Develop Your Public Presentation Skills Through Hosting Your Own Business Webinars Or Live Events
In the digital age there is a great need for any online business owner to have great public presentation skills to connect with their clients.
As a professional public speaker and on-stage presenter, I have developed high level public presentation skills. This is due to many years of getting in front of people even when the nerves are jangling and the anxiety levels increasing. As the time has passed, I have honed my skills so that I can now deliver my presentation with the upmost confidence.
Practice, practice and even more practice has given me that confidence, but I still have an air of apprehension with new audiences. Which I think is good because you still need that edge in order to perform and deliver the message you want. Each audience is different regarding their careers, background age and gender. Within the last couple of weeks, I have presented in front of miners on one day and then agriculturists on another.
So, you must bear this in mind when you enter a training room or if you are doing it online through webinar software. People react and engage in many ways and you will get a general feeling of this early on. This is the moment when having good public presentation skills will allow you to adapt to the situation to deliver your message.
I thought that this would be a great time to focus on helping develop the skills that you need when delivering presentations. In my previous post I spoke about ways and platforms to deliver your presentation, and in particular through webinars. This is a great platform to choose because it allows to be creative and explore your topic and message.
What Public Presentation Skills Do You Need To Master?
You must a structure in plan to work from to ensure that your presentation flows. It doesn’t mean that everything must be scripted because in a live environment, things tend to become fluid. The conversation can evolve but the point still needs to be made to have the desired impact.
I am very much an in the moment person when I present because when the conversation starts the context becomes evident. Also, when the conversation flows it sometimes leads to new ideas and topics that I, and you, may not have thought about but compliment the presentation. Which means that it could help any future presentations with additional content.
You may be using additional resources such as a power point presentation, the internet for referencing or physical documents. Documents such as worksheets or checklists that your attendees use through out all or certain points of your presentation.
This information must be delivered at the appropriate times so must be at hand when needed. What I will say about planning is that if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!
Make Sure You Have The Right Equipment
We live in digital age which gives you as a presenter a huge advantage when delivering your content. I referenced the use of the internet so one thing to put on your checklist is the connectivity you have available. If you are in a training room or on stage, make sure that the location has adequate capacity. There may be occasions where you have anything from 10 – 100 people, or more, so make sure they can connect.
Your own devices to connect must be up to scratch and have the functionality to deliver your content. You may use handheld clickers to move your presentation along so ensure they are working correctly. The use of overhead projectors may form part of your presentation so the same checks must be applied to those.
There are occasions where you may feel the need to record the presentation at an event. If this is so, then you may need to employ a videographer so that you can create a professional resource.
If you are delivering your presentation online, then in many respects it is less logistically challenging. The platform you choose is one of the most important things to think about. Whenever I hold my Build Your AU mastermind sessions, I use a platform called Zoom.
It is a virtual conferencing platform that I find is exceptional in facilitating an online meeting. Whatever system you use you must be familiar on how everything works and how it integrates with other aspects of your presentation.
My suggestion is to rehearse the art of delivering your content in the respective environment of your choice. Meaning that you know how to use handheld clickers in a training room. Online you must know how to share screens when needed and move from one function to another.
Make Sure You Breathe
Nerves will kick in if it the first time you have presented or when you are further down the track. This is only natural but there is a simple way to combat them. Breathing obviously is essential to life but practicing the art of breathing in difficult situations helps alleviate the problem.
Before you start any presentation take some time before you start to take some deep breathes. This will help to bring down the heart rate but also get oxygen to the places that matter. It will clear your head so you can think straight on what you are about to do.
This is also relevant during your presentation because it will help pace yourself. It will be a natural reaction to speed trough the presentation because of nerves. It is important that you try to relax and taking regular breathes will help you keep on a smooth delivery.
Speed Is Everything
I have just highlighted that breathing normally will help you not to rush things during your presentation. It is important that you create a timeframe around your presentation whether that is live on stage or on a webinar. Many of the training presentations I give are day long events so if this is the case for you then timing is crucial.
For example, if you have a day long session you will need to break it up into sections to allow for breaks. Coffee breaks in the morning and a lunchtime interval. Therefore, you must plan out the content for each session and speak at a speed that doesn’t end too soon or drag over the allotted times.
This principle also applies if you are conducting an online webinar for your presentation. This is something that I have advised my Build Your AU mastermind members because I empower them to present their authority business models to the group.
I set them a timeframe of around 40 minutes and to use Zoom. The reason for this is that you can hold 40-minute webinars for free which is something to bear in mind when you start.
The best way to establish whether you are too quick or on the other hand too slow is to do dummy runs. Ask some of your family members or your friends to act as an audience. The you can get used to presenting and find a speed that you are comfortable with.
Creating Interaction & Engagement Are Essential Public Presentation Skills
It is very important that you connect with your audience so make sure you include them in the presentation. Ask them questions and make sure you listen to their replies and respond accordingly.
Sometimes a simple “hands up” to a question you put to them is all that’s needed to break the ice. Single attendees out and addressing them individually is a great way to show your human side. If you present on stage, then there may be times when it is relevant to get people to come up alongside of you.
If you are presenting online, then this is even easier because you can see your attendees on screen, and they can see you. You can pull people out and “hot seat” every week on a rotation basis so everybody then feels part of the conversation.
I do this within the Build Your AU mastermind, and we are about halfway through this process with the current group. They all have a week to prepare and then come Saturday night it is their turn to take the spotlight and host the webinar.
This process also helps me because I am creating content through other people and it adds to my resources. It helps them because they can go through the process in a safe and secure environment. It helps them get comfortable outside of their comfort zone before they then go in front of their own audience.
I have shared with you a lot of ideas and my perceptions on developing great public presentation skills. Overall have fun with what you are doing because if you can show that you are enjoying yourself then you are halfway there.
Helping you build your authenticity, authority and audience.
Trish Davies
Build Your AU
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