Presentation Tips for Public Speaking
1. KNOW the needs of your audience and match your contents to their needs. Know your
material thoroughly. Put what you have to say in a logical sequence. Practice and rehearse
your speech at home or where you can be at ease and comfortable, in front of a mirror, your
family, friends or colleagues. Know what your strong and weak points are. Emphasize your
strong points during your presentation.
2. When you are presenting in front of an audience, you are performing as an ACTOR is on
stage. How you are being perceived is very important. Dress appropriately for the occasion.
Present the desired image to your audience. Look pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, proud, but
not arrogant. Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous. Speak slowly, pronounce clearly,
and show appropriate emotion and feeling relating to your topic. Speak to the person farthest
away from you to ensure your voice is loud enough to project to the back of the room. Vary
the tone of your voice and dramatize if necessary.
3. BODY LANGUAGE is important. Standing, walking or moving about with
appropriate hand gesture or facial expression is preferred to sitting down or standing
still with head down and reading from a prepared speech. Use audio-visual aids or props
for enhancement if appropriate and necessary. Master the use of presentation software such
as PowerPoint well before your presentation. Do not overload your audience with excessive use
of animation, sound clips, or gaudy colors which are inappropriate for your topic. Do not
torture your audience by putting a lengthy document in tiny print on an overhead and reading
it out to them.
4. SPEAK WITH CONVICTION as if you really believe in what you are saying. Persuade
your audience effectively. The material you present orally should have the same ingredients
as that which are required for a written research paper, i.e. a logical progression from
INTRODUCTION (Thesis statement) to BODY (strong supporting arguments, accurate
and up-to-date information) to CONCLUSION (re-state thesis, summary, and logical
conclusion).
5. DO NOT READ FROM NOTES for any extended length of time although it is quite
acceptable to glance at your notes infrequently. Speak loudly and clearly. Sound confident.
Do not mumble. If you made an error, correct it, and continue.
6. MAINTAIN SINCERE EYE CONTACT with your audience. Have direct eye contact
with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole
audience while speaking. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel
involved.
7. SPEAK to your audience, LISTEN to their questions, RESPOND to their reactions,
ADJUST and ADAPT. If what you have prepared is obviously not getting across to your
audience, change your strategy if you are well prepared to do so. Remember that
communication is the key to a successful presentation. If you are short of time, know
what can be safely left out. Always be prepared for the unexpected.
8. PAUSE. Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflect and think. Don’t race
through your presentation and leave your audience, as well as yourself, feeling out of breath.
9. ADD HUMOR whenever appropriate and possible. Keep audience interested throughout
your entire presentation. Remember that an interesting speech makes time fly, but a boring
speech is always too long to endure even if the presentation time is the same.
10. When using AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS to enhance your presentation, be sure all necessary
equipment is set up and in good working order prior to the presentation. If possible, have an
emergency backup system readily available. If it is appropriate show or offer your audience
SAMPLES of what you are talking about; people usually appreciate it and your presentation
is much more interesting for them.
11. Have HANDOUTS ready and give them out at the appropriate time. Tell audience ahead of
time that you will be giving out an outline of your presentation so that they will not waste
time taking unnecessary notes during your presentation.
12. KNOW WHEN TO STOP talking. Use a timer or the microwave oven clock to time your
presentation when preparing it at home. To end your presentation, SUMMARIZE your
main points in the same way as you normally do in the CONCLUSION of a written paper.
Leave your listeners with a positive impression and a sense of completion.
13. THANK your audience and offer them to ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS they might
have. People are often shy to ask so you can encourage them verbally to ask questions.
source: http://www.aresearchguide.com/3tips.html; adapted