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Loïc Thomas Profile Picture    Loïc Thomas
 in  Best practices
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5 essential tips for a convincing presentation

Presenting in public is a difficult challenge for many of us. It’s not easy to get a message through in a stressful environment, but there are a few simple ways to convince and engage your audience during your presentation.

Discover the 5 essential tips to give a convincing presentation!

1. Frame your presentation

When preparing your presentation, it is very important to conceptualize and frame your ideas to the maximum.

  • Your presentation should always include a brief introduction to explain why this topic is so important to you. By sharing your passion, you increase your chances of convincing your audience to listen to you..
  • Don’t try to cover too a broad topic, you risk losing part of your audience in the twists and turns of your presentation. Instead, cover a specific theme so that you have the opportunity to go into some ideas in depth and give concrete examples.
  • Avoid using jargon or complex terms. Generally speaking, it is best to assume that your audience are unfamiliar with your topic. You can read our article on the power of words to learn more!
  • Conceptualize your ideas around a story. A narrated presentation is much more likely to be well received by an audience rather than a conventional presentation. Telling a story allows people to identify themselves more easily and to put themselves in your place.

2. Prepare your speech

During your event you have three possibilities to deliver your message:

  • Reading your notes or a prompter This is a bad idea. Why? Because it creates distance between you and your participants. Reading, whatever the medium, prevents you from maintaining eye contact with your assembly. As a result, your participants are less attentive and engaged in your presentation.
  • Learning bullet points When you don’t have a lot of time to prepare, the best solution is to remember the few most important bullet points of your presentation. Tip: to make your presentation more fluid, in addition to retaining the big ideas, remember to memorize the transitions!
  • Learning off by heart Memorizing your entire presentation may or may not be a good. A bad idea because it takes a long time. Bear this in mind and take it into account when preparing your speech. If you don’t spend enough time reviewing, your presentation will be jerky and unnatural. A good idea because with good preparation, you can be sure that everything is under control (almost!) and that your presentation will go as planned.

When writing your text, before you start learning it, make sure the tone is not too formal. We don’t write in the same way we speak, so you need to pay attention to the tone you want to use and write it down. But above all, don’t forget the most important thing: Be yourself!

3. Develop your presence on stage

If you’re not used to it, don’t worry, it’s not that bad. The importance of eye contact and the dangers assocociated with a presentation have been discussed above.

Your presence on stage is largely influenced by your ability to scan the room so that each participant feels unique and important. If you’re not used to it, ask your close colleagues and/or friends in the audience to spread out over the four corners of the room. You will then have the opportunity to connect with familiar faces throughout the room.

The second thing to master for a good presence on stage: minimize the number of your movements. It’s a nervous reflex for everyone, but it distracts the audience. The ideal is not to move your lower body (too much) and let your hands support what you are saying. However, if you can walk naturally on stage, don’t hold back!

The only thing we don’t have universal advice for is stress management. Everyone has a little technique to get through it. But don’t worry too much, and try to turn your stress into energy and draw from it! Your audience expects you to be stressed, this is the natural response of the human body to pressure.

4. Preparing your digital media

It’s not a suprise to anyone. Having visual support is very important in creating a compelling presentation. Whatever you do, prepare a presentation with slides!

Here are some tips to always improve your performance with your slides:

  • Don’t read what it says on the slides! Like your notes, the more you read, the less opportunity you have to make eye contact with your audience.
  • Don’t duplicate what you say on the slides. You don’t have to write what you say, it will only distract and annoy your audience.
  • Use everything within your reach, without going over the top: videos, illustrations… to create a memorable presentation!

5. Gathering and training

To give you a (slightly extreme) example, TEDx speakers start preparing nearly 6 months before their speech! While this is a special situation, it reflects the importance of preparing and rehearsing a speech in order to create a compelling presentation

It is essential to be organized so that you have time to rehearse. Once you have already done it 2 or 3 times in front of a mirror, suggest to colleagues and friends watch. Also consider inviting people who have already been speakers so that the feedback is constructive. You will progress more quickly in learning your presentation.

 

It is in the raw material where a good presentation lies, so without the content, the form won’t be able to fix anything. It’s all in the passion you give to your audience.

One last thing, all these tips are there only to give you the opportunity to create a presentation in your image. There is no right or wrong way to make a speech. Simply make this presentation your own, share your passion with authenticity and rely on your strengths!

Go further and find out how Beekast can help you to maximize the interaction between you and your audience!

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