24 tips to become a better speaker and presenter

Hi it’s me Al. Welcome to this issue of The Speakeasy.

I have a friend who lives in Germany. Recently we got about advent calendars. They’re a big tradition there, as beloved by its people as pretzels, sausages and being on time.

He told me that sales of advent calendars were down this year.?

I asked him why.

He said he wasn’t sure, but that he always knew their days were numbered.

(who says Germans don’t have a sense of humour!)

In the spirit of our conversation, I’ve decided to fill the final newsletter of 2022 with 24 top tips to become a better speaker and presenter. Use them to supercharge your confidence and convert more of your 2023 pitches into sales than ever before.

24 essential tips for better speaking and presenting

1. You need to make meaningful contact with your audience. Without it, your presentation is doomed. Here’s how to do that
2. How you say something often matters more than what you say. Nail your vocal delivery and you’ll make your presentation instantly more memorable. Follow these steps to improve your vocal tone
3. Correct breathing (belly breathing) is the best way to make you sound more powerful and convincing. Get this technique right and you’ll take your presentations to the next level. Here’s how
4. Shorten your presentation for greater impact. The number one mistake people make when presenting is making their presentations too long. Here’s how to trim them down
5. Nailing the first 30 seconds of your presentation is crucial to converting sales. You need to make sure your opening verbal and non-verbal cues are communicating the impression you want to create. Here’s how to do that
6. A good opening hook is vital to a successful sales presentation. Here’s how to craft one for the start of your presentation
7. Understanding melody will add life to your speaking voice and keep your audience from getting bored. Use this technique to get it right
8. Repetition is one of the most useful tools you can use to make your points memorable. Here’s how to work them into your presentation
9. You need to turn your data into compelling visual images to make them understandable and memorable. Here’s how
10. Create a problem/solution framework for your presentation to better convert your next pitch into sales. Here’s how
11. Humility is an overlooked but critical element in being truly persuasive. Here’s how to the ability to listen into an effective tool for persuasion
12. To present as the best, most confident version of yourself, you need to know what you’re talking about. Here’s how the right sort of preparation can boost your confidence and sales conversions
13. You need to create a strong outline for your presentation in order to have flexibility when speaking and presenting. Here’s how
14. Handling objections is part of the territory when it comes to speaking and persuading. Here’s the best way to handle objections
15. Summarising is a valuable part of your presentation process. Here’s how and when to work summaries into your next pitch
16. When it comes to public speaking, you need to check your ego at the door to make people like you more. Here’s what to remember
17. A surefire method to keep engagement high is to work questions into your speech or presentation. Here’s what you need to know
18. To be relatable and memorable, use the power of storytelling in your presentation. Here’s how to do that
19. To be a successful interlocutor, you need to get comfortable with silence. Break the habit of filling them with this technique
20. Hollywood-style tension is a powerful tool that you can use to maintain engagement in your presentations too. Here’s how to build it in
21. Being concise is a skill that will elevate you above 99% of speakers out there. Stop waffling and get to the point with this strategy
22. Humour has a place in your sales pitch. Here’s how to use it to create fellowship with your listeners
23. Telling and then showing is a highly effective strategy for getting listeners to understand your point of view. Here’s how to nail the art of combining speaking with slides
24. Understanding and appealing to the limbic brain will change the way you build your presentation. Use this technique to get it right

Happy Holidays everyone! See you next year :)

Al