Public Presentation Skills

man in suit jacket standing beside projector screen
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Presenting orally is quite complicated. Mainly, this is the case because it requires a person to influence the audience, to affect it in the necessary way. The public quickly reacts to the tone of voice of a speaker, his gestures, posture. It is often not the message delivered but the way it is delivered that makes the audience make this or that conclusion. The responsibility when making a business presentation doubles instantly, as the speaker has to achieve a particular goal. Given this understanding, the first conclusion to make is that a speaker needs to prepare to present. It is important to remember. This does not mean that there should be no spontaneous element in the speech. Quite often such introductions make an oral presentation more vivid and can persuade the audience. Though, it does not mean that a presenter does not have to prepare. A person who tries to present several times before it actually occurs is the person who is more self-confident, and, in case needed, can improvise easier. 

Presenting in front of the public is a certain type of art. Many people are born with a natural ability to deliver information. In the most cases, they use not only wording to underline the thought, but actively use gestures, posture types and tone of voice. More importantly, they are perfect observers. They gracefully observe the reactions of the audience and, if needed, can adapt the message to the tastes of the audience. A good presenter is the one who has a talent, but this as any other talents needs to be trained. Practice is the activity that will make from the majority a fine oral speaker. To become a good presenter, it is important to:

  • Understand the essence of the topic. That person sounds well, who by himself/herself understands the theme well. Understanding of the topic is a potent power. It gives self-confidence, positively modifies the tone of voice and allows a person to get a more graceful posture.Having a knowledge about the topic is not the only thing. A presenter should also have a clear understanding of wordings. Basically, it is dangerous to use the word, if its definition is not 100% understood by the speaker.
  • Have a confident tone of voice. the confident person sounds calmly, delivers consistent messages and can show sincere emotions, if appropriate. The confidence in the tone of voice can be achieved by having previously trained to deliver the text, by being well-dressed in front of the public. Each detail matters. The most effective method for a new speaker is to train, train, and train again.
  • Articulate well. A clear speech is important. There is no need to be in a hurry, and to swallow the vowels. On the contrary, it is better to deliver a more concise message but to articulate it clearly, than to give a long but quick speech. It is not the quantity of the vocabulary that makes the final effect but the quality of message. The text delivered becomes also clearer, if the person keeps all the grammatical pauses. If in the written text there is a comma, it is important to keep that 3 seconds of silence. The same rule applies to other periods and other grammatical signs.
  • Empower the oral message by the right gesture. In many cultures, people not only deliver the message orally, but gracefully combine the words with the gestures. gestures can make the message stronger. The speaker, though, has to make, sure that the gesture for that specific audience he delivers a message to has the same meaning as it does in his culture. This is a required thing, because many troubles can arise, if gesture can be interpreted differently.

Presenting to the public is a very joyful task. Even a fresh speaker will catch this spirit of delivering the message rightly. Though, practice is the core. The more the person practices, the higher the chances are to get a success. Every speaker has to remember that when any speech is delivered to the public it is important to understand the audience when preparing and delivering the oral presentation. 

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