A presentation can be anything from contributing to an informal colleague meeting to giving a speech at a conference. As always, your voice is your strongest ally.
It’s worth stating the obvious: you’ll feel more confident if you’re well prepared and have some reminder notes. Keep the notes short and easily readable. Filing cards are easier to manage than sheets of paper.
In general, the larger the space and the more people you’re presenting to, the slower your delivery will need to be, and the clearer your articulation (i.e. make sure you sound all the consonants clearly).
Remember that if you are nervous you will tend to talk faster, which means you need to consciously slow down even more.
Contrary to popular belief, microphones can’t do everything for you. What they do is magnify. So, if you talk as though you’re chatting confidentially to a friend sitting next to you the mike will just ‘magnify the mumble’: your voice will be louder but your words no clearer.
They also magnify the energy, or lack of, behind your voice: a dull, monotonous delivery will sound even more boring, while an over-energised voice will sound frenetic. In both cases listeners will tune out because they won’t feel they’re being addressed personally.
Ideally, speak slower and more clearly than you would to a friend next to you, but keep a feeling of personal communication between you and those you are speaking to.
If possible, practise with the sound system beforehand. You can then work out how loudly to speak and, if it’s a fixed mike, how far away to stand, or if it’s hand-held, how close to hold it to your mouth (most people hold it too close). If, as is often the case, a practice isn’t possible, you might get a friend in the audience to signal any adjustments you need to make while you’re speaking.
Finally, remember that even a clip-on microphone is a barrier between you and your audience, and a fixed or hand-held mike even more so. This can reduce both your and their feeling of connection and communication. If done well, not using a mike is also impressive because it is so unusual nowadays. At least in small or medium-sized spaces try to make a mike a last resort, not an automatic choice.
Some useful points to remember are:
This is another case where you can fool your body.
Nerves produce very similar physical symptoms to excitement. So, re-brand your nerves by taking a quiet moment ahead of the presentation to repeat aloud to yourself ‘I feel excited’. This changes the negative stress of anxiety (which you want to avoid) into a positive challenge (which you can rise to).
In a study at the University of Pennsylvania, the group who did this performed better in a stressful test than those who either admitted to themselves they were anxious or tried to persuade themselves they felt calm – which won’t fool your body as the physical symptoms are so different.
You may or may not come to enjoy presentations, but with good vocal skills and positive body language you will stop nerves and poor delivery getting in the way of your message.
A presentation can be anything from contributing to an informal colleague meeting to giving a speech at a conference. As always, your voice is your strongest ally.
It’s worth stating the obvious: you’ll feel more confident if you’re well prepared and have some reminder notes. Keep the notes short and easily readable. Filing cards are easier to manage than sheets of paper.
In general, the larger the space and the more people you’re presenting to, the slower your delivery will need to be, and the clearer your articulation (i.e. make sure you sound all the consonants clearly).
Remember that if you are nervous you will tend to talk faster, which means you need to consciously slow down even more.
Contrary to popular belief, microphones can’t do everything for you. What they do is magnify. So, if you talk as though you’re chatting confidentially to a friend sitting next to you the mike will just ‘magnify the mumble’: your voice will be louder but your words no clearer.
They also magnify the energy, or lack of, behind your voice: a dull, monotonous delivery will sound even more boring, while an over-energised voice will sound frenetic. In both cases listeners will tune out because they won’t feel they’re being addressed personally.
Ideally, speak slower and more clearly than you would to a friend next to you, but keep a feeling of personal communication between you and those you are speaking to.
If possible, practise with the sound system beforehand. You can then work out how loudly to speak and, if it’s a fixed mike, how far away to stand, or if it’s hand-held, how close to hold it to your mouth (most people hold it too close). If, as is often the case, a practice isn’t possible, you might get a friend in the audience to signal any adjustments you need to make while you’re speaking.
Finally, remember that even a clip-on microphone is a barrier between you and your audience, and a fixed or hand-held mike even more so. This can reduce both your and their feeling of connection and communication. If done well, not using a mike is also impressive because it is so unusual nowadays. At least in small or medium-sized spaces try to make a mike a last resort, not an automatic choice.
Some useful points to remember are:
This is another case where you can fool your body.
Nerves produce very similar physical symptoms to excitement. So, re-brand your nerves by taking a quiet moment ahead of the presentation to repeat aloud to yourself ‘I feel excited’. This changes the negative stress of anxiety (which you want to avoid) into a positive challenge (which you can rise to).
In a study at the University of Pennsylvania, the group who did this performed better in a stressful test than those who either admitted to themselves they were anxious or tried to persuade themselves they felt calm – which won’t fool your body as the physical symptoms are so different.
You may or may not come to enjoy presentations, but with good vocal skills and positive body language you will stop nerves and poor delivery getting in the way of your message.
