Presentation Training:
Presentation Training for Delivering your Presentation

Last minute details before you begin speaking
Get into the room before your audience arrives to check the setup and get the feel of the room. This helps to make it your room. Walk around the room and sit in a few different chairs to take in the feel of your room and how your audience will see you. Check your equipment and put on your busiest slide to check for readability. Drink one or two glasses of warm water to both lubricate your vocal cords and hydrate yourself. Public speaking dehydrates you.

Emergency preparation
Check the exit doors and paths from the building. If an emergency occurs the audience will look to you, the speaker, for leadership and maybe their lives. Be prepared to tell people how to leave the room and building. If it becomes necessary - do it in a calm, commanding and confident voice. Public speaking carries the responsibility of leadership.

Your confederate
Always have at least one confederate. This is a simple yet important secret to presentation success. Your confederate should sit near the back of the room so they can survey the room, help late arrivers and do things without disturbing the audience. They will take care of the lights, handouts, ushering people to their seats and even asking a planted question. It is their job to head off problems before they erupt. They should know how to work the lights and who to call when problems arise.

Eye Contact
Talk directly to people. The best presentation is delivered as a conversation to every person in your audience one person at a time. If you want to be believed - talk to every individual - looking them in the eye. Don't make the big mistake committed by many novice public speakers - staring at the spot on the back wall.

Emphasizing key points
If you want people to remember something - repeat it at least three times during your speech. The first time they might hear it. The second time they might mull it over. The third time it might stick.

Establishing rapport
Talk about things to which your audience can relate. Don't talk down and don't baby them. To build rapport with your audience they must relate to you. Don't pretend to be something you are not. But show how you are like them. Be human. Expose a flaw. Show that you are not perfect. If you pretend to be perfect they will hate you - and not listen.

Stay on time
Start your presentation on time and finish on time. If you start all your meetings and presentations on time people will learn to show up on time. Do not repeat yourself for latecomers. If there is a small group at starting time then be prepared to 'start' with a discussion instead of your speech. Those that are there will believe that you started on time and those arriving late will seat themselves quickly feeling a bit guilty for being late.

Finish on time - even if it means leaving something out. For that reason - always get your important message out early. Never keep the key message till the end of your speech. They might be asleep by that time. Position a small clock where you can see it so you know where you are in your presentation. Don't commit the sin of asking, "How are we doing for time?" You should know - you are the speaker.

Deliver your speech with credibility
If you are the CEO, President or the boss - you have credibility by position. You can enhance your credibility by the sources of information you quote. You can quote from a publication they read and respect. You can quote from a well known and respected person. You can quote from some member of your audience - remember your research?

You can also imply credibility by waving a source document or book as you speak. Notice how preachers use this technique by holding the bible.

Help your audience remember the important parts
Repeat the points you want them to remember. Use an anecdote or story to illustrate the point. Pause just before and after you state the key points.

We find it easier to remember images and feelings. If you want your audience to remember the key points of your presentation attach those points to images or emotions. Men tend to be more visual with memory while women are more emotional. Be sure to address both needs in your presentations.

Look your best
Smile. You look your best when you smile. You look most trustworthy, friendly and confident when you smile. We do not want to listen to a speaker who is frowning. Don't grin like a fool all the way through your speech. Instead smile before you start. Smile when you say something important. Smile when you end. Make it a warm friendly smile. When you smile you look confident and help to improve the confidence of your audience.

Sounding your best
Drinking water before you speak will lubricate your vocal chords. Breathing deeply and slowly will allow you to project your voice and pause when you want to - not when you need to. Speak slower that you normally speak. The audience needs to hear you, think about it and internalize it.

Try these simple exercises to get your voice in shape before you speak. Yawn. Yes, yawning relaxes your vocal chords and opens the voice channel. The second trick is to hum. Humming seems to set up a resonance within your vocal cavity.

Using equipment and technology
If you are using a computer projector and PowerPoint in your presentation then avoid the mistakes committed by many presenters. Ensure that your slides enhance your points. Don't make the common mistake of designing your presentation around the slides. Instead, first create your presentation then decide how to illustrate your points.

Ensuring success in your presentation Your audience does not know your script. Be ready to adapt your presentation to the audience and conditions. Be prepared to leave something out. It might be tough on you but your audience does not know what you left out or forgot. Instead focus on them and your message. If they get it then forget the rest of your speech.

Correcting things that go wrong
If you look and sound calm the audience does not know that anything is wrong. They might even think that you planned the interruption. When things go wrong, smile, pause, breathe and sound confident. Adapt your presentation. Never appear to panic. Instead focus on your message and what you want them to do.

Handling Q&A
At some point during your presentation you will offer to answer questions from the audience. Never do this as an afterthought. Don't make the mistake of delivering and finishing a spectacular speech then opening to questions. That is a weak way to close. Instead before you finish your speech, announce that you will take questions for x minutes. Then close off the questions and finish with your closing statement.

Tame the Hecklers
How do you handle hecklers? Prepare yourself for the worst questions. No matter what happens - remain calm. The worst thing for you to do is to react. Instead, respond and guide the audience back to your message. If you have established rapport with your audience they will be on side with you. Don't alienate your audience by appearing angry or out of control.

If a heckler makes a negative comment you can respond with, "Thank you for your opinion" and move on. Don't let yourself get dragged into a dirty argument. Don't give the heckler credibility.

Finish Your Presentation Strong
End your presentation with a strong message. You can choose from several techniques. A call to action is one of the best endings to get your audience into action immediately after your speech. Other endings you can use include a rhetorical question; a positive statement; or a famous quotation.

Source: George Torok link

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