their midst.
Okay, let's start from the beginning...
I want to assume you've prepared the content of your presentation, it is an undisputed confidence booster!
Now let's go and speak...

1. When you go up (or stay down) to make your presentation and you come face-to-face with your audience, see them as your very close friends and see the process you're about starting with them as that period of chit-chat you usually have with your friend.

2. Don't show your audience superiority in knowledge by talking to them - talk with them. Engage your audience, the much you can - let them read something, say something after you or carry out a very small task. This brings you closer to them, and them, to you!

3. One of the things you should avoid as a public presenter is to appear fragile, you will never gain the confidence of your audience; if you won't look fickle before your friends, don't look so before your audience (because now they are your adopted friends)! To create the friend-to-friend bond, you can break the ice with a question, a quote, an exercise, or a joke at the start of your presentation. Above all, know your stuff!

4. Don't make the mistake of standing at a spot and reading from a prepared text to your audience. You will bore and loose them! If you need the text, refer to it from time to time but ensure you speak like you understand what is in it.
The other extreme is to make your movement mechanical and choreographical. You don't have to move all the time, let your movement be informed by the points you're trying to emphasize. In some instances, you may be rooted to a spot because of the speaking aid in use; in any case, speak like you mean it.

5. Avoid throwing your hands around like you're a choir conductor! Hand gestures (like body movements) should not be exaggerated, it should be informed by the points being emphasised.
Tune the tone of your voice to fit with your points. Raise it where necessary, whisper where necessary; apart from that, talk normally, like you do with a friend.

6. Try to be yourself when making your presentation. There were times I tried being like the people I admired on stage and it backfired! I remained uncomfortable until I learnt to be myself on stage.

It's been lovely doing this with you!

© 2017, Emeka Akpa. All rights reserved

THE PUBLIC SPEAKING SERIES. Delivery (2)

Before you get on to the platform, be sure to do the following:
1. Try to summarise your talk into a sentence. This discipline may be difficult but it will force you to stay focused on the important points.

2. Determine beforehand, how you want to start your talk- with a quote, a story, a question, a joke or a statistic. This will help you catch the attention of your audience. However, be sure that these are related to your presentation to sustain attention.

3. Ensure your talk is not unnecessarily long. Let it contain an introduction, a body and a conclusion. I use this method to full effect when thinking through a presentation.

4. Choose the presentation aid most comfortable to you and most appropriate for the audience. These presentation aids include:

Notes: when using the note, do not read line by line from it without lifting your head. For the note to serve an optimal purpose, highlight the points you want to make in it and lift those points off from time to time. If you had spent some time thinking through your presentation, the note will be less heavily used. Please, your notes should not be pieces of papers flying around! Have a notepad, it's better.

Slides: This is supposed to serve the same purpose as the note. Your slides should only contain a summary of what you want to say, not all you want to say. It should be simple, with graphics that are only relevant to the presentation. Furthermore, don't depend on it so much that you become helpless if the lights go out or there is a system malfunction, have backup notes.

None of the above: Some people prefer to make presentations without notes or slides. However, I can assure you that these people spend time with their materials, using memory cues as remembering aids (discussing these memory cues is beyond the scope of this writeup). Please note that this method does not necessarily have to be superior to using notes or slides. I have seen presentations made with notes and slide that have left a lot of positive impressions on me.

Don't forget, proper presentation prevents poor performance

Next week, I will talk about presentation on the stage itself!
You may also like this series on my second blog. 
© 2017,  Emeka Akpa. All rights reserved

THE PUBLIC SPEAKING SERIES. Delivery (1)

The reason why courier services are now preferred over government run postal services is DELIVERY. The reason why
BRT services (where they are available) are preferred over conventional road transport means in Lagos is DELIVERY.
Speaking in public is serious business because whether you have been paid to make an appearance or not, every member of the audience surrenders the time they should have devoted to other things at your feet; you must in turn, surrender good delivery to them.
Delivery is everything in public speaking. In many cases it is not what is being said but who is saying it and how it's being said, that matters.
In the first of three discussions on DELIVERY, I will delve into pre-presentation housekeeping. That is, what you should do before mounting the podium to make a presentation.
Most times, speakers are informed of their speaking assignments weeks or months before the time (on few occasions, they are informed days or hours to their delivery), hence it is your responsibility to do the following:

1. Be sure that the message you are about saying is what you would have loved to listen to someone else say to you.

2. Enquire about the type of hall that will be used for the presentation and the public speaking facilities it has.

3. Now this one is very important: find out everything you can about the make up of your audience, otherwise, you may end up speaking to nobody! Things like how many they are, their level of education, sitting arrangements, and other unique features are important to know.

4. Take time to rehearse, rehearse and rehearse; even if you have to do it in your head and not physically (I do this most of the time)

5. Be sure to select an attire you will be comfortable in, if possible, put on a dress you're used to wearing.

6. Do not eat anything that will make you feel uncomfortable and require that you visit the restroom shortly before you present or while you are presenting (this one can be very embarrassing!)

These nuggets sound simple but they can be the difference between an awesome or loathsome presentation!

Next week, I will talk about how to prepare the message itself.

© 2017, Emeka Akpa. All rights reserved