Some “do's” for when you're giving a training session or speaking to a group:

• Prepare 100% - be well prepared and rehearse
• Acknowledge and accept your fears
• You don't have to be perfect
• Trust yourself
• Be in the moment
• Partner with the audience
• Do deep breathing and relaxation exercise
• Stay calm, confident and comfortable
• Don't rush it

Quick tips to make great presentations

1. Slow down your speech
2. Alter pace and pitch of voice
3. Use an icebreaker – joke, cartoon to break the ice
4. Watch nonverbals
5. Don't talk to the whiteboard or screen
6. Don't move around too much or too little
7. Make the room yours
8. Look the part
9. Involve the whole group, “Has anyone…”
10. Use activities
11. Have a filler
12. Practice your introduction and your summary
13. Check to see that everything is working
14. Do you have enough variety
15. Don't leave your overheads or slides on for too long
16. Don't be scared of silence
17. Once you've written your speech, cut it down
18. Group similar ideas together and establish themes
19. Stay relaxed, but alert and enjoy your presentation
20. Tell the truth
21. Wait for any questions coming
22. Find some common ground with the audience.
23. Stand up during your presentation to assert your authority
24. Back up facts with evidence
25. Don't stare at your audience
26. Hostility is aimed at your opinions, not you
27. Prepare yourself for one or two lengthy answers in advance to questions raised
28. Don't patronise your audience
29. Win over your audience with your knowledge
30. Address answers to the whole audience, not just the questioner
31. Direct hostile questions back to the questioner or audience
32. Say “good point” to encourage the shy ones
33. Remain calm whatever the tone or intention of the questioner
34. Practice learning to answer tough questions with a friend
35. Watch your audience's body language for boredom
36. Watch for audience hands moving up to stifle a yawn
37. Involve the audience by asking questions at intervals
38. Let your audience know that you're aware of their feelings
39. Listen to as many of the previous speakers as you can
40. Pause between your Question & Answer session and your summary
41. Always close with a good strong close
42. Don't rush as if you're in a hurry to leave
43. Use big gestures and long pauses

More quick tips

Hold your head up

Open your mouth

Consonants, pronounce them properly

Slow down!

Tips on better voice control

•  Start with a POW! Emotional zest when the right context is required

•  Minimise secondary energy or extraneous movements/fidgets/habits

•  It's the pause that refreshes, suspension of sound, stops gulping and running out of breath

•  Make it full of zest when the occasion demands it

•  Breathe through nose, exhale through mouth - smoooothly

•  Keep throat open as if yawning

•  Whenever mentioning figures, slow down the delivery so that the audience can work it out

•  Work according to the size of the room and audience

•  Apply relaxed, controlled, effortless power!

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