How to give a killer presentation

Are you preparing to give a presentation? Then you may be trying to fight off the fear of public speaking, and you may be wondering how you can go about ensuring that your presentation will go perfectly and that everyone in the audience will remember you and admire you for your skills in public speaking. If that’s the case, continue reading for a few helpful tips.

Organise your speech so it makes sense

First off, it is absolutely necessary that you deliver an organised and well-thought-out speech to your audience so they can easily follow along and understand what you’re saying without becoming bored or distracted.

Avoid making too many points throughout your presentation. Long lists will cause your audience to lose interest and become confused. Stick with three main points, if possible.

When preparing to write your speech, create an outline to help guide you as you plug in your main and supporting points. Don’t forget to also include plenty of facts, statistics, quotes, etc. to back up your claims and give you credibility.

Don’t read the speech

Rather than reading the speech from a sheet of paper or a teleprompter, use cue cards or practice the speech until you have it memorised. You can even use a PowerPoint presentation with slides to guide you as you speak, but don’t just read off the slides. Otherwise, your audience will realise that you’re reading the speech and become bored with what you have to say.

Include the use of visual aids

Visual aids are a great way to break up the monotony of a speech. Use photos and other types of imagery, along with videos, charts, graphs, etc. Put what you’re saying into a visual format that will make it easier for your audience to understand and absorb the information.

Many people are visual learners, so they can’t absorb information as well if they’re only listening to someone speak. In addition to presenting materials where you stand, you can also hand out materials with information on them. Get these materials printed by companies like Showcase Creative for the best results.

Maintain eye contact with audience members

Making eye contact with your audience throughout your speech is really important if you want to prove your confidence and credibility. Plus, it will also serve to keep your audience engaged. Scan the audience and make eye contact with various individuals throughout the room as you speak. Take a second or two to connect with a person before moving on.

End with a strong conclusion

Just as you want to start your speech with a solid introduction, you should also prompt the audience that your speech is ending by saying something like, “In conclusion,” and then providing a strong conclusion that will reinforce everything that you’ve stated throughout the presentation.

With these tips in mind, you are sure to deliver a killer presentation every time. And the more you get used to preparing and delivering speeches, the better and more confident you will become.