Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured manner intended to tell, persuade, or entertain the listeners. It is closely related to “presenting”. Public speaking and presentations can be very demanding. Whenever we have to get in front of an audience to speak, we usually have to go through a panic moment. Putting forth a good presentation demands a lot of courage, practice and preparation.

Every time you speak before crowd, you learn something new. With my 12 years of experience as a public speaker and trainer on public speaking and presentation skills I have several tips which would help many of you. These points would help no matter whether you are speaking at a large conference or giving an internal presentation to the co-workers. They can be used anywhere.

GETTING PHYSICALLY & MENTALLY PREPARED BEFORE YOUR PRESENTATION- The more you prepare, the more confident you would feel. Slowly and gradually when you become comfortable in public speaking you’ll unsurprisingly feel more confident and the need to prepare may be of lesser importance. Amateur speakers must spend more time in getting ready. But that does not mean that you make yourself go crazy. Just be comfortable with your material and keep practicing. If you are a first time speaker, you may consult a public speaking trainer and would be of great help. They will observe your style and suggest you some advice on addressing the crowd. For example they might advice you to:

* Speak slower.

* Talk to individuals in the audience.

* Take pauses and think before you speak.

Going over them before your presentation would help you to be more composed and confident. Some more ways to prepare yourself can be the following:

* Drinking a lot of water.

* Taking a good night’s sleep.

* Avoid drinking the night before.

* Breathe normally.

* Visualize a positive result.

* Talk to other speakers (if any). Ask them questions and for advice.

PREPARING MATERIALS TO SUPPORT YOUR PRESENTATION- The key to prepare your presentation is to remember that less is more. A few guidelines to a good presentation:

* Keep text to a minimum. Do not put more than 5 bullet points per slide. People tend to lose interest in what you are speaking while reading this stuff.

* Check for contrast and font size. Make sure that it is readable.

* Use pictures where possible to get your idea across. They can be remembered more easily.

* Keep the notes short and simple. Their purpose is only to serve as a reminder.

* Check the resolution of your presentation. To be safe, go for 800×600.

* Complicated charts and graphs should be avoided. Audience may get confused.

WHILE GIVING THE PRESENTATION- A few things to be remembered when giving the presentation:

* Be optimistic.

* Telling stories will make your idea clearer than charts, graphs and numbers. They also help in engaging your audience.

* Don’t read your slides or notes. They should only play the role of supporters to what you are saying.

* Keep your introduction short yet strong.

* Keep your speech or the presentation slow and steady.

* Don’t be anxious over mistakes. Don’t apologize. Stay confident and just move on.

* Take pauses at appropriate times. This would also give your audience time to absorb what you presented.

* Smile, joke and laugh when needed. Don’t try to overdo anything.

* Make your ending crisp, clean and powerful.

* Prepare yourself for interruptions and questions.

There are few opportunities when you get to interact with your higher management other than meetings, hence you should make use of this and show your communication skills as well as prove your understanding of the business. The most effective tool you can use to communicate to people in the meeting is through presentations even if it is remote, as you have audio and video in this too.

Giving a remote presentation is not very different from the real one except for the fact that you are not physically facing the people you are talking to, however they can see your visual so give an effective speech using the following tips which also apply for real meetings.

• It is well known that people are more attentive when watching visuals so make sure that the presentation you have prepared contains a few pictures along with text to explain yourself.
• You obviously have knowledge about the subject matter that you will speak about but it is important to do a thorough research on it before the meeting so that you can deliver your speech with confidence and are ready to answer any questions thrown at you.
• Knowing a little bit more about the people you will be addressing will help you to interact with them and involve them thus keeping the attention level high and your presentation appreciated.
• Do not overdo with charts or graphs that people will not pay the slightest attention to. Share only those graphs or charts that you will refer to during the meeting.
• Speak within your limits. If you know that you have limited knowledge on a subject do not tread too deep into that topic.
• Planning is important in all spheres of life and so while preparing for the meeting make sure you are clear on how you will begin and end that is your presentation should have an introduction followed by the main context or subject matter, then a brief summary followed by a good closing.
• Check your system,devices and also whether you have all the files or data ready to share online before the meeting because time is precious and the reason you are doing a remote presentation is that all participants are busy and you cannot make them wait online while you search for some some lost file.