Presentation Tip: Practice Practice Practice

Image: Very Quiet (Flickr)

One of the big reasons why so many people don’t connect with their audience is because they’re not confident that they know their script well enough to relax and interact with the audience. They’re worried any distraction could make them forget what they’re going to say next.

 

With this fear always at the back of their minds, they stand stiffly behind the lectern or the computer, they read their notes and sometimes barely even make eye-contact with the audience.

This is not the way to get your audience to remember your message.

The first step in getting your audience to buy into your idea or message is to connect with them using eye-contact. To be able to do this you must practice your material until you know it inside out, this will make you feel more confident and relaxed, thus allowing you to interact with the audience and persuade them that your idea or message is something that they should consider.

As part of your practice, make notes in your script where you expect to change to the next slide, and practice the whole speech/presentation complete with slide changes. This will help make your delivery smooth and natural.