Presentations are something every university student has to face. It can be rather intimidating especially if it’s your first time or if you experience public speaking anxiety issues. With the right tips, you can be sure that your presentation will flow well and professionally. Here are some ways to have you prepared for that upcoming presentation or public speaking speech.
Public speaking speech by INTI student in front of her classmates
Prepare Notes
Preparing notes doesn’t make you less professional. Allow yourself a couple of flashcards with certain keywords instead of a whole sentence so that you can avoid reading off them. Those cards are for references only. Praying for the best is good but you also need to prepare for the worst. You cannot be completely certain that your presentation will go according to plan. If something unexpected happens, do not be worried or afraid to improvise and get off-script a little.
Get Your Audience Invested
To keep your audience engaged, you need to get them invested from the start of your presentation. There are several ways to ensure this and some of them include presenting the audience with a question — preferably something that lingers within their thoughts. Tell your audience a story that captures their attention and if it touches them in any way and if it’s emotional or humourous, that is a bonus. You can also inform them what they will be taking away from your presentation before it begins. Besides that, asking your audience if they can relate to something with a show of hands gives them some opportunity for physical movements. This gives them a chance to participate in your presentation and remember that speaking with confidence is key.
Leave a Takeaway
Leave your audience with some food for thought or inspiration to act on what you have presented. This would make your presentation all the more impactful. This further underlines the subject of your presentation as well as builds a connection with your audience as they further contemplate your sharing. You could even provide a website or your presentation notes for your audience to learn more about your content and put it to practice.
Ask For Feedback
Take the opportunity and extra time if you have it to ask your audience what they thought about your presentation at the end of it. It is a great way to improve your skills as a presenter, not only for future college presentations but also for when you step into the working world. Wouldn’t it be better to mess up a little in front of your lecturer and friends instead of your future boss, colleagues or even clients?
Practice
This is possibly the most important part. Practice makes perfect. It’s not sufficient to just memorise what you’ll be saying. You need to know how you’ll say it. What tone? When to say it? How to say it to make it relatable enough? After preparing your presentation tools, take some time to practice your delivery for the actual day by practising public speaking. Make sure you incorporate some gestures, practice your tones and avoid being too mechanical. Through practice, you will gain confidence and eventually show it as well.
The most important part of the art of public speaking is to be cool, calm and remember to smile as well as breathe. With these public speaking tips for students, you could totally nail that class presentation and job pitch. In a nutshell, speaking with confidence is all about practice and thankfully, it can be learned. INTI Education Counselling Centres provide future students with education pathway choices, student registration and application services. Click here to reach out to us today!