Meeting Facilitation and Public Speaking: 5 Essential Rules
30 December 2012
Read by 2155 persons
Public speaking is often a dreaded exercise. Good preparation and following a few simple rules can help you succeed. Advice from David Capelle, actor and trainer.
Preparing the Ground
The first rule to follow for a successful public speaking engagement: prepare well to avoid improvisation.
You must not only know your subject inside and out, but also learn in advance about the conditions of your presentation: location, room, equipment, audience, number of people present, etc. Mastering your environment will allow you to be more comfortable.
Breaking the Ice
At the beginning of your presentation, always remember to introduce yourself so that your audience knows who they are dealing with.
Take care with your entrance and exit; this is what will mark your audience.
During your presentation, feel free to interrupt yourself from time to time to check that everyone is following.
Working on your Body Language and Avoiding Recitation
Stress often leads to shifting from one foot to the other, which tends to lull the audience to sleep. If you're going to move, move around the room.
Never turn your back to your audience and speak intelligibly.
Don't read your documents in a monotonous tone. Adopt a dynamic, rhythmic tone to maintain your audience's attention.
Pacing your Speech
You should know that your audience will only retain 10 to 15% of your speech.
Plan a flip chart, a PowerPoint presentation to present graphical elements that are more easily memorized.
Work on your transitions for the smooth flow of your presentation and to maintain the audience's interest.
Feel free to punctuate your speech with phrases such as: "Listen carefully to this" or "This point is very important."
Acknowledging your Nerves
Immediately de-dramatize the situation by sharing your nervousness with the audience.
If you are stressed, lay your cards on the table. Explain that this is one of your first presentations, that you are a little nervous... This is the best way to win over the audience.
Well-being-at-work.fr
Posted on March 21, 2017
Preparing the Ground
The first rule to follow for a successful public speaking engagement: prepare well to avoid improvisation.
You must not only know your subject inside and out, but also learn in advance about the conditions of your presentation: location, room, equipment, audience, number of people present, etc. Mastering your environment will allow you to be more comfortable.
Breaking the Ice
At the beginning of your presentation, always remember to introduce yourself so that your audience knows who they are dealing with.
Take care with your entrance and exit; this is what will mark your audience.
During your presentation, feel free to interrupt yourself from time to time to check that everyone is following.
Working on your Body Language and Avoiding Recitation
Stress often leads to shifting from one foot to the other, which tends to lull the audience to sleep. If you're going to move, move around the room.
Never turn your back to your audience and speak intelligibly.
Don't read your documents in a monotonous tone. Adopt a dynamic, rhythmic tone to maintain your audience's attention.
Pacing your Speech
You should know that your audience will only retain 10 to 15% of your speech.
Plan a flip chart, a PowerPoint presentation to present graphical elements that are more easily memorized.
Work on your transitions for the smooth flow of your presentation and to maintain the audience's interest.
Feel free to punctuate your speech with phrases such as: "Listen carefully to this" or "This point is very important."
Acknowledging your Nerves
Immediately de-dramatize the situation by sharing your nervousness with the audience.
If you are stressed, lay your cards on the table. Explain that this is one of your first presentations, that you are a little nervous... This is the best way to win over the audience.
Well-being-at-work.fr
Posted on March 21, 2017
