How to Present

Stop trying to sound Fancy

The number one rule in public speaking: Drop useless words. When people filler their presentations with a bunch of useless speech, the audience becomes skeptical as to whether the information provided has credibility or not. Also, extra fanciness can cause you (the presenter) and the audience to possibly lose track of the main point. When one is concise and to the point in what he is trying to communicate, there is no chance of going wrong.

Drop the uhhs and ahhs

This not only makes you sound dumb, it also draws the audience's attention away from the main topic. These are not really words at all; they are a distraction, and they don't mean anything.

There are 2 reasons why people insert these: 1) They are stalling for time because they don't know what to say, 2) they are nervous and not prepared well. Either of these can be easily remedied by better preparation. If you are comfortable with the information you are presenting, there is no need to be nervous. In fact, you will find yourself more comfortable and relaxed, feeling like an expert on the topic.

Whatever you do, avoid these uhhs and aahs like the plague, as they do not serve any purpose whatsoever, only to distract your audience.

Arrive Early

Always arrive earlier. This gives you time to set up whatever visual aids you need, get comfortable, take a look around the room and gauge what you need to do. If you leave for your presentation late, you not only shorten your time to prepare and get in the zone, you run the risk of arriving late and making your audience wait.

Stop Reading

Even if you have notes prepared, stop reading from them. All too many times have people just read straight off of their notes as if they were reading a book. People will slowly fall asleep or just leave. Your job is to highlight the main topics of what you are to present about, and teach it in a fashion that facilitates the audience. If you could stand on stage and read a book, what makes you think they couldn't either?

Visual Aid

Whether it be powerpoint, a model, a video, or whatever, make sure your presentation has visual aid. Wouldn't it be boring to watch someone stand at the front of the room just rambling on and on about something you don't really understand?

The essence of a visual aid is something that is simple, yet fun and creative. If you are presenting something, you are trying to communicate/teach something new to your audience; something that they don't know, otherwise why would they be there? With a visual aid, you can represent and talk about things that you can't do with just language. Many topics require a visualization that needs to be attention drawing yet simple.

Smile and Don't Stare

Even if you are just looking at nothing, people may feel a bit uncomfortable if you just stare off into one point in space. Remember to try to make eye contact as you speak as well, and slowly rotate around the room. Smile gently as you are talking to make your audience feel comfortable. You don't want to sound like a stern parent as you present, because people will just feel irritated and ignore you. By smiling and scanning the room as you speak, you are engaging the whole crowd, not those 2 girls sitting in the back with the pretty eyes.

Prepare Handouts

In addition to what you are presenting, you need to prepare handouts for the audience. This way, they can read whatever you are trying to say at their own pace and not have to follow along to what you are saying. Most people are visual learners, meaning they prefer to see things on paper before they absorb the information. By providing handouts, you not only make the audience feel like you really thought about their needs, you provide them with the flexibility to move ahead or go back accordingly. Do not post every single thing you are going to present about on the handout. Provide highlights of the main topics, so that they will follow the specifics of what you are going to say to some extent while still retaining the ability to skim main topics.

Dress Nice

Someone unkempt and dirty on stage will only shun people away. Since all eyes are on you, make sure you know that. If you don't give people the respect to even dress sharp, why should they even give a hoot about your presentation?

Thank the audience and leave time for questions

No matter what you say, someone will always have a question. So before the end of the presentation, thank everyone for taking a bit of time out of their day to listen to you, and ask the audience if anyone has any questions. It's a good idea for people to ask questions at the end, so as to not break the flow of the presentation as you are giving it.

PowerPoint Blunders

- Putting too many words on a slide: your PowerPoint only needs to serve as a visual aid; don't write an essay on each slide. Just highlight main points.

- Too many animations. It's ok to have little visuals or graphics here and there to engage the readers and have a fresh change from lots of wording, but don't make it so that everyone is concentrated on the animation and not on the main topics they should be reading. I once had a presenter click on a slide and a 20 second animation came up. Extreme no-no.

It is possible to get over a fear of public speaking. The only thing that is required is sufficient preparation for whatever may be thrown at you. If you understand your topic well, why should you be nervous? Any question you are asked you can throw an answer right back. Proper etiquette and manners is always a plus, as you are presenting to a civilized society, not a group of animals. If you remember and learn your information well and treat your crowd well, you will get the respect and (ultimately) the applause that you deserve.