public speaking/presentation

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Re: public speaking/presentation

I do this day in and day out - from running the classroom as a professor to public speaking engagements and keynote speeches at international conferences… I’ve been doing it for almost 7 years, and I can tell you that I still get nervous - and a certain level of anxiety still sets in even if I’m teaching the same course for the 10th time. This is despite the fact that I’ve also participated in numerous case presentation competitions and won a handful of awards as well.

So, anyone who tells you don’t get nervous isn’t exactly right… some anxiety is always good. It can help you think on your feet and dynamically adapt your presentation to the audience.

Some points I can think off the top of my head:

  • The key is to try to get a feel for the audience early on in your presentation - start your presentation with something that you think is sure to spark some interest in the subject matter, e.g. a controversial issue, a recent event making headlines, a new surprising research finding etc. - doing this will help you see how the audience reacts… if you get a lesser than expected umph! reaction… then you know that you’ll have to shift into a higher gear.

  • Also, there’s no substitute for substantial knowledge and grounding in the subject area that you’re presenting on. You can’t be expected to have all the answers, but you should be able to offer an opinion or a practical and relevant comment on issues that might be raised.

  • Next, do not put everything as text on your slides or transparencies… this will make your audience go into reading mode which you don’t want. Always use a good balance of text and other visual aids including tables, graphs, and figures.

  • Use props if at all possible - items or activities that will allow you to hopefully anchor your message and also prevent you from becoming a “talking head” and make your presentation more memorable

  • Also have some morsels or tidbits of information handy that you can simply throw in during your presentation as “I don’t know how many of you know this…” - this will get the audience intrigued as well as impressed

  • Lastly, if you’re doing a class presentation, then something I learned during my student days - is a little cheat trick to get you more points… plant a couple of good questions in the audience (i.e. get your friends to ask questions that you know the answers to). It works! :hehe:

hmmm… I can write a blog article on this subject :slight_smile:

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