Speak for Success

An important aspect of business success today is the
ability to communicate effectively. Not only with the
written word but to be able to stand out and deliver a
speech or presentation with confidence will set you apart.

As a business educator, I have the opportunity to meet some
great speakers from around the world and learn more about
how to grow my business. Like others in the audiences I am
most impressed by presenters who not only impart relevant
information but do it in an interesting and entertaining
way. Do you make compelling presentations? If not here's a
few tips that may help.

What makes a great presenter? Confidence is usually the
initial response and I agree. The number one characteristic
that shines through is confidence. Acquiring this quality
alone will put many ordinary presenters into the "good"
category. What could you do then to go that extra step
forward?

1. Awareness of what works for you and what doesn't and
the willingness to build on those foundations. Feedback is
incredibly important whether you tape or record yourself
and analyse your own performance or have someone else
critique for you. But here's the catch. Most of us only
dwell on what didn't work, try to fix those problems and
don't work on their strengths. By recognising what works
for you, acknowledging and building on that base will give
you the confidence to improve and become a great presenter.

2. Practice makes perfect, so they say. But practice also
makes permanent. It's important to try new things,
experiment, take risks and most importantly to add variety
to your presentation. Variety can be built into your
presentation through storytelling, humour, use of props,
audiovisuals, group exercises or audience involvement.
Variety in your voice – try soft, loud, fast and slow. Try
a range of techniques to keep your audience energised and
interested.

3. Have a clear outcome in mind of what you want the
audience to take away from your presentation. Remember it's
about them and how they feel. It could simply be they feel
comfortable with you to provide a particular service, or
you've convinced them your product is the best on the
market. It could be to motivate them to do something or
inspire or challenge them to try something new.

4. Organise your speech into "chunks". Rather than try to
memorise or read a 30 minute speech (or a 3 hour one!) if
you have several chunks that deliver a particular message
it is easier for you and your audience to remember. As an
example 30 minutes could be broken up into a 5 minute
opener with a story, 3 chunks of 7 minutes where you talk
about 3 different points using some variety while
delivering those messages. Then a closer of 4 minutes
perhaps to give out handouts or take a question or two then
finish big with a call to action.

5. Use your body wisely. It's okay to jump up and down and
be energetic if that is your style. Many of you would have
been to an Anthony Robbins or other motivating style of
presentation and seen how they use their bodies. At other
times a speech delivered with poise and stillness from a
lectern is appropriate. What isn't appropriate is
distracting movement such as pacing up and down for no
reason, gesticulating wildly for no purpose, rocking back
and forth or playing with your hair (girls) thrusting hands
in your pockets (boys) or scratching or picking at
imaginary fluff on your jacket.

These are just a few of my observations and techniques I've
learned while practicing to become a great presenter. I
hope these tips help you next time you need to make that
great client presentation.

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Sue Currie, the director of Shine Communications
Consultancy and author of Apprentice to Business Ace – your
inside-out guide to personal branding, is a business
educator and speaker on personal branding through image and
media. Sign up for free monthly tips on personal and
professional PR at
http://www.shinecomms.com.au/contactmanager/default.cfm
and learn more about how you can achieve recognition,
enhance your image and shine.