Spaced out

Fellow speaker,

To make your slides easier to view and look less "crowded", use blank spaces on the slides.

Blankly,

Tim

Beginning, middle, end

Fellow speaker,

To help your audience follow along with your presentation, have your slide tell a story with a definite beginning, middle, and end.

At the end,

Tim

Easy on the eyes

Fellow speaker,

To ensure your slide presentation is easy to read from anywhere in the room use a very large font and put limit each line in the slide to a few words.

Easily,

Tim

Eyes front!

Fellow speaker,

To let the audience know they are important to you, ensure you keep your eyes focused on the audience and don't turn your back to your audience.

In the front,

Tim

Don't read the screen

Fellow speaker,

Don't read back the entire slide to the audience. Add in something interesting to your presentation that is not on the screen and that brings the focus back to you, the presenter.

Presentably,

Tim

I get it!

Fellow speaker,

Make sure there is a clear, underlying message in your slides that your audience can easily understand.

Understanding,

Tim

Check and double check

Fellow speaker,

Ensure the numbers on your slides are correct so the audience knows you know what you are talking about.

Check,

Tim

Less is more

Fellow speaker,

To make sure that the audience focuses in on your slides keep your graphics to one or two graphics per slide.

Making do with less,

Tim

All presentations are divided into three parts

Fellow speaker,

When giving a presentation, keep in mind the three parts of the presentation:

1. Presentation - this is what you present onstage - simple and easy to follow along in content
2. Handout - this is what you give to your audience during your speech - provides audience with something to do during the speech
3. Take home - this is what you give to the audience after your speech - provides audience with ways to remember all the things you mentioned in your speech

In threes,

Tim

Double check

Fellow speaker,

Just before you go onstage, check over your materials and ensure you have everything you need and everything is properly placed.

Checking it out,

Tim

Jingle jangle mornin'

Fellow speaker,

One thing you don't want to happen while you are giving a speech is to be a disruption of your own speech! So make sure you take off anything that might jangle into the microphone or distract your audience such as noisy jewelry, pocket change, cell phones (make sure they are turned off), etc.

Undistracted,

Tim

Nervy

Fellow speaker,

To help get rid of the "pre-speech jitters":

1. Clench your hands as tightly as you can
2. Release them completely
3. Shake out the tension in the hands
4. Repeat until your hands feel relaxed

You can also clench and release your jaw, arms, shoulders, legs, etc. Each time you release you will find your muscles relaxing a little bit more.

Relaxed,

Tim

Testing...testing...

Fellow speaker,

To see if you are breathing correctly and making yourself heard have someone sit towards the back of the room where you are speaking (but still close enough so you can see them). When the person can not hear you, they raise their hand to their ear.  When you see the person raise their hand to their ear, that is your cue to speak louder.

Testing it out,

Tim

Throw your voice

Fellow speaker,

To practice speaking strongly and powerfully, work on "throwing your voice" to the back of the room. Imagine your voice is a ball and you want to throw it as far as possible. Imagine yourself throwing your voice all the way to the back wall of where you are speaking and bouncing your voice off the back wall.

Off the wall,

Tim

Breathe in...

Fellow speaker,

Make sure you breathe during your presentation!  One way to do this is to practice breathe deeply:

1. Put your hands on your stomach
2. Breathe low in your stomach - your stomach should go out
3. Now breathe out from low in your stomach - your stomach should go in
4. Repeat

Breathing,

Tim

What'd you say?

Fellow speaker,

Ensure the audience hears your speech:

• Speak slowly and deliberately
• Use vocal variety to make your voice interesting
• Finish your food before speaking
• Keep your hands from in front of your face
• Avoid slang

Hearing and understanding,

Tim

Let me hear it, people!

Fellow speaker,

Say your speech out loud so you don't rush your presentation when you give it.

Loud and proud,

Tim

Get ready!

Fellow speaker,

Ensure your content is ready:

• Plan the speech carefully
• Research everything
• Check over your facts and figures

Contented,

Tim

Rule of three

Fellow speaker,

When giving a slide presentation, take your time presenting each slide and spend about three minutes on each slide.

Deliberately,

Tim

Touching by eye

Fellow speaker,

Have "eye contact" with your audience. Use a "one person, one thought" approach, so that you say your entire thought to a person while looking at them, then move to a new person to say an entire thought to. Or you could use a "3-second" rule in which you look at a person while internally counting slowly "1001, 1002, 1003" and move to look at another person on "1003".

Looking 'em over,

Tim

Get in the zone!

Fellow speaker,

When speaking, be aware that there are three "zones":

• Public Zone > 12 feet - this is where you like to be when seeing people for the first time and "sizing them up"
• Social Zone 4 - 12 feet - this is where you decide whether you want to get to know someone...how close you stand depends on how comfortable you are with strangers
• Personal Zone 18 inches - 4 feet - this is where you are socializing with others...how close you stand depends on how "close" you feel to the other person...if you are forced to get close and don't want to socialize with that person you will normally create some type of "barrier" between yourself and the other person

Keep these zones in mind when you are giving your next speech: let the audience find the space where they feel comfortable and work inside that space.

Zoned out,

Tim

Two part talking

Fellow speaker,

Here are two parts to a speech:

1. Content (what you say)
2. Performance (how you say it)

To give the best speech, work on these two parts separately.

Separated,

Tim

Get it right the first time

Fellow speaker,

Practice and work on the opening to your speech so it gets and keeps your audience's attention throughout your speech.

Opening up,

Tim

Emotional connection

Fellow speaker,

Help your audience feel an emotional connection to your story. Develop emotional connections in your speaking and get the audience well-connected to your speech.

Connecting in,

Tim

Hit the mark

Fellow speaker,

Before giving your stories double-check their facts and figures.

Double-checking,

Tim

Fascinatin' data

Fellow speaker,

To get across a lot of data to your audience personalize it. Create and/or describe a story that uses the data so the audience will remember the story.

Datafying,

Tim

The three questions

Fellow speaker,

Consider in your speech:

• Why?
• How?
• Where?

Considering,

Tim

AIM for your audience

Fellow speaker,

Make an outline that AIMs at your audience:

• Action (What do you want to do?)
• Intention (Why do you want to do it?)
• Method (How are you going to do it?)

AIMing high,

Tim

The three questions

Fellow speaker,

When putting together your speech ask:

• Why?
• How?
• Where?

Considering,

Tim

Build the question

Fellow speaker,

One way to structure your presentation to "build your question" using the Minto Pyramid principle:

1. Situation - What is the current situation?
2. Complication - What are the problems with the current situation?
3. Question - What can be done to solve the complication in the current situation?
4. Answer - Solution to the situation

Follow this four step method of building your questions and you will have the audience deeply involved in your presentation.

Deeply,

Tim