Here are just a few bullet items to think about when presenting:
- Practice… Practice … Practice —– live audience or before a video camera
- Speakers commandment #1 – don’t be boring
- Smile as much as appropriate
- Always arrive early — make sure everything works
- Never go over the time you’ve been allotted
- Always build pauses in your presentations – people need time to absorb your main points
- Always pause after laughter
- Follow the AT&T rule for humor: It needs to be appropriate, timely and tasteful
- Use relevant stories – this is what people will remember
- Have a strong opening and a strong closing
- Always use your own style
- The best speakers are having a conversation with their audience
- Exaggerate your body language and expressions
- Watch your language —- This is one time to be politically correct
- Be careful talking about sex, politics and religion
- Be enthusiastic – People are more convinced by your energy, enthusiasm and conviction than by anything else.
- Every 5 minutes have a story, anecdote, example, exercise or question
- Be sensitive to the audience’s wants and needs — Observe body language and words
- Make sure your appearance is appropriate for the group
- Don’t let negative or critical feedback pull you down. Remember, it’s not personal
- Always repeat the question and look at everyone when answering
- Tell people to take out their cell phones during your presentation and twitter ideas, thoughts and best practices
- Use new material. Keep up to date with the news, relevant stories, etc.
- Be prepared if things don’t work. If projector is not working, keep going without it. People are ready and this is not the time to delay.
- Keep up your enthusiasm. If you are not enthusiastic, no one else will be. People are more convinced by you energy, conviction and enthusiasm than anything else you do.
- Make sure all presentations have a combination of interactivity, fun and content.