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Yes you can give a great presentation at NCSLI or MSC
Look up any list of “most common fears” and one of the top items will be “fear of public speaking.” But chances are, at some time in your professional career you will be called upon to give a presentation. Whether you’re speaking to a small group of colleagues at your company or a group of professionals at a conference, here are some tips to help you succeed – and perhaps even enjoy your experience as a public speaker.
Know your audience
Are you speaking to a peer group? Will the audience members be younger or older than you are? Will your audience be familiar with your topic, or will you need to define terms and key concepts? Thinking about your audience ahead of time will help you frame the presentation and choose the language you’ll use.
Will anyone be likely to disagree with what you say? If you are making points that might be controversial to some audience members, think about how you will rebut an argument (and check your data so you feel confident it’s correct).
Tell a story
Nobody wants to watch somebody stand behind a podium and read from a slide presentation. Think about your presentation as a story, with a beginning, middle and end. Tease the audience at the start, by telling them what you’re going to tell them and alluding to something very interesting that you’ll share during the presentation.
Use your slides to highlight illustrate the key points you want to make. If you’re afraid you’ll forget something unless you put it on a slide, write it in your notes (but don’t read directly from them either; notes are just for reference).
Create the presentation
A general rule of thumb when timing a presentation is to plan on spending two minutes per slide. You can refine the timing when you rehearse.
Don’t crowd your slides. Use them to make your main points and flesh them out when you talk. After all, if the audience can get all of the information by reading your slides, why do you even need to present?
Highlight key points and main takeaways – the things you really want the audience to remember. Some people put key points in a color bar at the end of each slide.
Remember that more is not always more. Too many special effects-- graphics swirling in and out, sparkles, and moving objects – just distract the audience from the points you’re trying to make.
Consider using props. Why limit yourself to PowerPoint? Think about other ways you can communicate – even drawing on a white board or flip chart in real time conveys a certain “it’s happening now” dynamic that can draw people’s attention.
Rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse some more
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll sound fresher if you “go in cold.” Talk through your presentation out loud a few times. This exercise will help you weed out words and sentences that are difficult to pronounce or that don’t sound natural. It will also help you check your timing.
Try to enlist one or more colleagues, or even a sympathetic friend of family member, to be your “audience” and offer feedback. What questions do they have? Did you say something that they didn’t understand?
Try giving your presentation in front of a mirror. And at least once in your career, have someone videotape you while you’re rehearsing a presentation. You’ll get a wealth of good information about your speaking “tics,” posture, gestures, and more.
Establish trust with your audience
If your audience knows you, you might not need much of an introduction. But you should always provide some context for why you’re the person presenting this material, instead of someone else. If your audience doesn’t know you, you’ll need to present a little more information about yourself and why you are qualified to be talking about your subject.
First impressions count and you’ll want to look like someone the audience can trust and believe. That means dressing neatly and being well groomed. It also means looking enthusiastic, energetic, and happy to be in the room with your audience.
Tips and tricks
- Show and tell. Use photos, drawings and graphs to illustrate your points.
- Make eye contact with your audience. If actually looking at them is too unnerving, pick some points like the clock in the back of the room, a chair in the front row, and a bright clothing item worn by someone in the center. Then shift your gaze from point to point as you talk.
- Think of ways to engage your audience. This is especially important if you are speaking after lunch or at the end of a busy day. Tell everybody to get up, stretch, and sit back down. Ask questions that are relevant to your talk (“How many of you have had this experience?” “Who knows why we needed to make holes in the ceiling tiles?”). Bring props and pass them around.
- Plan for hecklers. Ok, “heckler” might be too strong of a word. But think about what you’ll do if someone stands up in the middle of your presentation to disagree with you or ask a challenging question. For example, you can say “That’s an interesting point. Can you hold that thought and we’ll talk about it during the question and answer period?” This speakernetnews blog posting offers some other useful says of dealing with hecklers: https://www.speakernetnews.com/post/heckler.html.
- Watch other people give presentations (in person, on YouTube, on television). Make notes about things that you like and dislike and try to incorporate them into your own speaking style.
Get some practice
If you’re really not confident about your presentation skills, do what you can to practice in a safe environment. Join an organization such as Toastmasters or take a class. Volunteer to give a talk at your child’s school. Make a YouTube video (you don’t have to actually post it).
Related information: Want to know where to find Fluke Calibration representatives? Check out our Conferences and Exhibitions schedule. Of course, if you'd like to have a Fluke Calibration representative contact you, just request a consultation.
For the past 20+ years I’ve been producing marketing materials for Fluke Calibration. I received my master’s degree in professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and enjoy sharing what I know about communications. Full Bio
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