Considerations for Public Speaking and Presentations

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Public speaking skills have many applications in professional, public
and private sectors today. In professional sectors, commercial success
often depends on the speaker's ability to convey messages clearly. In
public arenas, the ability to persuade and to carry a well laid out
and effective message may be the difference between a successful
campaign and a lost cause. Private events often do not carry the same
level of importance, however, the ability to inform, entertain and
connect with an audience still holds great significance to the speaker
and to his/her sponsor(s). With these ideas in mind, how can a speaker
deliver his/her message effectively?

The first skill of note is speaking. Volume, clarity, projection and
tempo are all crucial to successful speaking. These are skills which
can be learned, although they come easily for some people and are more
difficult for others to master. Practice is a necessity for all
speakers, especially early on. The ability to improvise is an advanced
skill which will not be covered in this article. It is often helpful
to practice a presentation out loud repeatedly, to get timing down and
to work on a firm grasp of the presentation itself. While note cards
or prepared speeches are helpful, a speaker who reads a presentation
lacks connection with the audience. It is crucial to engage the
audience with eye contact during the presentation. This allows for a
psychological connection with the audience, but it also gives the
speaker immediate feedback from the audience. By reading the
expressions of audience members, a speaker can gage the interest level
and degree of understanding present in the crowd. It is also possible
to see whether the audience is in agreement or disagreement with the
speaker's points. Obviously the ability to read facial expressions and
body language is also needed to do this effectively. This skill can be
learned as well for those people whom it does not come naturally to,
however the effort is worth the payoff in terms of speaking skills.
Professionally, a presentation is a failure if the speaker cannot hold
the attention of his audience and persuade them to "buy" the concept
being presented. In public matters, persuading the audience and
raising awareness of issues is of great importance, but often the
success or failure of the speaker depends on stimulating a particular
action from the audience, be that voting a specific way or performing
a charitable act, etc. In private functions, the rating of a speaker
is likely to be based upon the audience's entertainment factor and
connection with the speaker.

In preparing for the speaking presentation, having the proper
equipment and materials are key factors for success. Having note cards
which are easily organized and easily read at a glance is important.
As the name suggests, they are "note" cards, and should list major
areas and points, not long sentences on every detail to be covered.
Preparation and practice prior to the presentation make it possible to
cover all areas well from limited notes. Having props and differing
presentation media can also provide easy ways to stay on topic and
cover all material. Use of speech is often enhanced by visual aids,
like charts, graphs, and graphics. Power Point presentations
containing these items are an effective way to combine a speaker's
message with a variety of visual aids. Once again, practice prior to
the presentation is crucial to ensure that the speaker's timing
matches up with the A/V presentation. Learning styles are important
considerations in developing the accompanying materials for a
presentation. These styles include auditory, or hearing; visual, or
sight based; tactile, or touch based; motor, or doing the action; and
combination, which can include any variety of these methods used
together. Designing a presentation to effectively cover the main
points in each of these styles is most effective, as people are often
superior learners in one of the styles as opposed to the others.
Therefore, a presenter who speaks to the audience, backs it up with
visual media, including written words and allows for demonstration of
the action sought or product in question will effectively reach a
greater portion of the audience than a speaker who simply delivers a
speech.

In order to accomplish this mix of presentation components, a speaker
must have the required hardware. In its simplest form this hardware
can be an easel with a whiteboard and dry erase markers, but in this
day and age, audiences often expect more. A proper A/V set-up can be a
make or break factor in presentations today. Consider electrical
needs, outlets, batteries, cables and media when developing plans for
locations and layouts. Will the presenter have a computer, projector,
LCD screen, lighting, or sound system? What sizes? What type of sound
system will be used? In a small location unamplified voices may be
fine, in larger locales or more crowded venues, that will not suffice.
Will the speaker use a megaphone (extremely informal events only), or
a wired PA system (limited mobility) or a wireless sound system
(greatest flexibility but often higher cost). Will the system allow
for integration of all media being used or will separate systems be
needed for them? If all of these considerations have been made and dry
runs show that the presentation works, then it is time for the show.
The one final consideration for delivering a high quality public
speaking event is to be prepared for problems. Have back ups incase
systems fail or power is out. A speaker who saves the day in spite of
technical failures is always regarded highly and respected for their
professionalism and ability. This goes a long way to winning over an
audience and, in the end, that is the goal of a speaker boiled down to
its most basic form.


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Scott Schwartz - SDS Consulting Group - <a target="_new" href="http://
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