by Gilda Bonanno LLC www.gildabonanno.com
While presenting at the National Speakers Association (NSA) Convention in Orlando a few years ago, I watched dozens of speeches and took notes on what made each effective.
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com
While presenting at the National Speakers Association (NSA) Convention in Orlando a few years ago, I watched dozens of speeches and took notes on what made each effective.
This post summarizes what I observed and outlines the 10 factors that can help you
deliver an excellent presentation.
1.
You know your subject.
It's obvious to me and the rest of the audience that
you know your material well and can handle questions with ease. You are confident but not cocky. It's okay if
you use notes, but you are not buried in them.
2.
You communicate a clear message.
Not only do you know your subject well, but you are
able to focus it into a concise message that I can understand, regardless of my
level of expertise.
3.
Your message is relevant to me (also known as "you
care about the audience").
You explain how your message relates to me and my
experience. Once I heard someone give a
speech that consisted entirely of stories about his experiences with famous
people, to which I couldn't relate at all.
I kept thinking, "how does this help ME?"
4.
You are prepared.
You show your respect for me and the rest of the
audience by moving through your points in an organized manner, speaking within
the time limit and comfortably handling the room environment and logistics.
5.
You keep my attention.
You vary your voice and body language so you are
interesting to listen to and watch. You
make eye contact with me, you speak loudly enough so I can hear you easily and
your body language matches your words.
6.
You care about your subject.
Your presentation or speech conveys your sincere
enthusiasm for your subject. You don't
have to be jumping up and down in the front of the room, but if you don't care
about your subject, why should I?
7.
You share stories and examples.
Your stories don't have to be long or overly
dramatic; they can be short examples or anecdotes that illustrate your message
and help it make sense to me.
8.
Your slides are not the focus.
You remember that you are the presentation and your
slides are just the visual aids. You
spend most of your time making eye contact with the audience instead of looking
at the screen. Your slides are easy to
read and contain high-quality images.
(Or, you don't use slides at all!)
9.
You are authentic.
You are your real self instead of putting on an act
or pretending. You connect with me and
the rest of the audience by sharing your real experiences and opinions. And you're the same person offstage as when
you're onstage.
10.
You're not
perfect.
When something unexpected happens or you make a
mistake, you acknowledge it with grace and humor. And we are reminded that the goal is
communication, not perfection, since perfection is unrealistic and unnecessary.
The next time you have to speak in front of any kind of audience, make sure you include these 10 factors, so you
can deliver an excellent presentation.
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com