As fall term of my senior year comes to a close I find myself face to face with public speaking. In the upcoming week I have to present on three different topics in my classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully, after this week I will be a presenting pro!
I just read an article on how to make your audience pay attention and connect. Boring presentations are the worst and I definitely do not want to fall victim to one. The article I read gave six tips on how to give presentations that people actually care about.
- Tailor the talk to audience. It is important to gauge how formal or informal your presentation should be. “Quality communication is grounded empathy; you gotta know what they want to know”.
- Don’t sound like a robot. Don’t memorize your speech. Just speak from what you know. If you know the material like you should, then this should be more natural and sincere than reciting a written text document.
- Use Visuals. No one wants to look at text. The audience is more intrigued by something visual that adds to your presentation rather than text that just reiterates your words.
- Find a way to tell a story. Everyone loves a story. It makes a distant topic become personal and relatable. It allows the audience to connect with your topic.
- Don’t write so much on your slides. The Fastcompany article says, “People literally can’t listen to you and read at the same time.” This is important to realize when designing your slides.
- Allow the talk to get beyond a one-sided conversation. Engaging the audience in your presentation enables them to be interactive. Ask questions, or bring props.
Now I think I know where my J495 professor got the idea to play pop music at the beginning of class. The Fastcompany article also suggests playing music at the beginning of an early morning class grasps the attention of your students. Her secret has been found.
This article reminds me of this amazing speech that everyone probably knows called, “Sunscreen”.
Creative PRocess 